Question: 

On my team at work, I am the only African-American. It is self-evident that my colleagues ignore me when I make requests or ask questions. Like they will ghost on me. But I see how quick they are to respond and assist one another. We all work remotely, so getting in their faces is challenging to do. What should I do?

Answer:

I bet if you told someone on your team your concerns, they would deny your claims. But you and I both know that it is very likely that your team probably thinks of you as a low-tier priority and thus will not rush to respond to you. The hierarchy at your company and even on your team is natural. Whether it is being done blatantly or is subject to just people’s focus on what they consider more important things, it can be hard to go through and can also play with your confidence.  

The suggestion I would make is to make an effort to be more active on your company Slack or Teams channel. Ask a question to the group as a whole instead of one person. And do this consistently. Just come up with random stuff to ask. Your goal is to make sure your name and picture pop up on that screen often. Once you are a mainstay on your team’s channel, I can guarantee you that your one-on-one interactions will be more priority to your team members. It’s a sort of branding on your part. The more they see you, the more they associate you with being a person they should not ignore. They might miss out on something important if they do.