Feeling excluded as an underrepresented minority

- Starting a new job can be one of the most exciting feelings. We're in a new role, working with a new team, and we are feeling confident in the positive impact we can make. But despite having all the right intentions, we may, from time to time, feel excluded from our team. Some of this may manifest in feeling ignored or dismissed. It's especially painful when we feel like we have spoken up, shared our idea, to only be left in silence. I get it. As an introvert, an Asian American, and a woman, I have had firsthand experience of feeling excluded in the workplace too. Whether it was intentional or not, it is a painful feeling, and it can impact the energy needed to do great work. In fact, I can recall one story where this feeling of not being seen came to light. This happened early on in my career as a broadcast TV journalist. One morning, as I was sitting in our morning editorial meeting where reporters and producers talk about the top stories of the day, my boss shared that there was a big event coming into town in two weeks. Instantly, I raised my hand to let my manager know I would love to cover this story. I remember, my manager looked up, nodded, and said, got it. We'll be sure to get you a media pass. Over the next two weeks, I was thrilled. I thought about how I would cover the story, and I was so excited. Finally, the day before the event came, and as we were sitting in our editorial meeting reviewing what was going to happen, my boss announced that my colleague was going to be doing the story. Instantly, my heart sank to my stomach, and my mind raced with questions. Did he forget? Did something happen? Did I do something wrong? After the meeting, I walked up to my manager and asked what happened? In an instant, he turned to me with a surprised look, and said, he completely forgot that I wanted to do it, and that my colleague, who was talking about it nonstop, was, well, top of mind. In that instant, I felt a wave of emotions, ranging from disappointment to feeling utterly invisible. Truth was, during those two weeks, I did wonder, should I remind my boss of my interest? Should I follow up? But the reality was because I didn't know what to do or what to say, I simply did nothing. I felt stuck. However, it hit me in that moment that if I couldn't figure out how to speak up for myself and my ideas, there would be more moments where I would be passed over, perhaps even excluded because I didn't know what to do or say. Now, I share this story because, as a minority in the workplace, I can say it is incredibly important to figure out how to speak up. At the same time, as an underrepresented minority, I acknowledge, it can also feel incredibly challenging to do so. But the key to speaking up is doing it with tact. We can't expect others to always keep us top of mind, but being noticed at work is incredibly important. If you've ever felt excluded, invisible, or ignored in the workplace, I'm here to say, you're not alone. In the end, learning how to communicate clearly and confidently is one of the most important skills to getting noticed at work.