What’s It Like To Be A Black Woman In Corporate America? Here’s One Inspiring Story

Being a Black woman in corporate America — especially in the tech field — can often be an isolating experience, battling a mound of systemic discrimination that can make career advancement feel elusive. Despite pledges of racial equity from many corporations in recent years, Black women are still statistically more likely to face discrimination and microaggressions at work, as well as be offered less mentorship opportunities for growth. 

But Tiffany West Polk, a Black female managing director in technology at JPMorgan — one of the highest job levels at the firm — imagines a future in which women of color are prevalent in the tech field. “Tech is where the future is. I would hope for a Harlem Renaissance type of influx of Black and brown people in technology," the head of technology (CTO) for Corporate Responsibility and Morgan Health tells Refinery29. "If I could make technology like what jazz music was in the '40s, that would be my dream."

And she's leading by example, participating in programs and mentoring others in much the same way she found mentors at JPMorgan Chase — a company that's committed to diversifying the technology field through internal mentorship programs and expanding opportunities for inclusive growth through tech equity investments.

Growing up in Texas — in both metropolitan Dallas and her family’s hometown of Elkhart in rural east Texas, where she graduated high school — Polk saw firsthand how the legacy of chattel slavery impacted Black people today. “The South could be a different country. The Civil War didn't end in two separate countries. But somehow it still did,” she says. “I have at least three great-uncles who were lynched. That's such a common part of our history.” 

As a Black female executive, Polk has always prioritized pride in herself and her identity. She got locs when she was 25, which she says was a “conscious decision that put me out of step with other Black female executives.” But for Polk, authenticity is key. “We have been sold that the prize is assimilation," she says. "We think our freedom is in the eye of the beholder. But we should not hinge our soul or identity on mainstream acceptance." Keep reading to learn more about Polk's impact at JPMorgan Chase, her advice for Black women starting out in tech, and how she practices self-care.

How did growing up in Texas shape you?
"I'm still friends with some of my high school teachers who were so excited to support me. But I was also exoticized and othered, so I never felt part of the community. It's a complicated social fabric — the realities of large groups of people growing up in systematic underrepresentation and discrimination, and the ways that systemic oppression falls differently on different people. I think we've been taught a 'crabs in a barrel' mentality: 'There can't be but a couple of us that get out. And if you get out, that means I don't.'"

When customers walk into a physical bank or interact with Chase over the banking app how does your work in tech impact the customer experience?
"I ran all of storage for the entire firm — the storage that runs all of our applications and all of our backups. It's basically the notion that your information, your privacy, your data — everything is stored somewhere. So if you're able to retrieve your statement on your phone, it's because my team's working on that. When I ran the technology for retail branches, it was my team that put tablets in the branch, so when a banker came up to you they could help you there instead of you having to wait in line. My team built the operating system inside the ATMs — updated, maintained, and refreshed them over time. The fact that most of our customers feel like their experience with Chase is so optimal is a testament to not only my team, but all the teams I have to work with in order to make that happen."

How have you managed to find such success in this field despite some of the challenges you’ve mentioned that women — and women of color — are facing at work? 
"In short, my approach to success in technology is grounded in the principle that the bias I face being a Black woman is their problem, not mine. The work comes in when you devise and implement tactics and repeatable methods for day-in, day-out interaction. 

"First, I always have been maniacally focused on making my numbers. If there aren’t defined numbers, I define them and then hit them out of the park. You have to be a winner to have the space to dictate terms. Secondly, I try to always use humor or other disarming techniques to call out bias or other behavior that I feel needs confronting. I try to never sacrifice the relationship nor do I value belittling someone over winning hearts and minds. You are never going to only work with people who 100% share your world view. At work, choosing being effective over being right or righteous is often an under-appreciated nuance. Finally, I have decided it’s on me to be a student of people. I don’t expect people to be what I want them to be. I expect myself to understand who they are and what motivates them. This allows me to mitigate feelings of powerlessness and remain focused on finding the seam or gap that gives me an opening to gain what I want or need to drive the outcome I seek.

