12. Carolyn Hardy | What Racism Feels Like in the Workplace and Why Corporate Diversity Programs Can Lack Follow Through

My guest this week is entrepreneur Carolyn Hardy. The first episode I released for this podcast was with Carolyn, and that episode is one of the most downloaded podcast episodes to date. If you listened to episode 1, you will hear how Carolyn said that her purpose has now shifted to help open more doors that should have been opened by now. I felt it was best to have a second conversation to understand better what she was saying in detail. Thankfully, Carolyn agreed to have this conversation. This episode is a straightforward conversation in which Carolyn discusses the racial challenges that she encountered throughout her educational and professional career, the lack of follow-through or lip service that can occur with corporate diversity initiatives, what needs to change to make them effective, and more. This episode challenged me to think about my own mental frameworks and the difficulty that certain people have to endure to advance forward. 2:38 Target on your back 2:50 Don't give people ammo 5:02 Don't let someone run you out 5:26 Forced to be perfect 7:45 Who don't you leave? 10:02 Someone you would hate to lose 11:04 Mindset 17:50 Don't let them get in your head 21:16 Always doing business a certain way 26:00 Gatekeeper 26:50 Skilled workforce 29:31 Education 30:25 Equal Opportunity 30:33 No Lip-service 31:34 Starts at the top 33:28 Diversity on corporate boards 38:05 Why do we keep doing the same thing over and over again 41:08 What creates sustainability 45:58 Smile, shake hands, then be sent to the gatekeeper 46:20 Life is too short 47:12 You can't take it personally This episode is brought to you by Matt Haaga with State Farm Insurance.  Call Matt today at 901-443-4655, or email Matt at [email protected] to see how he can help with your auto, home, renter's, business, and life insurance needs. Matt is licensed in the states of TN and MS.