As we wrap up Women’s History Month, I‘m reminded of this year’s International Women’s Day theme: #ChoosetoChallenge. Such a fitting theme for the time we are living in. Women everywhere are bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even the UN has warned of its adverse impact on gender equity. Yet women have risen to the challenge, continuing to break the glass ceiling and owning a seat at the table. In early 2020, Fortune announced that there are more women at the helm of Fortune 500 companies than ever before: 37 out of the 500 CEOs are female. According to Lean-In, 21% of C-suite leaders today are women, but just 1% are Black women. It is truly a privilege to be able to challenge—and I started to question what it takes to have that privilege, to be valued for who you are and what you can do to make a difference.
As Nielsen’s leader for diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I), I can challenge the status quo, ask uncomfortable questions and pave the way for change. But for many working women, getting to a role like mine feels more like a pipe dream. While DE&I has become the latest corporate buzzword, the most successful companies have a common denominator: a CEO or leader who is passionate about infusing DE&I throughout the company and acts to drive change. Nielsen has our CEO David Kenny, who until recently, played the dual role of CEO and CDO so that he could act quickly to improve representation. Find people who share your passion and will trust and empower you to do what is right for the company.
当我在 2019 年年底第一次来到尼尔森时，我参加了一次倾听之旅，听到了许多包括女性在内的多元化员工的心声，他们认为自己在晋升时被超越了，他们没有任何拥护者，因为很少有像他们一样的高层领导。她们通常都是像我一样的黑人女性，她们告诉我，她们被视为 "愤怒的黑人女性"，感觉被困住了--如果她们不说出来，就不会有任何改变；如果她们说出来，就会被定型。在我的职业生涯中，我也经历过这种情况，但我明白了，大声说话有对有错。寻找盟友和建立关系至关重要。有一席之地的导师可以在你获得下一个重要机会时为你代言。在我职业生涯的早期，我特意选择了一位白人男性高管教练，他可以与我分享他的观点，并对我提出挑战。我学会了他是如何看待我的，以及如何利用我的优势去吸引别人，而不是排斥别人。找一个和你不一样的导师。
Another aspect of choosing to challenge is having the courage to challenge. It’s why I’ve made DE&I my life’s work. We must have courage to present things that people don’t know to help them to see things differently. While programs like breaking bias training is important, you can’t train people to change their minds. What’s more impactful is creating experiences and having direct conversations with people so they feel differently about a particular topic or group. I recently heard from several White employees who challenged our use of “White privilege,” saying that they, too, have had to struggle to get ahead or work hard to get where they are at. It took a direct conversation and courage to share my personal experiences of discrimination as a Black person to help them understand. It was one conversation, but you will change someone’s life and they are going to multiply that when they share that story with others.
在一个大型全球性组织中，改变人们的观念需要时间。我现在正处于一个享有特权的位置，我可以选择挑战歧视，直接影响成千上万员工的生活，并为提升代表性不足的群体做出贡献。担任尼尔森的首席多元化官是我现在的最佳选择。
