ZORA

A publication from Medium that centers the stories, poetry, essays and thoughts of women of color.

Follow publication

Member-only story

Why Is Corporate America So Obsessed with Mediocre White Men?

Simone Keelah Brathwaite
ZORA
Published in
8 min readApr 22, 2021

Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash

There was something I always admired about Ryan Rogers*. No more than 6–7 years my senior, I worked alongside Ryan while I was in Public Relations. I, a Senior Account Executive, he about three promotions ahead of me as a VP.

A 30-something-year-old white man, Ryan was the type of person who clients gravitated towards. He was smart yet affable. Approachable but confident. Funny without trying too hard. Ryan somehow always appeared unfazed by problems that would leave our fellow colleagues in a tailspin. In that regard, Ryan had this effortless way of moving within PR — and arguably — the world.

But I had a hard time working under Ryan.

I needed more direction than he wished to provide. I craved more project organization than he felt necessary to have. I was hungry for more managerial support in busy seasons than he offered to give. In my opinion, Ryan was simply fulfilling his duties; rarely going above and beyond.

Throughout my time working in corporate America, I’ve met many Ryans. Not simply because the name is common, but because corporate America is filled with white men who are good enough.

Create an account to read the full story.

The author made this story available to Medium members only.
If you’re new to Medium, create a new account to read this story on us.

Or, continue in mobile web

Already have an account? Sign in

ZORA
ZORA

Published in ZORA

A publication from Medium that centers the stories, poetry, essays and thoughts of women of color.

Simone Keelah Brathwaite
Simone Keelah Brathwaite

Written by Simone Keelah Brathwaite

A self-proclaimed freedom chaser who writes about self-development, spirituality, relationships, & black folx thangs. Sign up for updates www.SimoneKeelah.com.

Responses (38)

Write a response

I have seen countless mediocre white men hired to be in "charge." In fact, many times they are appointed to manage a primarily non-white workforce. It seems that people in corporate America still see white men as being the ultimate authority figure. This has been one of the biggest long-standing scams in our society.

254

It doesn't take "brilliance" to dominate if you have superior weapons technology and are willing to be indiscriminately violent. That's how white men achieved dominance and that's what keeps them there (the threat of the willingness to be…

317

Look at the state of our country and then remember white men hold 80% of Congress.
The US not only has a love affair with mediocre white men. It’s national policy.

242