To My Fellow Female Executives: You Have a Responsibility

Here’s the deal. White people from Seattle don’t like to talk about race. (For the record, I’m white and from Seattle…) We like to think we are educated, progressive, champions of equality. We accept everyone. We support local sustainable food and drive green cars. We have bumper stickers about human rights. And we have such good intentions! But being in denial about our own biases, or our country’s long-standing ingrained issues with racism, isn’t helping anyone. We may not be overtly racist, but we live in a country and work in systems that are…so it needs to be acknowledged.

It’s better that we talk about it. Get comfortable feeling uncomfortable.

For those of us that are female executives and entrepreneurs, we are fighting our daily battles to make it in a man’s world….but we also have a certain degree of power and, with that, a particular responsibility. As we galvanize around this current gender-equality movement, and as we maneuver our own way to the top, we need to consider how race factors into this. There are degrees of privilege and oppression at play here, and when you consider intersectionality of race and gender, there are distinct barriers for women of color that white women don’t face. These barriers are significant, and they are everywhere, in every part of the process and system. We have to stop and think (white women, I’m talking to you…) about how we are paying it forward. As we pry open doors and gain access, are we also holding the door open for others?

Let’s be honest about another thing: Women are trained to compete with each other. It starts in the teenage years (or much earlier…) when we have to compete for the attention of boys. And, unfortunately, this mean-girl attitude lingers well into adulthood. The truth is that we don’t have to compete with each other. This myth of scarcity is a fear and control tactic. The truth is that there is enough room at the table for everyone.

But, first, you take care of you . Do what you need to do to climb up the face of the mountain. But then, reach down and help another woman up. Don’t hoard the privilege. We are stronger together, we really are. And challenge yourself to reach outside your comfort zone. Help people that are different from you. Who don’t look like you. Who come from places and backgrounds different from yours. This is our responsibility, as female founders, as executives, as people who have found a slice of privilege and power.

Madeline Albright famously said, “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other.” I would add a racial equity element to that statement. If this women’s movement only achieves gender equality in the workplace, that won’t be a “win” in my book. That’s not good enough. True diversity — and the bounty of benefits that flow from it — is only achieved through intersectional diversity.