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McKinsey’s and LeanIn.org’s 2022 Women In the Workplace Report asserts that “we are in the midst of a ‘Great Breakup’” as women increasingly demand more from their workplaces and are willing to seek greener pastures if necessary. As is often the case, when European-American women experience challenge, Black women face a tsunami, and this report predictably finds what many Black women have known all along—corporate America isn’t designed to champion our success.
“Black women leaders are more ambitious than other women at their level: 59 percent of Black women leaders want to be top executives, compared to 49 percent of women leaders overall. But they are also more likely than women leaders of other races and ethnicities to receive signals that it will be harder for them to advance,” the report finds. “Compared to other women at their level, Black women leaders are more likely to have colleagues question their competence and to be subjected to demeaning behavior—and one in three Black women leaders says they’ve been denied or passed over for opportunities because of personal characteristics, including their race and gender.”
The findings reveal a disturbingly consistent trend among the more than 40,000 employees surveyed.
- 20% of Black women leaders experienced “having someone say or imply that you’re not qualified” compared to 12% for all women and 6% for all men
- 38% of Black women leaders experienced “being mistaken for someone at a lower level” compared to 26% for all women and 13% for all men
- 55% of Black women leaders experienced “having your judgement questioned” compared to 39% for all women and 28% for all men.
Frustratingly, Black women also ranked dead last in their experience of manager support—managers showing interest in their career, checking in on their well-being and promoting inclusion—as compared to other identities including men, all women, LGBTQ women, women with disabilities, white women, Asian women and Latinas. Similarly, Black women ranked near last in experiencing sponsorship and allyship as well as psychological safety.
The dismal psychological safety metric arguably highlights the toxic conundrum that so many Black women leaders face—frustrated by disparate challenges and barriers but not feeling safe enough to voice concerns. Indeed, one of the most dehumanizing yet durable racist trolls stifling many Black women leaders is that of the “angry Black woman.” As a result, many Black women leaders find themselves caught in a dysfunctional, non-reciprocal relationship with the workplace—continuing to contribute to and support organizations that clearly don’t nurture us in return. Many are choosing to move on.
Perhaps this accounts for why Black women are the fastest growing demographic group of entrepreneurs in the U. S. “The number of businesses owned by Black women grew 50% from 2014 to 2019, representing the highest growth rate of any female demographic,” notes this J.P. Morgan article. “Black females accounted for 42% of all women who opened a new business during that time and represented 36% of all Black employers.” However, the banking giant points out one more glaring fact—Black women entrepreneurs also face disproportionate challenges accessing the capital often necessary to launch a new business successfully. Indeed, while Black women clearly lead the pack in starting new businesses, those businesses are often not successful and income levels for Black women entrepreneurs lags far behind that of other women. “Black female founders earn an average revenue of just $24,000, compared to $142,900 among all women-owned businesses,” the article notes.
Indeed, even a stark segue from a traditional corporate role to business ownership offers no durable cover from the persistent barriers and challenges that many Black women face in pursuit of professional success. That said, obviously many Black women through their own grit, perseverance and excellence have found success. Many have also learned to become master chameleons—doubling down on likeability, organizational savvy, resilience and education as needed. But simply because many Black women have in fact beat the odds, that doesn’t mean the game has been fair. Oftentimes, it just means they were that much better.
The truth is that we don’t need another report detailing what we already know. Workplace experience and professional success in many ways remain stubbornly tethered to both gender and race leaving Black women relegated to the bottom of the corporate caste system. Blackness and femaleness have never been sources of systemic advantage in corporate spaces. The disparities and inequities have long been proven. Now we need the moral fortitude and collective will to actually do something about it.
