Beth Wairimũ Irũngũ | Executive Director of Black Women Photographers
A conversation with Black Women Photographers Executive Director, Beth Wairimũ Irũngũ, on the transformative impact of advocacy and allyship in creating inclusive workplaces.
Can you recall a situation where you felt your voice was overlooked or undervalued, and how you responded?
I am bold and I've always had the strength to stand up for myself and others. I have never been silenced in the workplace. I won't allow it.
This is the message I hope to send to other women by sharing my voice — to remind them to use their voice to help others, not just themselves. In the workplace, self-advocacy is important, but use your voice to uplift others not just yourself. We all have self-interests we navigate in our workspaces, career, and professional lives - but go beyond your own self-interests and think about the interests and wellbeing of the others that you work with.
Do you see an intern that's being mistreated or being assigned an unfair amount of unpaid labor? Say something. Speak up for them. Don't expect a young professional, a new employee, or a worker in an imbalanced power situation or dynamic, or any subordinate to have the strength to challenge a supervisor by themselves.
Advocate with them and advocate for them; fight with them and fight for them. I did this at a previous place of employment that mistreated and took advantage of older employees. I had coworkers in their 50s, 60s, and 70s. Some of them had worked at that organization longer than my career and entire adult work life. My supervisor refused to pay them adequately and refused to give them raises and I expressed that I thought that was wrong.
When I started working there, I knew that my starting salary was higher than theirs and sometimes companies will do that to attract new hires or younger talent. After my 90-probation period, I was given a raise - which I was expecting. What I wasn't expecting is how little some of my coworkers made - above the federal and state minimum wage – but for the work we did that was not acceptable. I was also surprised to learn that some of the older workers were not getting promised raises even after proving themselves.
When I got my raise after only working there three months I did not have more education, experience, or expertise than the older workers. I was not a better employee than the seniors in their 60s and 70s that worked at that organization. My supervisor paid them less because according to him: they are willing to accept that, there aren't going anywhere, and they can't do any better; meaning he doesn't think they can find better employment or will even seek it. Disgusting, but people and employers will take advantage of you if they think they can and if you allow it.
How have your experiences with mentorship and advocacy contributed to creating a more inclusive workplace?
I have found mentors in the workplace by simply building friendships and letting it be known that I desire to learn, grow, and be mentored. I have found mentors by reaching out to others that have experience and expertise in an area that I need to grow, asking them questions, and most importantly by spending time with them so that I can observe them.
Whether you work for a company, nonprofit, government agency, work in the public sector, private sector - doesn't matter - all workplaces have this one thing in common; how can I extract the most out of my employees for the least amount of compensation? How can I get the most productivity from my labor force/workforce at the lowest cost? This inherently isn't always a bad thing because it's not wrong to save money and conserve resources. It's not wrong to be prudent or wrong to be a good steward of resources, capital, and human capital. However, this can go beyond the spectrum of what I believe is ethical and turn into something else - and I've observed that. I have seen older and elderly workers get paid less than what I think they should be paid and even though they agreed to it, I still found it unfair and unethical.
At that particular place of employment, I quit that job as an act of solidarity and support to one of the older ladies working there. She expressed to me in all the ways she was mistreated by our managers and director, beyond the issue of compensation. I observed some of the same things occur to other older workers. She told me she was afraid to leave, scared to make a change, and she told me she wanted to quit her job but didn’t have the strength to do it.
I told her if she wanted to walk out the door right now, we could walk out the door - we could do it together. I told her if she didn’t have the strength to leave by herself, I would leave with her; I told her if she didn’t have the strength to quit by herself, I’d quit with her. We quit together and I gave our supervisors the notification. I also told our coworkers and supervisors why we left. Quitting with her was the best we could do in that situation because our leaders, work conditions, and culture at that workplace were not going to change and her compensation and treatment by management was not going to change.
You've clearly demonstrated your ability to advocate for others and create a more inclusive environment. How can women work together to overcome challenges and achieve their goals?
Pass the mic. Make sure others are heard by using moments of open communication and dialogue to bring other coworkers into the conversation. Create an opportunity for everyone at the table to say something, to be heard, to participate, and contribute.
What does this look like? There are several ways you can do this, but maybe in a meeting you ask a coworker that is usually overlooked, doesn't speak up, or rarely speaks - ask them what they think of what was just said. Ask them what ideas they have. Allow others to contribute and share with the group by asking questions to involve and include them in the conversation.
This is simple but I think it's important and it's an easy thing we can all do. Try to help bring others into the fold and don't assume that others will speak up when they have a great idea, or when they have something to contribute or can add value in a situation. This is because most people will stop trying if they've been shut down enough times; they won't bother if they've been (or their efforts/contributions have been) devalued, disregarded, or disrespected too many times. And this doesn't apply to supervisors, but when you're dealing with coworkers at your level, don't allow the same collection of personalities to dominate a conversion or dominate the direction or outcome of a project.
“Create an opportunity for everyone at the table to say something, to be heard, to participate, and contribute. ”
About Beth
Born in Kenya and raised between there and Kansas, Beth Wairimũ Irũngũ is a dedicated advocate for families, women, and children. She emigrated to the United States with her parents and sister, where she spent much of her life as a caregiver and homemaker.
Passionate about nonprofit work and community service, Beth has devoted countless hours to supporting and advocating for families, women, and children. In 2020, she and her sister co-founded Black Women Photographers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing access to professional and paid opportunities for Black and African creatives around the world.