The Freedom to Be Who I Am

Diversity is a subject that means a lot to me, and one on which I've been active within IBM and at HENAAC - the Hispanic Engineer's National Achievement Award Conference.  I am proud of IBM's diversity programs in the workplace, and those of many other companies, which focus on making sure that women and members of under-represented minorities feel welcomed and valued, and are given every opportunity to advance in their careers.  I strongly support efforts to promote the value of education in general and more specifically, careers in science, engineering and technology to girls and young women, blacks, Hispanics and native Americans working closely with groups like NACME and HENAAC. And I'm thankful that the US and many other societies have not only enacted laws forbidding discrimination but have truly become much more accepting of different groups.
   
But, as an excellent article in the January 15 issue of the New York Times Magazine makes clear, this progress on legal equality cannot mark the end of our efforts -- or our learning.  The article,  "The Pressure to Cover" was written by Kenji Yoshino, professor of law and deputy dean for intellectual life at Yale Law School.  (Warning: the New York Times charges $3.95 to access this article online unless you subscribe to Times Select.)  It is based on his recently published book, Covering - The Hidden Assault on our Civil Rights.  Kenji Yoshino is a gay professor of constitutional law, and a major part of the article's appeal is that it reflects both his personal experiences and his legal expertise. 

I had never heard of the concept "Covering" before.  In the book's website Yoshino writes: "'Covering' is sociologist Erving Goffman’s term for how we try to 'tone down' stigmatized identities, even when those identities are known to the world."  In other words, "Covering" is the pressure we all feel to assimilate to norms established by the dominant groups in society and its institutions like the workplace and universities, in order to fit in.  In the article and website Yoshino gives concrete examples of covering in a variety of situations:  "non-whites" feeling the pressure to act white by modulating their behavior; women executives and professors feeling that they should avoid references to their children at work lest they appear stereotypically feminine; gays feeling that they need to hide their partners from colleagues; religious Jews feeling that they should not appear too Jewish, such as by wearing yarmulkes at work; and people with disabilities feeling they need to hide those disabilities to demonstrate that they can be good workers.    

The pressure to assimilate is very different from discrimination.  As mentioned above, civil rights laws in the US and many countries now prohibit discrimination against women and a number of minority groups.  Yoshino discusses several legal cases in which members of such legally protected groups went to the courts to contest situations were they felt that they were asked to "cover," that is, to assimilate, such as a black woman being fired for wearing her hair in cornrows, an Orthodox Jewish Air Force officer who refused to remove his yarmulke indoors, and a lesbian attorney not being offered a job for having had a same-sex religious commitment ceremony with a domestic partner.  They all lost their cases.  He observes that: "When dominant groups ask subordinated groups to cover, they are asking them to be small in the world, to forgo prerogatives that the dominant group has and therefore to forgo equality. If courts make critical goods like employment dependent on covering, they are legitimizing second-class citizenship for the subordinated group. In doing so, they are failing to vindicate the promise of civil rights."

Yoshino points out that the covering demand is where many forms of inequality continue to have life and that we therefore need to adapt "the aspirations of the civil rights movement to an increasingly pluralistic society," which he labels "the new civil rights."  But ultimately, he believes that "law will play a relatively small part in the new civil rights."  First of all, "The new civil rights begins with the observation that everyone covers."  He writes that when he lectures on covering, angry straight white men often argue with him that covering is not a civil rights issue at all.  "After all, the questioner says, I have to cover all the time. I have to mute my depression, or my obesity, or my alcoholism, or my shyness, or my working-class background or my nameless anomie. I, too, am one of the mass of men leading lives of quiet desperation. Why should legally protected groups have a right to self-expression I do not? Why should my struggle for an authentic self matter less?" 

"I surprise these individuals when I agree," he then says, and later in the article adds " . . . many covering demands are made by actors the law does not -- and in my view should not -- hold accountable, like friends, family, neighbors, the 'culture' or individuals themselves. When I think of the covering demands I have experienced, I can trace many of them only to my own censorious consciousness. And while I am often tempted to sue myself, I recognize this is not my healthiest impulse." 

Professor Yoshino advocates that ultimately the tensions between the pressures to assimilate and conform and our desires for individual identity and self-expression should be resolved in conversations outside courtrooms - " in public squares and prayer circles, in workplaces and on playgrounds. They should occur informally and intimately, in the everyday places where tolerance is made and unmade."  He concludes "This just brings home to me that the only right I have wanted with any consistency is the freedom to be who I am." 

The freedom to be who I am.  I can't remember when I last encountered words that so succinctly captured our deepest aspirations.

Comments

[Dan McGrath]

Good thoughts, Irving. "Covering" was a new term to me as well, though the behavior is certainly familiar. Professor Yoshino seems to be stressing one view: covering as an artifice that conceals who we really are and betrays one's authentic self. Not good, if we're to celebrate diversity and full expression, as we surely should.

