It’s a poem, and I’m not a poetry fan, but this young woman’s discussion of her mother’s eating habits, her own speaking habits, all in comparison to her father and brother, how it affects her behavior, how “if you spend enough time around someone you pick up their habits,” I was left shaking my head yes, exactly!
It’s a clear cut diversity dilemma. Women are taught to absorb, men are taught to emit. And those inherited traits are not just displayed at home. They are societal pillars upon which women lean when tired, upon which others decide whether or not we are worthy for promotion or even development.
The idea that flaws and behaviors can be passed down from mother to daughter, from father to son, from generation to generation, it’s real. Our issue now is recognizing and breaking these patterns so that merit is the gauge by which we measure advancement potential or anything that we want but for which we must compete.
This blog appeared in Diversity Executive magazine online.
A Life Not Grey 