“She Thinks She’s The Civil Rights Leader and She’s Not.”
Written by Bethany L. Studenic
— The Anatomy of Exclusion —
Workplace exclusion is a complex idea. Workplaces today are struggling to understand the evolving needs of a changing workforce, with tightening labor markets leading to high competition for talent. In this environment, Diversity and Inclusion are becoming more and more important.
In order to understand how we can improve our D&I initiatives, we should study cases where people did not feel included; where breakdowns in our systems facilitated exclusion.
Today, I’d like to introduce you to Yolanda, a high achieving Black Woman who became one of the first to achieve supervisory status in the Columbus Fire Department. As we walk through her story, we will dissect the ways in which existing systems interfaced with her, and re-build the anatomical structure of exclusion at work. Just like treating a disease, we must examine the symptoms to devise a treatment.
High Achiever — Difficult Circumstances
Yolanda was a high achiever. She was the first Black Woman to be promoted to the rank of Battalion Chief, and was the first female to be a unit commander for the Columbus Fire Department.
Yolanda was hired in 1983 as a result of a lawsuit between the federal government and the City. The Federal Government had forced the City of Columbus to begin hiring more Black personnel. Because of that lawsuit, Yolanda was allowed to join the ranks of CFD.
She was awarded many commendations. including one from the Ohio State Senate, Ohio State University, and District of Columbia. Continuing her trajectory of a dedicated, celebrated officer.
When she was promoted this final time, she was assigned to oversee the Fire Prevention Unit (FPU). This was the only unit within the organization that was comprised of a majority of African American staff. It was also one of the least desirable postings, with the majority of assignments made by “force-filling” — requiring staff to work in here against their wishes.
Yolanda was now overseeing a department staffed by people who did not want to work in her department.
Systemic Exclusion
According to Yolanda’s court records, when she entered this department, she found out that some workers were using inappropriate overtime. Yolanda put a stop to this practice, re-instituting the policy from the City.
A subordinate of Yolanda’s — a white man — then reported her to the City for allowing inappropriate timekeeping. The City launched two investigations, one by the Columbus Police Department, and one by the Professional Standards Unit. Both investigations cleared her of any wrongdoing.
During this investigation, key documents went missing, and reports surfaced that the man who made the report was seen packing up and transporting records. In fact, this man later provided some missing documents to investigators. However, he was never investigated or disciplined, and the full records never surfaced.
Despite being cleared, the City hired an external investigator to again look in to Yolanda’s work, saying the investigations by their own departments “didn’t go far enough.” Again, Yolanda was cleared. However, the investigation served as its own source of pressure.
Over the ensuing months and years, Yolanda was subjected to fourteen investigations that resulted in no findings of wrongdoing. Throughout these investigations, she says she was misled about her rights and subjected to intense scrutiny based on unsubstantiated evidence.
Yolanda’s court filings say that throughout the investigation, she was subjected to increased pressure during investigations, she was tape recorded when others were not, additional records were requested on her, and the overall tone of her interviews was exceptionally hostile. In the final report, key details supporting her work were omitted.
In fact, during the investigation, the City required a union representative be present. While Yolanda was not a member of the union, and had rejected having a representative, the City sent one anyway. The man they chose was another white employee who had lobbed accusations at Yolanda.
Here’s what the City says about this:
“[They] take issue with a union representative being present for interviews… the city and the Union had reached an understanding that a Union representative would be present for interviews in order to protect the collective bargaining agreement…If the employee did not want representation, they would be sent anyway…[They] present no evidence of any adverse impact.”
Yolanda’s documents reveal a systemic, targeted process aimed at her and her career. One senior official was allegedly overheard saying: “She thinks she’s the civil rights leader and she’s not.”
Today, the Columbus Fire Department is still struggling to recruit and retain minority individuals.
“Columbus graduated 41 fire recruits on Friday. Three of them are black, and one is a woman. A police recruit class graduated about two weeks ago. Of the 27 graduates, three are black, including a woman, one is Asian and one is Latino. That’s about 18.5 percent minorities in the police class for a city in which the 2010 U.S. census said minorities were 40.7 percent of the population. — Radio OSU”
Yolanda’s experience can tell us a lot about the reality of the workplace for diverse people. She was a Black Woman in a profession dominated by White Males.
Segregation: Yolanda was placed in charge of the only department staffed by people who (for the most part) did not want to be working there. This department was made up of a disproportionate amount of African Americans.
- What Can Organizations Do? Work to ensure that diversity spreads not only to your organization as a whole, but to individual departments. Internal segregation can build resentment, and organizations lose out on the benefits of diverse teams and decision making.
- What Can Individuals Do? Apply to diverse teams and areas that you believe will best utilize your talents. Review workplaces for their overall diversity as well as the individual departments and teams you may be a part of.
Investigations: Investigations are a necessary part of the workplace when we need to better understand difficult situations at work. In this instance, it appears that certain tactics were unevenly applied. This, in part, led to the filing of a lawsuit and public discussion of the issue.
- What Can Organizations Do? Be sure to apply investigatory tactics evenly, and use investigations sparingly. Yolanda continued to be subjected to investigations, wearing on her and resulting in serious internal issues in the long term. Investigations should be thorough and timely.
- What Can Individuals Do? Be sure to find an advocate. Investigations are complex, particularly in government agencies. You will need someone who is familiar with your rights so that you are able to make informed decisions.
Risk Factors: Yolanda was the first Black Woman to reach her position in the Columbus Fire Department. She was originally hired because of a consent decree, forcing the CFD to open its ranks to African Americans. Yolanda’s achievement was likely being watched by others to see how far the City had come in its consent decree, a costly and long-term process.
- What Can Organizations Do? Understand the value of having diverse leaders in the department, and that there is likely to be systemic push back in the organization to this change. While issues should be taken seriously, we know that reporting is more likely to happen to a person like Yolanda, who is in a precarious position within your organization.
- What Can Individuals Do? Contemplate risk factors that may put you in a precarious position. Yolanda was the first Black Woman to reach her rank, and reports were made by people who did not share certain characteristics with her. She was placed in charge of a marginalized department, and policy changes built resentment. Be sure to document and communicate as your position changes.
