Non-White Women Are More Likely to Want to Step Up Their Careers…

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Good morning, Broadsheet readers! NBC News employees unionize amid sexual harassment sagas, the employee behind the memo about pregnancy discrimination at Google speaks out, and new poll looks at what affects women’s career ambition. Have a spooky Thursday.

EVERYONE'S TALKING

- One size does not fit all. In general, the results of a new poll published on the Morning Consult website are grimly familiar. A host of questions attempt to tease apart the different ways men and women think about themselves, their ambitions, and the workplace. The poll finds—surprise!—that men are less likely to believe that "female leaders are less likely to recover professionally from mistakes or failures than their male peers" or that "most women don't have the support at home that would allow them to focus on taking their career to the next level." The poll also reveals that life changes like having kids are more likely to make women—but not men—say they want to take a step back in their careers. Important, yes, but not exactly something we haven't heard before.

But there is one section that caught my eye. In one question, the poll goes beyond filtering respondents by gender, breaking down female participants into white and non-white. Again, it asks women about life changes—like having children, getting married, having to care for a family member, and having kids reach financial independence—and whether that change would make them want to take a step back in their career or push it to the next level. In every single one of the 11 categories, non-white women were more likely to say that the shift would motivate them to step it up, rather than back, at work.

What's driving that disparity? Kim Keating, a board member of Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In organization and chief HR officer for The Y in Central Maryland, offered one possibility, telling Morning Consult: “Oftentimes, women of color have fewer resources and don’t have the option of stepping back." At the same time, non-white women's ambition to advance in their careers comes despite the fact that they face more hurdles than their white counterparts when it comes to pay and promotions. The differing responses are a vital reminder that while some women can choose to pull back at work, that privilege is far from universal.

Too often, workplace data lumps all women together, failing to give us a real window into the vast range of our experiences (or worse, making white women the default setting). So, let's hope we see more work like this that attempts to paint a fuller picture—and catches the attention of even jaded poll readers like me.

Kristen Bellstrom
[email protected]
@kayelbee

ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

- #MeToo and media. Spurred to action by their employer's handling of sexual harassment within its own ranks, digital journalists at NBC News formed a union. Journalist Alan Sepinwall asked creator of The Wire David Simon about his choice to employ James Franco, accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women, on his HBO show The Deuce; the conversation got tense and is worth reading. And writer Nell Scovell, who 10 years ago wrote an article criticizing her former boss David Letterman for "sexual favoritism" in his workplace, sat down with Letterman recently. Letterman says: "I don’t want to be that guy. I’m not that guy now. I was that guy then."

- From memo to action. Fast Company spoke to Chelsey Glasson, revealed as the Google employee who wrote an anonymous viral memo sharing her experience with pregnancy discrimination at the company. Glasson has filed a complaint with the EEOC and is working with Washington state senator Karen Keiser on legislation that extends the statute of limitations for reporting pregnancy discrimination. Glasson shares the timeline of how things went wrong at Google. (Google declined to comment.) Fast Company

- Standing down. A few high-profile female MPs are standing down before the U.K.'s next election. Former Home and Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd will not serve as MP again; the same goes for Lib Dem MP Heidi Allen, who cited "nastiness and intimidation" that came with the job. More women are among the members standing down, listed by BBC here.

- Susie and Su. Coins2Day's Susie Gharib sits down with Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su. Su is looking ahead to 2025—the year that will mark her 10th as CEO. Watch here: Coins2Day

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Ann Marinovich of inPowered joins Time as VP, partnerships for the West Coast and Midwest regions. Adjust hired Isabel Ferreira as sales director. SeatGeek's Jennifer Ogden-Reese joins 2U as CMO. Vertical Brands hired Cynthia Cleveland as president.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

- Pay up. Broker Christine Carona won a $1.5 million award in arbitration over gender discrimination at UBS. The ruling determined that UBS and Carona's former boss James Ducey hurt her career through discrimination and retaliation. Examples included: making comments about her personal life in front of staff, barring Carona and other women from displaying their status as "Forbes Top 200 Female Financial Advisors" in their email signatures while letting men list similar accomplishments, and failing to provide Carona with adequate support for her business. She is now an SVP at Morgan Stanley. Bloomberg

- School takeover. Public schools in Rhode Island are in crisis, and Governor Gina Raimondo is taking over the schools in Providence for at least five years. She explains the risky move: "We have to go big here. These kids have been left behind too far for too long." The Atlantic

- Steinem says. Gloria Steinem gives an interview, ahead of the publication of a new book of quotes, about ambition and work. Read her always-inspiring thoughts here: The Cut

- Literary legacy. Jung Chang was one of the pioneering writers chronicling modern China, in large part, for readers in the West. The legendary author has a new book out, and talks about her experience abroad and about visiting China. (She was, at one time, banned from the country for her work.) "Writing was the most dangerous profession," Chang says. The Atlantic

Today's Broadsheet was produced by Emma Hinchliffe. Share it with a friend. Looking for previous Broadsheets? Click here.