S4 E48 | Moments that Matter with Melissa Thompson

In our fourth episode in this special series of interviews where we have challenging and personal conversations with professionals who have experienced moments of prejudice or discrimination, Carmen Hudson takes the mic to Melissa Thompson to discuss social stigma.

Announcer 0:02You're listening to Moments That Matter a special CXR podcast series where leaders and talent professionals share their own experiences with varying aspects of discrimination and inequality here on Moments That Matter, we are dedicated to creating connected conversations around specific moments. These are moments that matter.

Carmen Hudson, Recruiting Toolbox 0:24So I will start with just a little bit of an introduction to Melissa, just who you are, where you are, and what you currently do.

Melissa Thompson, Nielsen 0:33Yes. Melissa Thompson, I am the SVP of talent acquisition at Nielsen Media. I've been in this role for a little less than a year. And it has been an interesting journey in the year that is 2020

Carmen Hudson, Recruiting Toolbox 0:472020 is more than an interesting year. So yeah, let's just dive dive into that. My name is Carmen Hudson, by the way, and I am a former member of the colloquium, I have gone over to the dark side, however, becoming a vendor, but I still retained just a huge fandom for the colloquium. And so what I love to do since today, we're really just kind of digging into a little bit around Black Lives Matter and our own sort of history and relationship to that and I think, Melissa, you'd be fine with me sharing that you are a black woman, and I'm a black woman. So let's just dive into I think my first question is, really, when were you first aware as an HR professional, that race really presented some challenges for most of corporate America?

Melissa Thompson, Nielsen 1:44You know, I usually point to two things. One was when I was in graduate school, I was in a marketing class. And we were talking about The Cosby Show, which, you know, for those who may be younger, and don't know The Cosby Show, it's an African American family. The father is a doctor, the mother is a lawyer. There are either four or five children, but they're, they're in a fluid family, they're very well to do. And as we were having this roundtable discussion about The Cosby Show, someone said, well, it's not even realistic. Like, why do people even watch that? There aren't families like that? And I was like, so my dad is a doctor…

Carmen Hudson, Recruiting Toolbox 2:27Right?

Melissa Thompson, Nielsen 2:28My mom is an accounting professional. And there are four children. My older brother is in med school, here I am getting my MBA, and they were like, Wow, really? So the revelation for me that people thought that such a thing did not exist, was sort of one of those things like, wow, wow. And this would have been in the late 80s, when I realized it just aged myself, but whatever.

Carmen Hudson, Recruiting Toolbox 2:55We were doing such a great job, but I'm right there with you in watching The Cosby Show, not coming from a family like that. But still being aware that there are people like that, and that is the sort of realm to which I aspire to at the time. And so just thinking about just just really thinking about how we are introduced to the world, and how people view us is really interesting.

Melissa Thompson, Nielsen 3:23Yeah.

Carmen Hudson, Recruiting Toolbox 3:24So I would love to kind of dive into how you were introduced to the world in which you now you are, you know, at the very top of your profession.

Melissa Thompson, Nielsen 3:36Yeah.

Carmen Hudson, Recruiting Toolbox 3:36And how do you how does that play out being a black woman?

Melissa Thompson, Nielsen 3:39You know, what's interesting, and you know, everyone always talks about the glass ceiling. And it's funny, because when you hit it, you can feel it, you know that other people that were on the same level as you have suddenly just motored by you.