Your seat, or mine?!

Why in the 21^st century, on an education based around equality and tolerance, should I face a boardroom environment where my appearance affects the power and effect of my statement. In a world of equality, why should this still be something needed to discuss.

“Everytime I board (business class), it’s like, “oh, are you sitting in the right seat?” I make sure to keep my boarding pass out just in case somebody has a question”.

Imagine feeling this way every time you board a plane, because this is exactly how Bozoma Saint John felt.

Bozoma Saint John is an American Businesswoman and is currently the Chief Marketing officer for Endeavour. Previously she was the Chief Brand officer at Uber.

There is so much wrong with Saint John’s words and it just shows diversity is still not at the point it should be in the 21st century.

Saint John can’t help but feel “she should be seen just for what she does and forget the labels” but she feels “that’s not possible today”.  It’s not just Saint John that feels this way either. Other high profile CEOS who are also viewed as being diverse feel the same. Such as Ajay Banga, CEO of Mastercard, has felt different from other people in the room or business over a hundred times.

I view diversity as something very important and an issue that still needs to be addressed. Diversity should be a priority in businesses around the world so they can grow and become more productive due to a wider range of backgrounds and ideas.

Diversity has increased massively in the last decade with companies striving for it in the workplace. Companies such as Google are trying hard to increase the diversity and inclusion within the company. However, is this enough?

#Jeffreysjourney #plane #diversity #business #culture #change #internationalBusiness #BozomaSaintJohn #AjayBanga