One Author's Advice On How Women Of Color Can Secure A Seat At The Table

Shirley Chisholm shattered the glass ceiling in 1968 when she became the first black woman elected to Congress.

Chisholm famously said, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”

Decades later, it turns out that’s still easier said than done.

Author Minda Harts was searching for tips in Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In” — a book that quickly became a holy grail of sorts for women in the workplace. She says Sandberg’s book didn’t address many issues she faces as a working woman of color.

“I didn’t see myself as a black woman or a woman of color in the book,” Harts says. “I felt that it’s hard to ‘lean in’ when you’re not even in the room.”

Women, especially women of color, are underrepresented in management and board positions in the workplace. Harts wanted to create a roadmap containing actionable tips specifically for black and brown women looking to break the “black ceiling.”

Her guide, called “The Memo: What Women of Color Need To Know To Secure A Seat At The Table,” is a straight-forward look at what many women of color experience while developing their careers — bias, microaggressions and the consequences of white privilege.

“What I found and what statistics have shown is black women, we ascend to a certain point and then it tends to be middle management and that’s as far as