Partner Track: Exposing the Lack of Diversity in the C-Suite
Let's be real, we all binged Partner Track, Netflix's newest NYC-based tv show featuring a gorgeous cast, steamy romance, killer fashion and tons of drama. Yup, exactly my kind of show to unwind to. However, when I started this show, I did not expect to be taken for a ride back to my previous career and all the emotions that came with that while watching what I thought would be a "light-hearted escape from my workday".
Company Culture
The company culture at the firm is portrayed as a very white-male dominated environment. While some firms are making a conscious effort to change, this is slow among the finance, tech and law industries. Being a female in these environments was one of the main reasons I left the corporate finance world. One of the scenes that really struck me was when one of their main clients came into a meeting with Ingrid and her paralegal Justin and immediately introduced himself to the male paralegal, while asking Ingrid to go get coffee.
That scene took me back to a moment I had in one of my old jobs. It was my first banking position fresh out of college, where my only job was to get coffee for meetings unless the client was a fellow South Asian. Then I would be allowed in meetings because "it looked better for the deal", which is what I was told. I remember feeling odd about this comment but once I left, I could really see how problematic that environment was. Especially since I was responsible for the backend work of one of the most successful deals at the firm, but never received any recognition for it and honestly didn't even receive my bonus.
Women at these big companies are constantly underestimated, and usually are working 10 times harder to even get a seat at the table. **SPOILER ALERT** But often times that seat never comes, just like it did in Partner Track. I really related to Ingrid for not getting the promotion she thought she had in the bag because again, I had personally been in that exact situation. We are lucky to see organizations like Neythri and Salute be more vocal about South Asian Leaders in multiple companies and hopefully with more work and awareness, this reality will continue to change. But for industries as antiquated a seen in Partner Track, will change really ever come?
Women Helping Women
I loved that the firm had a mentorship program, a commonality among a lot of big firms to create a sense of belonging in a large company. April, Ingrid's mentee makes a really good point, when she says "The thing is, if we supported one another like they do, this would be so much easier". I have seen the phrase "collaboration over competition" thrown around over and over this year and honestly I find that to be very untrue, even being in the creative industry now.
In the show, there is a woman who is one of the only Asian American partners at the firm, who never talks to April or Ingrid and dismisses them when they try to speak to her. This honestly was not my experience in a corporate setting but more so my experience now doing two businesses on my own. There are so many South Asians crushing it in the space, so many I admire but very few willing to even have a conversation which is quite discouraging. A lot of other creators, creatives, agency owners and more in the South Asian space down to even other founders and brand owners will not give anyone else the time of day unless they provide something of value, but will throw the works "Collaboration" and "Supporting other South Asians" around all day as a part of their PR strategy. As South Asians, we have often grown up in a world that isolating, where we were never a part of the popular clique so why are we out to emulate the doing the same thing to our peers by creating cliques among our own? If we don't help our own, then who will?
On a more positive note, I was lucky to find some of my closest friends, co-workers and people I even look up to in the industry by just working with them and by them giving me a chance and these relationships have changed my life and business. Kindness can go a long way, so the next time someone reaches out to you to want to have a chat or for any kind of help, just be kind. Trust me this goes a long way!
If you've ever been in either of these environments and want to share your thoughts with us, write to us! We are looking for new voices and would love to publish your story for our audiences to read.