Black History Month: Marie’s story

By Marie France, VP of Client Services

​In honor of Black History Month, VP of Client Services Marie France shares her lived experiences as a proud small town African American and how she’s making an impact on improving inclusion at work every day.

Raised in a small town, proud of my ethnicity
I am an African American born in Philadelphia and raised in a small town outside of Pittsburgh. I am currently VP of Client Services which involves driving strategy and operational excellence for talent solutions within our customer base.

The town I grew up in was predominantly Caucasian, which has unfortunately led to numerous racist encounters. However, the challenges I have dealt with have only instilled a huge sense of pride in my ethnicity.

Working at Guidant and drawing from my heritage to affect change at work
As a member of our employee ambassador group, Unity, I have been able to share my experience surrounding racist encounters during my upbringing and career to educate and highlight the fact inequality still exists. I have had to leverage using a strong voice in the education of my children because of teachers dismissing their potential due to skin color, or having to ‘prove’ that I belonged at business meetings with past employers.

To me, this year’s Black History month theme ‘Black Resistance’ means...
African Americans are still being oppressed and there is a need to work together and resist the racist undercurrents. There needs to be more discussions around the lack of accurate historical education within this topic. We are not sharing enough of the many contributions that African Americans have made to advance many countries.

Let's be honest about the oppression that still exists today. Resistance is not about violence; it’s about physical action. There is great power within written texts in classrooms. There is great power in the voice of someone sharing their story. There is great power in different cultures coming together and wanting tomorrow to be better for all people.

‘Black Resistance’ is about me being honest that I’m exhausted by the daily racial battles that I fight, but I shall continue to resist and stay vocal, not just for my children but for generations to come.

Building inclusion at work
For me, an inclusive environment is something that needs to be embedded within the organization. Starting with leadership, it needs to be visible at all levels. People will feel welcome if they have a ‘voice’. I am thrilled that within Guidant and our wider group of brands, we have Unity because it encourages learning, empathy and creates a real sense of belonging.

As employees participate in a more diverse environment, they will learn and evolve – this is true for everyone, no matter what ethnicity background they come from. Just because I’m a woman of color doesn’t mean my DE&I journey is complete. I still have a lot to learn, but I am open and believe I will become a better person in and out of work from learning about the stories of others.

Want to be a part of diverse and inclusive working? Join #TeamGuidant today >