Well, you know, I think if you're a Black woman, you've dealt with it your entire life, right, intentionally or unintentionally, there was a perception. This is why when you ask me the question earlier about how I've succeeded, the first thing is not letting people's bias become my reality. And so, you know, you have to deal with that. I think that's true for every human, maybe it's particularly true for people that are in two minority groups like myself, but that has been persistent. And the way I get around it is by focusing on my work, I don't focus on my gender, I don't focus on my ethnicity. I think they are very important parts of me, but I don't let it drive my behavior, and I think that has allowed me and freed me up to, one, not be a threat to other people because they don't feel like I'm using that as a weapon, but at the same time for me to focus on the work and contributing and being a good team member. Those things are the things that really matter when it comes down to it. There are politics and there are biases, and it's conscious sometimes, it's unconscious other times, we have to put that aside. If you focus on that for a moment, you will be derailed and you won't achieve what you want to achieve.
I am aware of everything that's going on, I mean, you'd have to be blind to not be aware of it. It grieves my heart to know that the country is suffering the way it is, and that Black lives in particular have suffered. At the same time, I think we need to get on with doing the things that are right for ourselves, for our families, for our country, because if we don't, we're just going to go down a spiral that is going to be difficult to come out of. And so I'm trying to stay focused on that, I'm trying to keep my team focused on that. Very sympathetic, it is very grievous for all of us, I think, particularly for people that are part of the African-American community, but you really do have to get past it and you really do have to get on with the work, that's my belief.
