Ever heard that you don’t look like the professional that you are? In this episode, I am thrilled to speak with Dr. Tsedale Melaku about the labor and cost of being included in white institutional spaces and how we can redefine diversity to improve the experiences of Black women in corporate workspaces. Dr. Melaku is a sociologist and critical race and gender scholar whose research focuses on how race and gender affect advancement in traditionally white institutional spaces. She is also the author of the fantastic book, You Don’t Look Like a Lawyer: Black Women and Systemic Gendered Racism, which has golden nuggets for women across all professions. 

Topics Covered: 

• Leaning in as a Black woman
• The labor and cost of being included in white institutional spaces 
• Moving past intent to impact when dealing with racial and gendered aggressions, assaults, and discrimination
• Being mistaken for a subordinate role
• The value of sponsorship and mentorship
• Redefining diversity

Highlights: 

• “It’s very difficult for me to buy in to lean in as a Black woman. Because in these organizations, we’re not even in the room. We need to take a few steps back and try to figure out how to structurally change the impediments: the glass ceiling, the concrete wall, actual structural barriers.”
• “Hair talk is race talk.” 
• “We need to disrupt those spaces so that it allows for greater racial diversity, innovation, and opportunity to learn.”
• On redefining diversity: “Have conversations about making racial inclusion intrinsic to an organization and not something that is additive.” 

Connect with Tsedale:  

On her website: https://www.tsedalemelaku.com/

On her LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tmelaku/ 

On Twitter: @tsedalemelaku

Other References: 

• #whiteracialframe; #invisiblelaborclause; #inclusiontax; #systemicgenderedracism; #leanin; #glassceiling; #joefeagin; #adiaharveywingfield; #katherinephillips
• @JoeFeagin; @DrTinaOpie 

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