DEI jobs: When you don't want to be treated like the Invisible (Wo)man in Corporate America
Conservatives are increasingly obsessed with all employees looking like carbon copies of themselves
Recently, I asked a family member (who holds a business/finance degree) if he would choose to be a telemarketer or a fast food manager should he ever need a part-time job again. (More than a decade ago, he’d held both of these positions for a couple of years.) His response: “Can’t I just sell crack?”
Although I chuckled at his response, he is the absolute last person I can think of who would ever jaywalk, never mind sell drugs. Still, I understood where he was coming from. We’ve all had that one job that we’d rather never do again.
Some people are able to make the most of a career regardless of its reputation though. One of the most memorable examples is the black farmer [of approximately 100] who makes majority of his money from picking cotton. Talk about a rebrand!
In an economy where 82% of homeowners have at least one thing that needs to be repaired in their homes but 60% of them really can’t afford to fix it, a side job never hurts. (And that’s assuming you’re one of the black people, largely black women, who has been able to buy a home.) Even if it’s the complete opposite of your intended career or degree, money will always be needed.
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Invisible me, visible photography
Finding side jobs has been on my mind a lot lately, not just because of the roller coaster ride of being a full-time freelancer who goes from grinning ear to ear when I get paid one week to deep sighs the next week when the work is low. Although none of my income comes from diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) jobs (excluding the occasional black author on Upwork who always reaches out to editors like me who can relate to their stories), I’m worried that DEI jobs will start being treated like book bans (or IVF centers in Alabama).
Recommended Read: “Does my editor understand my audience? ~ Know your marketing deal-breakers ahead of time”
Although I’d been hired as an editor for adult finance education textbooks, K-12 books and a handful of children’s books, in my 19-year career, I’ve never had to write a “diversity statement” or “DEI statement” — until last month. It was one of the more interesting experiences I’ve ever had while applying for side-income jobs, mainly because every day of my life includes me as a cheerleader for diversity. I liked this idea!
Still, I wasn’t even slightly surprised when I read the results of a research study from Rice University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Conservatives are furious about diversity statements being a requirement for a job.