The corporate environment is often described as cut-throat or dog-eat-dog due to the nature of everyone wanting to get ahead for their own personal benefit. For a person of color or a woman, that nature becomes even more overt, as opportunities for advancement or career fulfillment are eradicated by acts of racism that are either personal or systemic. Drawing on her own personal experiences, the author of this book provides strategies to those who may end up in a position similar to hers in order to stop such abusive acts and to know when the answer is simply to move on to a new job. Including 24 rules and identifying behaviors of eight different types of potential racists that may be encountered in the workplace, this guidebook is crucial for anyone trying to make their mark in a hostile, predominantly white corporate environment.

Written to provide support for women of color and share the successes and shortcomings of the author’s own attempts to deal with racism in the workplace, this manual should be required reading for anybody who makes their living in the corporate world. The directly intended audience can draw strong inspiration and support from the anecdotes and advice in every chapter, while those not likely to experience this kind of discrimination can increase their mindfulness of what kinds of behaviors are intolerable both professionally and personally. Each outlined rule is clearly defined and explained in no uncertain terms, and at times the book even specifically defines which rules should be used to handle a situation. Straightforward and unafraid to tell it like it is, Brinson’s ingenious advice is perfect for the office but can easily be applied to handle racism in every aspect of society in an effective, businesslike way.

RECOMMMENDED by the US Review

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