Are black professionals treated differently once they enter a relationship? This recently married lawyer firmly says yes

Earlier this yr, entertainment attorney Aurielle Brooks married the person of her dreams. When the couple began dating, she shared it along with her co-workers-turned-friends, who happily congratulated her on their budding relationship. But when the news reached its customers, the reception was mixed.

“It was definitely something,” Brooks tells ESSENCE. “Honestly, as a woman working in probably any industry, but especially within the entertainment industry, you are just immediately perceived differently {once you engage with someone}. After sharing photos of my husband on social media, a few of my clients even felt as if my romantic relationship had absolved any skilled shortcomings.

This feeling just isn’t completely detached from reality.

The data has shown that workplaces can carry positive biases that sometimes work to the advantage of married staff.

For example, CareerBuilder survey results showed that 21 percent of staff who had never been married felt that firms favor married staff over single staffand 30 percent consider that married co-workers have more flexibility than single staff, in response to a 2015 report. draws attention.

This goes beyond social touchpoints. Employees’ marital status can also affect their pay. Research suggests that married staff often earn more, are viewed more favorably when workplace leaders make decisions about development opportunities, and receive more advantages than their single peers.

However, these advantages may mainly apply to married men, not women.

AND 2019 study suggest that married men within the US are more likely than single men to be amongst the best earners within the country. As ESSENCE has previously noted, research has shown that men profit more from the unpaid emotional and domestic labor that ladies are socially conditioned to supply. Pew Study 2023 data found that husbands in egalitarian marriages spend about 3.5 hours more per week on entertainment than wives. Wives in these marriages spend about 2 hours more per week on caregiving than husbands and about 2.5 hours more on housekeeping.

Brooks noted that a few of her client’s clients had suggested that her work ethic would change after marriage due to her perceived household responsibilities.

“Oh, you’re probably too busy for me right now because you’re doing this,” she says of a few of the customer feedback she’s received. “The fact that I have a partner now should not equate to anything related to my professional life.”

Brooks says she tries to mitigate any unconscious bias by maintaining the identical momentum she had before they got married.

“I made sure my work schedule didn’t change,” Brooks said. “Being a black woman in this space, you can’t go wrong, but luckily I have a team that supports me no matter what, but I understand that most women don’t have that. Bias is very real.”