Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian has revealed that his tennis champion wife Serena Williams helps him recognize his privilege.
Last week the 37-year-old tech entreupreneur stepped down from Reddit’s Board of Directors to make space for black leadership in an extradorinary move he said was inspired by his two-year-old daughter Olympia.
Ohanian opened up how his wife and daughter influenced his decision to step down in an effort to support the black community.
‘There are things that I do that my wife checks me on that I am doing with the best of intentions, but still, require me to feel that pain and then dig deeper,’ he said on CBS This Morning on Thursday.
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, 37, says his wife Serena Williams helps him recognize his privilege by encouraging him to dig deeper
‘There are things that I do that my wife checks me on that I am doing with the best of intentions, but still, require me to feel that pain … and then dig deeper,’ he said on CBS This Morning on Thursday
The tech boss opened up on his privilege in the business world saying he was often given a seat at the table despite his inexperience, youth, and self doubt.
One point of privilege he came to recognize was having his voice amplified and opinions supported. He said he quickly learned that his wife isn’t given that same attention, despite being one of the greatest athletes in the world.
‘I default expect to be heard because all of my life when I bring something up, I’m generally in a position where someone’s going to hear me, take my side, and hear what I have to say. And it’s not until I’m talking to my wife about things that I really understand that is not a luxury that she has had,’ he revealed.
‘Do you think that you would’ve come around to this way of thinking if you had not been with Serena in particular?’ host Gayle King asked.
‘I would love to say yes, but — to see — look, to have that front-row seat to her, not just her greatness, but everything she has to endure, much of it that never gets reported on, that no one sees, right? … That made the education come really quickly … especially when this is someone you love,’ Ohanian said.
Ohanian says he’s learned from having a ‘front row seat’ to William’s life and has seen how much she has had to endure. The couple, pictured above in 2019, tied the knot in 2017
Making the choice to step away from Reddit’s board wasn’t an easy one for Ohanian, but it’s a decision being echoed across the country as companies work to diversify their offices and support black employees.
Following the white police officer killing of black man George Floyd on May 25, which sparked protests across the country, there’s been a racial reckoning in the US.
Protesters have demanded an end to police brutality, cities have banned chokeholds, police departments are facing calls to be defunded or reformed, and companies are caving under pressue to diversify.
Ohanian expressed hope for the future saying, ‘things are changing’, as more people engaged in the conversation of racial injustice and the scars it has left on the country.
‘That discomfort that we feel physically when we push ourselves to go further is something that we usually embrace, right? We know that that’s where growth happens. That’s where muscles are tearing just a little bit so they regrow stronger. These conversations are that same kind of exercise. They’re that same kind of discomfort for our brains and for our souls,’ he said.
Speaking on his decision to step down, Ohanian said he made the move to support his daughter Olympia. ‘I remembered that my greatest creation is not and never will be Reddit. It’s my daughter, and I want her to be proud of her father’
‘Because at the end of the day, if what we’re asking is privileged white people to be able to feel a little bit of discomfort to have a hard conversation, it’s a very reasonable ask,’ he added.
Speaking on his decision to step down, Ohanian said he made the move to support his daughter Olympia.
‘You know, Reddit was my first child. I started it right out of college. … I was a kid who walked out of an LSAT to go to a Waffle House and decided he wanted to become an entrepreneur,’ he said. ‘
‘But looking inward, it was a hard decision until it was a really easy one … when I remembered that my greatest creation is not and never will be Reddit. It’s my daughter, and I want her to be proud of her father,’ he added.
King noted he could’ve taken the easy route and added a black staffer to the board while keeping his own seat, but he preferred to lead by example.
‘I think there is something symbolic about someone in my position stepping aside as a way to say, we’re not just going to make sure that you have a seat at the table. I’m going to give up my seat so that you can have it. And I hope it makes boardrooms all across the country look around the table and say, “Who are we serving? Who is our community?”‘ he said.