Story 5
My experience as a Director at Citi was marked by ambiguity and marginalization. Over the course of my career, I achieved many accomplishments that the firm proudly highlighted in its literature as evidence of success. Yet, despite leading these efforts, my contributions were rarely attributed to me directly. I was never named as the individual responsible for the wins that elevated the firm.
As a Director, my compensation and title remained below that of peers with similar roles both within Citi and across the industry, even as my influence grew through the work I delivered. With each management change, I chose not to complain but instead embraced the opportunity to demonstrate flexibility, adaptability, and resilience—the very qualities leadership praised and touted as core to the firm. I hoped these traits would lead to recognition and elevation. Instead, I witnessed scope creep, saw my accomplishments absorbed into conversations from which I was excluded, and watched others rewarded for work that originated with me.
Despite these challenges, I did not retreat. I worked harder, engaging multiple stakeholders to ensure my efforts could be recognized even in rooms where I was not present. Yet over time, I realized that I was being excluded from most rooms altogether. My “book of work” expanded, but my voice was rarely the one telling the story. Instead, fragments of my work were siphoned off to shape narratives without my involvement.
When I requested an inquiry into culture and unfair treatment—including neglect, displacement, and disregard—the outcome was not resolution but further exclusion and scrutiny. Investigations, I learned, often fail to address root causes while intensifying the burden on those who raise concerns. Despite a career of strong outcomes, my role was frequently labeled “not core”—until the firm needed my data and accomplishments to demonstrate success. Ultimately, the lack of dignity culminated in a blunt dismissal and the same dismissiveness and disregard now seemingly acceptable in the workplace: “There’s no other way to say this. Let me cut to the chase, your role is being eliminated.”
The words felt surreal. My role had already been gradually stripped away, my contributions fragmented and repurposed, my leadership and ability left unacknowledged. For more than a decade, I had been visibly invisible—present but disregarded. For one who was visibly invisible and had been disregarded for more than a decade – sitting in the seat was akin to having already been buried and now seemingly being asked to come to life simply to be told with certainly – now – you officially are invisible.