When being second guessed is the norm

It never fails. A customer calls for a manager and I show up. I make them an offer that benefits them and keeps my job out of jeopardy. They aren’t satisfied, so I call my boss. He comes up and says the same thing I say and suddenly, the customer has enough compassion to fill every mason jar on our shelves. They accept and go about their day. They leave and I’m left seething. He’s a white guy. Well, you know what I am. Here’s another scenario. A customer asks me where an item that we obviously do not sell is located. I tell them we don’t have it. A few seconds later, an employee flags me down on the floor to ask where the same item is with a now embarrassed customer behind them. I repeat the same answer from moments ago. Like my boss, the employee is also white. I have been working retail for two years and became management in April 2017. Despite my superior’s trust of my judgment and leadership, I am constantly undermined, questioned and disregarded by customers and even employees. There have been numerous incidents where what I say isn’t valid until someone lighter and male, regardless of rank, says it for me. I have also been disrespected in ways that others have not. There are scores of other incidents I could share but I want to keep my job.

On Feb. 15, Catalyst, a nonprofit organization that focuses on helping women in the workplace, released a study saying people of