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Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead, But Gutsy Girls do...
The Big Sister's Guide to the World of Work
Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office
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"I Had No Fear. I
still Don't."
by Linda Spradley Dunn -
WorkingWomen2000.com
Linda
Spradley Dunn speaks about strong ideas in a
powerful voice and she
never, ever minces words. This time she is talking about women of color
in corporate America. "There is a particular issue with women of color
in corporate America. And it does add to our impatience, because when
you're trying to change corporate culture, you are also trying to change
a microcosm of society's attitudes on race. That can be very
frustrating."
Linda grew up in a large, extended family in West Palm Beach, Florida, a
close-knit environment that shaped and sheltered her. She was the oldest
of five children and the first of thirty-nine grandchildren. Her mother,
an ordained AME minister, taught Linda and everyone else in the family
that they had an obligation to give back to the community. Almost
everyone in the family was a teacher, a nurse, a minister, or in the
military.
 "Both my grandmothers were domestic workers—working women. In my
community every woman worked. There was no discussion about work/life
balance. When I started my company, IDAMAR Enterprises, I named it
after my grandmothers, to honor and remember them. They taught me the
basics of right and wrong. One grandmother said, 'At the end of the day,
look into the mirror, Linda, and what you see is your SELF. That's who
you have to be true to.'"
"We were lucky to grow up in West Palm Beach. We were the first
generation of kids to go to integrated schools. I can remember, though,
going to Georgia and spending the summer with my grandfather. One day I
was selling watermelons at his little roadside stand (even then I could
sell my butt off!). I was selling two-for-one—barking out a bargain.
Suddenly a rough white man came over and shouted at me, 'Hey, colored
girl!' I looked at him seriously and said confidently, 'That is
incorrect!' My grandfather admitted to me years later that he was afraid
I was going to get his house burned down that summer. I had no fear, I
still don't." 
Linda spent two years at Randolph Macon Women's College in Lynchburg,
Virginia on a scholarship. There were only eight other women of color on
the campus. During those years she learned a lot about how to deal with
stereotyping and discrimination. She had learned her public speaking and
debating skills in high school.
Linda finished her degree at George Washington University in Washington,
DC, which she says was like making a 180-degree turn. "Black mayor,
Black businesses, Black city." IBM asked her to work for them while she
was still in school and involved her in a prestigious sales training
program. "They polished and stroked me. It was the kind of program that
helps employees become their best. I was mentored by outstanding people,
many of them white men.
"I stayed at IBM 12 years. I believed I would shatter the ceiling. But
you know something? It is easier to believe that before you start
kicking at the door and getting your leg hurt. I looked around and there
were very few black executives. In the twelfth year I said to myself,
Can you become president? I knew the answer was no."
Things are looking really good for Linda. Since leaving IBM, she has
started her own company, IDAMAR Enterprises, consultants in managed
health care, and has already booked $4.2 million. Last June she was
married in Bermuda. She and her husband are looking forward to starting
a family. "I still worry that our daughter will have to fight against
the barriers of gender and race. I worry that affirmative action will be
eliminated. I worry about what will happen if the economy cools. Will
all the progress and promise disappear?"
"I think a lot about Tiger Woods. He is so good, such a talented
athlete, but he still can't get a cab in New York City."
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