Retailers, hire minorities in management and mid-level positions
Why entry-level positions simply aren’t enough
In the past few weeks of peaceful protesting (and yes, some looting, too), there have been ongoing discussions regarding supporting more black businesses. News platforms are publishing lists of retailers, contractors and small businessowners who they can financially invest in. There are also podcasts releasing with CEOs, CFOs and other execs in the retail industry talking about how companies need to be more diverse. And while I can only speak through the eyes of one black woman, I believe I’m fairly accurate when I say this: Too many retailers are still missing the point. While a massive amount discuss why people of color (mainly black) should be hired or companies should invest in them, too few have made immediate plans to do so.
Recommended Read: “Store closings: Complex reaction to protesting versus looting ~ Protesters force retail America to speak up on social justice issues”
What my own leadership roles taught me about diversity
I’m not new to management roles. I’ve been a mid-level manager in a couple of past newspaper/online news roles. And it is by no accident that the people who hired me for these mid-level roles were also minorities: a black man and a Guatemalan woman. To this day, I’m still not convinced that I would’ve had those same opportunities with non-POC bosses. As adamant as I am that I like working alone far more than being the leader of a group, my mother will tell anyone who’ll listen, “She’s been bossy since birth.” Guilty.
A few months ago, I was elected as my condo association board’s president. I had no idea the massive amount of work I’d just signed up for and have learned a ginormous amount of information regarding everything from line-by-line dissecting of annual budgets, recognizing what a galvanized bracket is and why it matters so much for deck repairs, operating surveillance cameras and handling city violations.
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Journalism has been my world for 15 years, not property management. But I have gone to bed at 2 a.m. and woken up at 7 a.m. with a to-do list that I am hell bent on completing before the summer is over. I would have never even thought of taking this role on, if not for the prior president (also a minority woman) being pretty persistent about me taking her place. She saw something in me that I simply didn’t — besides being bossy.