But I think we also temper our personal egos -- "cover" if you will -- in the interest of everyday civility and to open ourselves to learning from others. We cover to connect and to collaborate, not only to conceal. That's good, too.

If I envision an underlying, authentic self, I yearn for the freedom to be who I am. But if I envison a changing and growing self, then I yearn for the freedom to become something more. I temper my ego so I can connect, collaborate and learn from others. Covering becomes uncovering -- a way of opening myself to change. I'm sure there's merit in both perspectives.

[Greg Szczotka]

A very good articles along with "Some thoughts on digital convergence"
Greetings from Poland,
Greg

[Bernard Paquette]

Thank You for the article; "The Freedom to Be Who I Am". The discussion on "Covering" expanded my view and offered me a wider scope of what consititues individual differences. This (article)helps me find ways to move from a view of tolerance to acceptance, and from recognition to empathy, from understanding to experiencing.
I am currently enrolled in a Theater class (Acting)- a bit of a stretch for me as a Business Administration degree student. This class is also helping me study personalities and situations different than I would normally percieve or live. By analyzing personalities, human behavior, and situations where individuals feel forced to "cover", I better understand how my behavior can impact others who may have different 'identitys' than me. Through a sort of self-acutalization, I am attempting to learn how to feel the identity others have- a sort of being in their shoes.
I to am looking for ways I too can connect, collaborate, and learn from others.
Like a business, I personally want to take full advantage of the vast variety of 'identities' of all the people whom I come in contact. I want to be sure I don't intentionally or unintentionally turn others off and have them hide their differences from me. I not only want to see the differences in others but I also want to try thinking and being like them for at least a short time as a way of learning and growing and expanding my personal flex-ability-a sort of blending of who I am.

I enjoy the freedom to be who I am. I especially yearn to learn to blend who I am with others who are differnt than me, to broaden my experience, scope, and way of thinking.
Thank You again for the article which helps bring the diversity discussion to a detailed and personal level of disucssion.

[Troy Masters]

Who at IBM would I speak to regarding GLBT diversity issues?

http://www.communitymediallc.com/gaycityguide/

Troy Masters
P

[Troy Masters]

Who at IBM would I speak to regarding GLBT diversity issues?

http://www.communitymediallc.com/gaycityguide/

Troy Masters
P

[Chellakanu T. Rajagopal]

Dear Dr. Irving Wladawsky-Berger,

I was directed to yr blog by a chap who responded to my email to [email protected]. Could u please, please read the appended emails, and tell me what IBM email i should send my complain to to get positive action taken.

Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2007 12:18:49 -0600

Dear Vikram Acharya1,

Thats a cool blog, but it does not look like the direct & official route for my complaint to be investigated.

Please route my complaint to the Department in IBM USA which will arrange for a neutral fair Investigator to (fly to Malaysia, if need be) to get to the bottom of the disgusting situation here (and in Singapore too).
The Investigator would probably be from HR or "Risks" department (thats what another MNC calls it when employees are abusing their rights for their personal agenda, since this is a Risk to the MNC).

Two other American MNC have reacted affirmatively, one replaced the discriminating Chinese CEO and the new CEO took me for lunch at the Hilton Hotel. Another MNC belatedly gave me the System Engineer Certification which was crookedly withheld by the Chinese-management for almost 5-years !!

Smaller companies in Malaysia & Singapore continue to cheat, bully and torment ethnic-Indians & other minorities; but I really don't have the time to go after these people. Audit-trails and evidence are difficult to prove; and cover-ups are frequent.

Summary: send this complaint to Group HR, IBM USA.

LY...

Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2007 12:18:49 -0600 From: [email protected]

Dear Thomas, Thank you for contacting IBM. We are in receipt of your e-mail regarding Racial discrimination. We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. For further assistance please visit the below given link to submit your complaint; http://irvingwb.typepad.com/blog/2006/02/the_freedom_to_.html

Thank you for visiting our site and contacting IBM. Vikram Acharya1 Electronic Response Center CALLOWN Log Number: 4134623

Racial discrimination in IBM-Malaysia & Singapore. Re: IBM`s Reply...Log number 3653554

Dear IBM USA,

As per email appended, your people have not kept their promise to respond to my email in a timely manner (two years gone !!).

Do not make the mistake of asking Singapore (or Malaysia) IBM-office to investigate, since there is a massive conspiracy by the ethnic Chinese in Malaysia & Singapore to racially discriminate against the ethnic-Indians (and Malays, but because of their political-strength in Malaysia, the Malays still get a significant number of jobs in IBM-Malaysia).

