Altercations Over Issues of Gender and Race Can Hurt Any Workplace

Jack Parsons put the phone down and rubbed his temples. This wasn’t his first crisis as managing partner of the Northeast office of Fuller Fenton, a national accounting firm, but it was big.

That was his 11th phone call about what had happened the day before between Hope Barrows and Dillon Johnson, two valuable members of the team.

The story was really quite simple--the basic facts weren’t in dispute. Barrows, a partner at Fuller Fenton, had gone to the office Sunday afternoon to get a jump on the workweek. When she arrived at the parking garage, she swiped her access card and the exterior door opened.

As Barrows drove up to the inner gate, Johnson pulled in under the exterior door as it was closing. Barrows stopped at the gate and got out of her car and walked over to Johnson. She asked who he was and whether he belonged in the building. Johnson told her he was an associate at Fuller Fenton. Barrows asked to see his identification, which he showed her.

Barrows thanked Johnson, went back to her car and entered the garage. Barrows is white. Johnson is black. Somehow the incident had started a storm that was threatening to tear the company in two.

And it was only Monday afternoon.

Johnson had called Parsons from San Francisco at 5 a.m. Pacific time. He had flown there the night before to meet with a client. Johnson was angry and appalled. He said the incident was an indication that the firm was racially biased. Judging from the calls Parsons had received, most of the firm’s African American partners and associates agreed.

Parsons asked Johnson to tell him exactly what had happened. Johnson said he was working out at his health club when he got a call on his cell phone from a fellow associate, Shaun Daniels. The two had planned to meet at the office later that afternoon to review the file for Johnson’s San Francisco client, and now Daniels wanted to push up the meeting time.

Johnson rushed from the gym and drove to the office. He pulled into the driveway of Fuller Fenton’s garage behind a red Volvo, which seemed to be parked at the door.

“I remember thinking, ‘What’s taking this person so long to swipe their card?’ ” he told Parsons. “Then I thought, ‘Where’s my card?’ and I started looking for it.

“Then the door opened, the Volvo went through, and I didn’t even think; I just followed,” Johnson continued. “Then the car stopped again. I thought, ‘What is this?’ and I tried to see who was in the car. I could see it was a woman, and she was looking at me in her rearview mirror. So I waved. And waited.

“She gets out of her car, approaches me and asks me if I work in the building. I say yes, and she asks me for my identification. I recognized her from seeing her in the building.

“Then I realized that she thought I had slipped through the door behind her because I was some sort of criminal. I’m black; she’s white. Most people at the company are white. Case closed, in her mind.”

“What happened next?” Parsons prompted.

“I told her my name,” Johnson said. “I found my wallet and showed her my identification. But Jack, I have to tell you, at that moment, all I could think was that this wasn’t the first time I’d been made to feel like an outsider at this company because I’m black.

“Remember I was going to be on the team for that consumer goods company in Texas? I was put on and taken off within 48 hours because the partner heading the team was worried a black face would put the client off. Jack, I know it’s true. And maybe the guy had a point--that client is a very old-line kind of company. But still, if this company is serious about diversity, is that any way to behave?”

Parsons knew the last story was correct. He’d argued with the partner about the way Johnson was treated.

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Parsons told Johnson he was a valued employee and that he’d do some digging, that they would all work to resolve the situation. As soon as he hung up the phone, he called Barrows and left a message asking her to come see him.

“I tried to call you earlier,” Barrows said when she entered Parsons’ office. “I’ve heard the rumors and, frankly, I’m shocked. I didn’t ask for Dillon Johnson’s identification because he was black. I was freaked out that a man was following me into the garage--a man who didn’t seem to have an access card of his own. He could have been white, or purple, for all I cared. I thought there was a good chance I was going to be robbed. Or raped.”

Barrows took a deep breath and told Parsons the story from the beginning. She often came into the office on Sundays, she explained. Occasionally she would see other cars in the lot, and sometimes she would see people coming or going.

But she didn’t recognize Johnson’s car, and she didn’t recognize Johnson.

“What was he thinking, Jack?” she asked, indignant. “I’m not the one who was insensitive here. Didn’t he know that any woman would feel vulnerable? Why didn’t he just wait the extra 15 seconds and use his own card?

“To be honest with you, I was also thinking about two of my friends who have been mugged. One in a parking garage, the other on a subway platform. I did have my cell phone in my hand when I got out of the car. I had punched in 911, and my finger was on the send button.

