Do You Carry an Umbrella?

I recently attended a business meeting with my wife and business partner, Cristina Villacinda. Cristina is a first generation immigrant from Venezuela and the genius behind Empleos and Employment.  During the meetings she made the comment that she occasionally operates under the white umbrella.   She stated that when attending meetings or events alone, where minorities are not well represented, she is treated very differently than when she attends with me, white male.   I had to think about my own behavior.  Do I treat people differently because I have placed them under an umbrella?  I am aware of this phenomenon and have witnessed it firsthand.   In some business meetings, Cristina will not be spoken to directly or make as much eye contact with others present, even though she is the most important person in our company.  Unfortunately, this problem goes both ways.   When I attend events in the Latino community, where I am not known, I find that my reception is very different when I am accompanied by my wife.  People are friendlier and speak more freely with me than when I am alone.  I don’t receive funny looks or explain that I don’t need a translator.  People tend to assume that since I married an immigrant, she must have taught me Spanish.

Later in the week that Cristina had made her comment, I was privileged to speak with Dr. Samuel Betances.  He posed a question to me that caused me to think, “Are we creating coalitions of color or common interest?”  My own experience has taught me that there is fine line between celebrating diversity by acknowledging our differences and voluntarily segregating ourselves along those same lines.   I wonder if our organizations are actively engaged in removing umbrellas and creating systems that support workforce equality or are we handing our employees umbrellas to hide under by creating special groups and activities that lead to their isolation?   I worry about companies that do not implement associate resource groups because they don’t have Latino executive sponsors.  I wonder why more Latinos, Asians and whites did not attend the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast this year.  Don’t we all benefit from the work that he accomplished and moved forward?  I believe that no one racial or ethnic group has the sole responsibility to see his dream fulfilled.  There is much work remaining to be done.   Are we ready to do away with umbrellas and confront the continuing freezing rain of workforce bias and inequalities?  Will we dance in the rain as we work to improve our environment or hide under an umbrella?