HerMoney Podcast Episode 292: Healing From Racial Trauma In The Workplace 

As part of 2021’s “Great Resignation,” women are seeking everything from pay raises and title changes to a hybrid or completely remote work environment. And women of color are increasingly seeking something even more meaningful — equality in the workplace. Something they have all too often been denied. According to a recent report on The State of Black Women in Corporate America, 49% of Black women feel that their race or ethnicity will make it harder for them to get a raise, promotion, or chance to get ahead. Black women face racial trauma in the workplace that ranges from blatant racism to microaggressions, to being overlooked for the best assignments or projects. 

The good news is that we are talking about all of this, and we can take intentional, specific steps toward a better, more equitable future, no matter who we are, or where we work. To talk through all of this with us this week is Minda Harts — a HerMoney fan favorite who joined us last year to discuss her book, “The Memo.” She’s also CEO of the career development platform for women of color, The Memo, LLC, and this week she joins us with takeaways from her new book: “Right Within: How To Heal From Racial Trauma In The Workplace.” 

Listen in as Minda shares how she spoke to more than 200 women of color as part of the research for her book, and how many of them felt that racism had “killed the careers they had originally envisioned for themselves.” She shares some of their personal stories, along with some of her own. Minda shares that there were times when she tried to convince herself that “he didn’t mean it that way” or “it’s not so bad,” but eventually found ways to reclaim her power. She advises that women of color should address these racial traumas in the workplace when they happen, and shares a 5-step process we can move through when we’re confronted by them. 

Jean and Minda also discuss how women and people of color are at greater risk for depression and anxiety right now than the rest of the population, and how women of color lost jobs in greater numbers during the pandemic than white women. They share advice for how we can process this, and work towards a better place. 

We also dive into the word “resilience” and the discussions around it lately — why do we so often praise women for being “resilient,” when we should actually be looking to dismantle the systems that have forced them to be resilient in the first place? You don’t want to miss Minda and Jean’s discussion there. 

We also speak directly to managers who are looking to do better — all too often, Black women have managers who fail to create environments where everyone can thrive. We discuss some important moves that managers can make now, to create environments of equity, where women of color can find success. And even if we aren’t in managerial positions, we can still be allies — we break down what we can do as bystanders when we see racial aggressions taking place, and how we can be better advocates for colleagues who have experienced racism at work. 

In Mailbag, we tackle a question on paying a financial planner — whether a fee-based on the percentage of your assets or an hourly rate is a better fee structure. We also hear from a retiree whose largest source of income is social security, who is considering purchasing a home. And in Thrive, a look at how best to move forward following a divorce if you weren’t involved in managing the finances.