This type of racial-discrimination and blatant cheating & manipulation by the Chinese-ethnic IBM employees is not limited to IBM only; but a huge portion (I guess 99%) of both local and Multi-National-Companies have this disease.

If IBM does not strictly hire on merit, then you are having many fraudulent Chinese-ethnic IBM employees in Malaysia & Singapore; and the performance of IBM there will sky-rocket if you audit and fix the work-place racial-harassment and hiring-promotion-and firing manipulation by these Chinese-ethnic IBM employees in Malaysia & Singapore.

As an example, I have successfully got two big American MNCs to investigate and take corrective affirmative-action of blatant racial-discrimination against ethnic-Indians by their Malaysian Senior-Management.

As someone who had the pleasure of working along real nice American IBMers (like Larry Shaeffer of Atlanta; Marshal Childs, etc.) at IBM-APG, Tokyo Japan 1989-1990 on an International-Exchange-Programme; I find the going-ons in IBM-Malaysia (esp., leaking the Aptitude test to fellow ethnic-Chinese) is a shameful disgrace to the entire IBM Corporation Worldwide.

Sincerely,
Mr.Chellakanu T.Rajagopal
[email protected]
Mobiles +60-13-3305432, +60-16-6345285

"IT Job Applicant. Kuala Lumpur" wrote:
From IT Job Applicant. Kuala Lumpur Fri Nov 4 03:46:42 2005
Received: from [219.95.63.110] by web33603.mail.mud.yahoo.com via HTTP; Fri, 04 Nov 2005 03:46:42 PST
Date: Fri, 4 Nov 2005 03:46:42 -0800 (PST)
From: "IT Job Applicant. Kuala Lumpur"
Reply-to: [email protected]
Subject: Re: IBM`s Reply...Log number 3653554
To: ERC Feedback
In-Reply-To:
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="0-391769900-1131104802=:77956"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Content-Length: 5956

Dear Electronic Response Center,
Nobody has contacted me to follow on this.
Could you kindly chase your contacts.
Sincerely,
Mr.Chellakanu T. Rajagopal
Mobile +60-13-3305432

ERC Feedback wrote:

Dear Mr. Raja,

Thank you for contacting IBM.

We are in receipt of your e-mail regarding the employment.

We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you in this regard.

We have forwarded your feedback to the appropriate contacts
within IBM for further review.

Thank you for visiting our site and contacting IBM.

Regards,
Electronic Response Center
ERC Feedback Focal
IBM.com, Americas
[email protected]

Cheated of employment by IBM Malaysia in June 1990.

Dear respected Sir / Maam,

I was cheated of employment by IBM Malaysia in June 1990.

I was a exchange-trainee at IBM APG, Tokyo Japan Apr 1989-1990.
Here I bumped into Mr. K.B. Low, CEO, and Mr. Rosli (not sure of the name) VP IBM-Malaysia.

Mr. K.B. Low arranged for me to be interviewed (position: Marketing Executive) when I returned to
Kuala Lumpur at the end of my traineeship.

I was later informed by letter that I failed the Aptitude Test (pattern recognition, IQ test).

I told my plight to many people, and one ex-student of TAR College told me that
IBM Malaysia is internally controlled by TAR College graduates. Some of them work in the HR Department,
and leaked the Apptitude Test to all TAR College students. Thus it is easy for them to pass the rigged test !

This ex-student, permitted me to make a photocopy of this multipage Aptitude Test (marked Private & Confidential,
IBM Internal Use Only). I phoned the IBM-Malaysia HR Department, but they refused to investigate the Cheating, or
employ me.

I am a underprivileged Minority in Malaysia. There is no affirmative action practiced here. I suspect there is an
element of Discrimination in this case.

Please investigate.

Sincerely,
Mr.Thomas Raja
Kuala Lumpur

[Gary Salles]

Irving - from invited participant in two IBM Global GLBT Leadership Conferences to victim of internalized homophobia from a Jamaican manager, I am exceptionally disappointed to see the dwindling emphasis on GLBT equality and programs, as witnessed on the IBM diversity web and the meager two awards in 2007.

From a leader a few years ago, complacency has become the norm and if today's 1st line managers have their way, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," will be the new business model in practice.

I enjoyed meeting you at the conference. Hopefully you might see fit to look into the realities of life in IBM's call centers for GLBT employees. It's really horrible to see how far back IBM has regressed.

Thank you.
Gary Salles

[generic propecia]

i like this part of the blog:""I surprise these individuals when I agree," he then says, and later in the article adds " . . . many covering demands are made by actors the law does not -- and in my view should not -- hold accountable, like friends, family, neighbors, the 'culture' or individuals themselves. When I think of the covering demands I have experienced, I can trace many of them only to my own censorious consciousness. And while I am often tempted to sue myself, I recognize this is not my healthiest impulse." " is very good