“I simply didn’t recognize him,” she said again. “Or his car. At first, I was telling myself that whoever it was was just coming in to work and had been too lazy to get out his card. In no way was I acting out of any racial prejudice. Come on, Jack. I was scared, for God’s sake!”

Parsons listened and told Barrows he would think about what to do. It was clear, he said, that she and Johnson should sit down in the same room to discuss the issue. He would set up the meeting and get back to her. Meanwhile, he told her, he did see her point. Not to worry about that.

First Analysis: Verna Myers is the principal at Verna Myers & Associates, a diversity management consultancy in Newton, Mass.:

Parsons should realize that Barrows’ slight was the straw that broke Johnson’s back--especially in light of the previous incident involving the Texas client.

The meeting should help Johnson and Barrows understand the feelings, thoughts and experiences that informed each other’s actions. They don’t need to agree about what happened, but they do need to be willing to see each other’s side.

Barrows needs to hear about . . . how this incident made Johnson feel about his workplace. Johnson needs to tell her about being bumped off the Texas team. And Barrows needs to tell Johnson about her girlfriends who have been mugged--how it feels to be a woman, alone and vulnerable.

Barrows will probably find it hard to even consider that some part of her reaction to Johnson may have been based on our society’s racist messages about black men.

A real solution depends on how willing each is to listen to the other and examine his or her own assumptions.

Beyond the meeting, Parsons needs to assess the extent of the racial biases in his organization. He should start by speaking with Johnson and other African Americans at the firm, saying something like: “I’m really disturbed by the things I’ve heard today, and I want to know from you what it is like to work here.”

Then he should assemble a racially mixed group of people from different functions and levels of the firm to take a good look at Fuller Fenton’s policies and practices.

But is Parsons up to the task? His inaction with regard to the Texas team leads me to believe that he has blinders on or lacks the courage to confront racial issues. If so, my only comment to him is, “Jack, you say that you want a diverse and inclusive organization, but what are you willing to do to achieve it?”

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One final note for Johnson. If he senses that Parsons’ response to him is intended to smooth things over and stop there, he has a tough decision to make--stay with the devil he knows or move to the devil he doesn’t.

He will need to do his research well because despite their talk, very few large accounting firms employ more people of color or are better at diversity than Fuller Fenton.

An African American man is not expected to be there and that has to do with racism, but it is also a reality. Regardless of whether Johnson goes or stays, he will need to create a multiracial support network of peers and mentors.

Second Analysis: John Borgia has been executive vice president of human resources at Seagram Co. for the past five years. Previously, he worked at Bristol-Myers Squibb for 25 years in various operations, finance and human-resources positions:

I wouldn’t be surprised if Parsons is thinking: “After she checked Dillon’s ID, I wish Hope had said, ‘Sorry we had to meet like this; I got scared when I saw that someone had slipped in behind me instead of using their own card to get in. Let’s get together for coffee sometime.’ A few pleasantries would have defused the situation.

I could understand that train of thought. But what I hope Parsons is thinking is: “It’s time for Fuller Fenton to break free of its old traditions and prejudices. I’m going to use this crisis as a catalyst for change!”

I’m talking about strategy. Johnson learned he was bumped from a team because a partner had concerns that a client would be put off by working with a black man.

Parsons didn’t take a stand--but now he should. He should use what happened between Barrows and Johnson as a starting point for reexamining the kinds of clients Fuller Fenton takes on.

It would send a huge statement if Parsons said publicly that Fuller Fenton won’t insult its own people to please clients--even if that means losing clients.

I really don’t think that Barrows and Johnson have a dispute. That’s why I don’t think Parsons should meet with both of them. Parsons should meet privately with Johnson and say, “Look, this incident is nothing. Hope was frightened, as any woman would be, when she saw someone bypass the appropriate security protocols and follow her car into the garage. But you have good reason to be angry about the larger issue.”

Then Parsons should talk with Johnson about how Fuller Fenton is being run. And he should solicit Johnson’s support in outlining how the firm can become a better organization.

Parsons can call Barrows either before or after his meeting with Johnson to tell her what’s going on and what’s going to come of the incident.

There’s no need to involve her in this initial stage of his new initiative, though, unless she wants to get involved.

What’s really important is the influence that Jack Parsons can--and should--have over the kind of firm Fuller Fenton becomes.

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Jeffrey C. Connor is a partner at Spectrum OED, a consulting firm in Brookline, Mass., that specializes in organization and executive development.