"JPMorgan Chase has been really committed to diversity, and they have put the effort and money into their commitment. I've been in formal programs (like Tech Exec Leadership Program and Women's Sponsorship Program) that are absolutely essential. The difficulty in tech is always retention, not recruiting. Retention is a deeper, more complicated cultural issue. Retaining at scale requires multi-prongs hitting at the same time, across various career levels and locations."

How do you make time for yourself and practice self-care?
"Working at JPMorgan Chase, our scale requires you to be vigilant — both about how you spend your time and how much you allow yourself to be at the mercy of others for meetings, interruptions, etc. I am almost religious about time blocks and no meeting days — I have to be. I'm also big on respecting my introvert-self, so, for example, when traveling for work, I schedule one dinner and one breakfast, but respect my limits.

"I’m an early riser, and the first thing I do when I wake up is drink water. I get the stuff on the to-do list done while I'm working out (I recently discovered the Oculus VR headset and the Supernatural workout). I cannot engage in work anymore unless I do something physical and sweat in the mornings. I want to get back to doing meditation or some type of self-reflection activity. I'm not good at quieting my mind anymore."

Why is that?
"I think that there's something about Covid-19 that has irrevocably changed my ability to quiet my mind. When the whole planet felt under siege, that was a mental shift for me that feels permanent. We allowed ourselves to be fed that nonsense about 'getting back to normal' for so long that once we realized that this was normal, I don't know that we knew how to process that."

Tangential, but stress is partly why women's life expectancy goes down when we get married and men's goes up.
"Girl, let me tell you why I'm divorced. One day, I was washing my hands and then my knees buckled. I knew in that moment that my soul was dying. I could feel it physically. I told myself I was staying in the marriage for my children, but that was incongruent. Because when something happened to me, I would be leaving my children with him. 

"Women… we talk ourselves into killing ourselves. I didn't want to admit to myself that I didn't want be a Black single mother, that I didn't want to have two Black boys that didn't have their father in the home with them. I didn't want to be in Corporate America and be divorced. There’s a huge preponderance of marriage, of people who've been married for 30 or 40 years to the same person, especially the higher in the ranks you go. It was about the biases of the larger society, the sweeping generalizations of the larger society, the stereotypes, and the psychic stress of just being a Black woman — not being a martyr like I was convincing myself."

You’ve mentioned the importance of sponsorship and mentorship programs. How have mentors played a role in finding your own version of success throughout your career?
"My personal mentors have included those from the technology team, the hiring manager who brought me into the company, another Black woman managing director, and leaders in diversity and inclusion in the firm. There have been countless others; I work in a very special place. 

"What I’ve found to be most indispensable is an unwavering commitment to relationships over time. People, women especially, often struggle with feeling worthy of leaders’ time. They often surmise they are grasping for relevance when seeking relationships with leaders they don’t know well.  To combat this, I look to evaluate work for alignment. When you do this, touchpoints don’t have to feel random or without purpose. Likewise, you can just reach out and say hi — we are all in the human business, too.

"I’ve also mentored over 1,000 people myself, since coming to Chase, many of them Black women. It’s part of my DNA and honestly expected. Being a managing director that looks like them is a really important trait. I have to honor the servant leadership expectation that comes with that privilege."

What would you advise a Black woman starting out in tech or corporate America to do? 
"The technology field is varied. I think it’s often oversimplified into coding and software development these days. I’d recommend women, people of color, and anyone looking to get into technology that they focus on understanding tech from the perspective of business value first. The person who knows where the billion dollars is coming from, how it's going to be divvied up, and what's going to happen to the company post-IPO — that’s the person you want to know. You need to understand how the money is influencing the decisions and who has power.

"I often find myself having to remind my team that technology is not intrinsically valuable — there is no tech for tech sake. If you understand the fundamental principles around why technology exists, you then become savvy when it comes to driving change and innovation. Constantly challenge the why, not the what. The what isn’t what makes you great, it’s your why.

"Also, pick a spot where you can use your technical skills rather than becoming a generalist. And make sure you are always becoming stronger and more modern in that space. Don't ever give that up. You will make yourself more valuable and harder to let go when you’re tied to a critical skill or role."

JPMorgan Chase is committed to diversifying the tech industry. Learn more about the opportunities at JPMorgan Chase & Co.