Gender Equality And The Invisible Problem In The Workplace

“In a small, unassuming room on a university campus in the mid ’80s, one man sat amongst eleven women. They were meeting to discuss a relatively new movement that was emerging, called feminism.

During the meeting the man overheard a side conversation between two of the women. The more vocal of the two was speaking on behalf of all women, explaining how they faced the same oppression by the patriarchy and needed to stand united to bring about change. The other woman’s response surprised the man, because she disagreed. She asked the other woman a simple question: “What do you see when you look in the mirror?”

“A woman,” was her reply.

It was the counter reply that stunned the man. She explained the difference, ‘When I wake up in the morning, if I look in the mirror, I see a black woman. To me, race is visible, but to you, it’s invisible.’”