You’re a straight-A graduate of an elite business school, with references, connections and experience for days. You’re young, gifted and Black, and ready to put in work.
So, how come you’re not getting promoted, or even hired? Racism? Sure, but maybe you’re not in the swing of things – the golf swing of things.
This is where DC-based entrepreneur, author, philanthropist, lecturer, adjunct professor and global events planner Rose Harper drops her science. “Golf is the number one inclusion and diversity tool in the world,” she says. “This game is played by just about every head of state in the world, [because] it’s a safe place. It’s a private place. It’s where you can talk business and do business without the world scrutinizing it.”
Harper should know. The former spouse of the pioneering African American golfer Lee Elder, Harper has worked with the world’s best players – from Arnold Palmer and Gary Player to Tiger Woods. She was instrumental in the founding of the PGA Tour Wives Association, initiated the Golf Digest Minority Golf Summit, restructured PGA player credentials, established a minority joint venture golf course design team, was the first person of color to run a full concession eighteen-hole golf complex for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and she organized the first multi-racial sporting event in the history of South Africa.
“My company, The Grass Ceiling, was founded in 1995 to share my knowledge with women and minorities,” she stated. “After spending twenty-five years on the PGA Tour circuit, I recognized the business side of the game. I knew there was a need to have people exposed to the business side of this game.”
Read more by Ada Babino at GolfMatters
