In a recent article within Essence Magazine (November, 2013) titled, “How to Fight Bullying at Work” the discussion is centered around the handling of situations when you are bullied in the workplace. I would like to extend this discussion to situations when women are bullied in business and as entrepreneurs. The article states “workplace bullying is repeated mistreatment that interferes with or sabotages your work”. I also noted the recent situation of hostile work environment claims reported to be more pronounced with minority women, within the City of Detroit by the current CFO. http://on.freep.com/19xNJWN
Based upon my discussions with other entrepreneurs over the years and my own engineering consulting business encounters, discrimination and bullying can come in many forms, including a few of the following that I have experienced:
1. Blacklisting of my company by client from obtaining contract assignments and conducting a bogus audit going back more than 10 years.
2. Not allowing my input to evaluations for subconsultants that I had hired for project assignments and later realizing the reason was to provide my company with evaluations lower than my subconsultants – client would not allow me to view subconsultant evaluations without my application of a Freedom of Information request.
3. Denial of meetings to discuss issues of relevance to contract assignments when other consultants were openly accepted for numerous meeting opportunities.
4. Indication of my project proposals being given to competitors by client representatives.
5. Refusal of my company to participate in kickbacks or “gifts” to individuals amidst evidence of wrongdoing of client representatives. My company not being selected for contract assignments because I was not a willing participant in these types of activities.
6. Denial of allowing persons to be trained within my company to work on relevant projects, even though the offer was at no charge to the client and the expertise was necessary.
7. Alienating and slanderous comments by client representatives against my company.
8. Inferior evaluations being given with the purpose of eliminating my company from the competition. There was a sentiment (and actual statements) toward me and my company that “No Woman Should be Making That Kind of Money”. This sentiment still existed even in light of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the salaries and revenue of some majority owned firms exceeding in one year, what my company revenue was for 10 years.
9. Changing of consensus scores of my winning proposal(s) with project managers’ sentiment of hate by using statements such as “I Hate Her”, referring to me/my company.
10. Disparate treatment of my company versus other companies, including another company being allowed to have staff “loaned” to her by a majority company to spend her budget (a violation of the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program), even though my company had legitimate staff (including City of Detroit residents) available to work on the same project.
One of the major points in the Essence article details “The Best Tactics for Black Women to Fight Back”, which states: “Document, document, document”. The Essence article defines discrimination as “mistreatment based on your race, gender, age, disability, religion or sexual orientation.”
In 2011 after a Federal Investigation (started in 2010) completed by the Federal Highway Administration regarding compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the findings confirmed evidence of disparate treatment towards me and my company. In the case of BBF Engineering Services et al. vs MDOT et. al., considering the overwhelming documentation and evidence, the opinion of Judge Nancy Edmunds of the US District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, is difficult to digest. The case is currently in the US Court of Appeals.
BBFES_OpinionSummary-08-19-13 BBFES_FHWA.MDOT_2011 ReportResponse_Brief-BBF_vs_MDOT
2013 Michigan Citizen Article: http://bit.ly/1cM9FCx
To counteract and better state your case of career or business bullying, I suggest the following:
1. Do Your Research – Know Your Rights That Apply to Your Situation.
2. Maintain documentation about your situation and what is occurring to you and/or your company.
3. Make attempts to discuss the issues with the officials in charge. Clearly state your case and the instances of bullying and/or discrimination. Attempt to come to a resolution of the issues.
4. If there is no desire from the client/supervisor to resolve your issues, consult an attorney or local bar association to determine your options. In your discussions, request information about pro-bono assistance.
5. Stand Up For Your Life. Don’t Give Up On Your Rights!
