Navigating Harmful Workplaces: Black and racialized Women’s Networking Event

I was invited to be a Panelist at Queens Connected “Navigating Harmful Workplaces: Black and racialized Women’s Networking” Event. Their mission is to curate spaces for Black and racialized women to gather, celebrate, unpack, and heal in community from the experiences of racism, discrimination, and erasure we face on a daily basis.

The event was taking place in Ottawa so I decided to take my first solo road trip and drive myself to the venue. I arrived early to give myself some time to gather my thoughts and center myself. The evening started with a networking portion that helped calm my nerves and allowed all the women in the room to get familiar with each other. Once the panelists were called to the front, I glanced at the room and saw all the beautiful women that looked just like me and I suddenly felt at ease. I was there to share my experiences with women who most likely lived through many similar ones. Sitting there and talking about my career made me realize just how harmful my journey has been as a black woman navigating the workplace in Quebec. As a Haitian woman, I was taught by my parents to do my work without complaint and to keep pushing which is what I had done for years. I never took the time to identify the micro-aggression, macro-aggression or even blatant racism endured throughout the years! That’s until I left the 9 to 5 to start my own company. 

Exchanging with these women brought me to see how impactful the work we do every day at Cachet is. Our team, our clients, our community! We are constantly on the go and it's not often that we take the time to see how far we’ve come. I am able to show up as myself, work on projects that are breaking barriers, help clients shatter glass ceilings and mentor other women to be confident and take risks. All in all, I am grateful for the invitation to be a part of this remarkable brochette of panelists but mostly for my journey and where it has brought me.

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Written by: Jessica Frédérique