(part of an infinite stories’ series)
A father of 4-year little girl asked her to select a toy
The girl looked around and said “I want an action GI Joe doll”
She starts to reach for the toy in the aisle, but a woman clerk walked by and tells her “Oh, you don’t want this, that’s a boy’s toy”
Over-hearing the conversation, the father gets furious runs towards his daughter and tells “my dear, you can absolutely have a GI Joe doll”
She turns to her father and says “I don’t want this. It’s a boy’s toy”
And that’s how a mark of difference was etched in a little impressionable human mind
Similarly, how many times unknowingly (or knowingly) we impose our stereotypes by gender, race, and authority on people around us who are trying to be a little different from than norm
Don’t be that clerk!
#breakthebias2022 #inclusiveleadership #yesshecan