Rashida Thomas on discrimination
From {Self-eSTEM} The Human Behind the Leader - Limited Series - Featuring Rashida Hodge - Segment 1 of 3 · · Self-eSTEM, Inc.
“When I was interviewing for an internship, an interviewer mocked me and said I can't understand what you're saying and asked if I swam here from the Virgin Islands with the sharks.”
On , Rashida Thomas, Chief Diversity Officer & Director of Talent Management at LEAR CORP, spoke about discrimination during {Self-eSTEM} The Human Behind the Leader - Limited Series - Featuring Rashida Hodge - Segment 1 of 3 on Self-eSTEM, Inc..
About Rashida Thomas
Rashida Thomas, Chief Diversity Officer and Director of Talent Management at Lear, has described her role as ensuring that the company's workforce reflects the community it serves. In a 2018 company video, she stated that her responsibility is to make sure "the footprint and the faces at Lear represent the community" and that the organization hires the best people to deliver the best products. She also said she was looking for a workplace where she could make an impact and be valued. In a 2022 interview with Self-eSTEM, Thomas recounted experiences of discrimination, including an internship interviewer who she said mocked her accent and asked if she "swam here from the Virgin Islands." She said she later practiced to "camouflage" her accent and re-interviewed with the same person, who then called her impressive. Thomas also stated that she has been underestimated due to being Black, a woman, and looking young, and that a client once assumed she was not the executive. She attributed her perseverance to her mother's teaching that "you should never be defined by someone else."