Noelle RussellChief Executive Officer, AI Leadership Institute · 5x Microsoft Trustworthy AI MVP | 3.4+ million students | #1 Thought Leader in Agentic AI | AI-Powered Revenue Growth + Cost Optimization Expert ✨Best-Selling Author: Scaling Responsible AI | TEDx Sp

CodeSwitching is a Trap, Be Authentic

23 Oct 2024 · 1 min

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1:22

In this monologue, the speaker critiques the practice of code‑switching—adopting the speech, appearance, and behavior of a dominant group to gain acceptance—by sharing a personal narrative from their first twelve years at IBM. They describe how they altered their wardrobe, hairstyle, and accessories (black suit pants, white button‑down, blazer, hair bun, “aesthetically pleasing” glasses) to fit in with colleagues who looked nothing like them. The speaker references NPR’s "Code Switch" podcast to illustrate how common this phenomenon is, likening themselves to a "ball of yarn" forced to become a "bro" to be likable. While acknowledging that code‑switching can be effective in navigating systemic biases, they emphasize the emotional cost of distancing oneself from one’s true identity and argue for authenticity as a healthier alternative.

Chapters

But anyway, this ball of yarn who's different and colorful goes in and tries to be themselves and is shut down, wing clipped, like at every turn. And so what ends up happening, and a lot of us do this, as a matter of fact, it's so common that NPR created a podcast called Code Switching, which is we start to basically take on the persona of the people that don't like us in order to become more likable to those people. You watch this ball of yarn turn into a bro, right, and wearing pants. And I remember thinking when I was younger, early in my career, I did the same thing. I would look at— I was at IBM for my first 12 years. And looking around, everyone, no one looked like me. I would wear, I remember I'd wear these like black suit pants. I'd wear a white button-down shirt and like a blazer. I looked like a guy in hindsight, a lot like this Pearl person, actually. And I remember putting my hair in a bun for for like 2 years I never took it out. So you just go and you buy these cosmetic, you know, aesthetically pleasing glasses. But I wanted people to think I was smart, and it worked. That's the problem with it, is that systemically I was— I— it worked. But then you, as a— as the human who switched and code-switched and accommodated, you realize how far from your true self you are at some point.