27 | WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE: THE UNEVEN PLAYING FIELD IN THEIR OWN WORDS On the steeper path to advancement As a woman, you’ve got to give 150%. You have to be more prepared, you “ have to be more articulate, you’ve got to be strong in your compassion, but also not too emotional, not too aggressive.” —SVP, 10 years at company, white lesbian woman When you’re the only Black woman, you have to excel. You have to “ always give 100%. It’s sink or swim. In my opinion, I would not be here today if I did not excel beyond the measure.” —Analyst, 2 years at company, Black woman I would say I’ve received a fraction of the opportunities I would have as a white man. The “ My job title was junior for a long time. ones that I did receive, I had to fight really hard for. I’ve seen many white men groomed for People started telling me, ‘You need “ leadership. They were hand-held through the to change that, because you can’t process by senior leaders. That didn’t mean use that on your résumé. You won’t that they didn’t have to perform, but it did mean be respected.’ I had to really lobby that the door was open wide for them and they to change it. It made me realize that were given all the resources they needed to be my manager didn’t advocate for me successful. That didn’t happen for me. I had to unless I asked for it.” literally kick the doors open.” —Manager, 7 years at company, Asian lesbian woman —Senior executive, 4 years at company, Latina woman This report contains stock photographs for illustrative purposes only. Images do not reflect the identities of the women quoted. Within the quotes, some identifying details may have been altered and/or withheld to protect the speaker’s anonymity.