Being a Black woman in corporate America is challenging at times. I have experienced many aggressions, whether they were micro or more overt.
I was working with a buyer who, through his actions, made it very clear he was not interested in working with me. He would avoid my calls, emails and meetings, while he was completely fine meeting with my White counterparts. I could only surmise that this was because I was a Black woman. I decided to take action. I scheduled a meeting with his general manager and included the buyer to sit in to listen to our call. The general manager made it clear to the buyer that he needed to make my meetings a priority, and that he would be meeting with me and ordering products for our events.
Through it all I stayed consistent, followed up within 24 hours, and provided him with all he needed to execute our events with excellence. These were never comfortable meetings, but by the time I moved on, he thanked me for all I did for his business.
