The Audacity of Perspective

By: VLW

?Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx, recently posted on LinkedIn:

?“To all the women and girls out there, never dim your light. The world needs you to shine bright to the women labeled ... Aggressive: Keep being aggressive; Bossy: Keep on leading. Difficult: Keep telling the truth. Too Much: Keep taking up space; Awkward: Keep asking hard questions. Please do not shrink yourself to make people happy. Be yourself; you're beautiful that way.”

?When I first read those words, I was excited, sad, exhausted, happy, and frustrated because I knew, as a Black Woman leader in Corporate America, I would never be able to occupy a space with this type of freedom. Often, I am the only Black Woman in the room. Those in the majority of those spaces frequently look but don’t see and offer no support.?

?According to McKinsey & Company, in 2021, women have advanced to VP, SVP, and C-Suite roles at a growing rate of 36%; however, Black Women still fill less than 1% of those roles. That means that although one in five are women, only one in eight are Black Women. Black Women are leaving behind corporate America at four times the rate of White and Asian Women because of a lack of opportunities for pay and an increase?in microaggression in the workplace. Women, especially Black Women, are less likely to be hired into manager-level jobs and far less likely to be promoted into them—for every 100 men promoted to manager, only 79 women are. Mainly because of these gender gaps, men hold 65% of manager positions, while women hold only 38% and Black Women less than 1%. Black Women are in survival mode at work, and company inclusion efforts are falling short.?

?There is a difference between being led by a Black Woman and working with Black Women. You are not seen as a threat when you are a peer because you cannot influence them. However, being led by Black Women depending on the audience, the environment is not set up for us to win. Because either you remain silent and keep your heads down, or you are a disruptor, challenging the status quo, and that is when we are seen as a threat. This is when the microaggression is bold, and the seed of doubt is slowly planted; the whispers start, and they are easily offended by the gift of feedback. Setting the stage to create a hostile work environment. Hence, stressed Black Women decide they are no longer a good fit for the culture.

?For 74% of Black Women, microaggressions are a reality in the workplace. A survey conducted by the?Gallup Center on Black Voices?between Nov. 6 and Dec. 1, 2020, found that Black Women are less likely to feel respected in the workplace. Most commonly, women must provide more evidence of their competence than men, and their judgment is questioned in their expertise. Black Women, in particular, deal with a greater variety of microaggressions and are more likely than other women to have their judgment examined in their area of expertise and be asked to provide additional evidence of their competence.?

?Black Women in Corporate America have to over-work, over-please, over-agree, and over-extended so that people know they have earned their roles. Ultimately, companies must create an environment where women of all backgrounds feel safe. And an intentional effort must be made to create an environment where Black Women feel safe and seen in the workplace.

?My call to you reading this post: Support the women in your organization, whether they look like you or not. Women have come far, but we have a long way to go, and the only way we all win is if we bring each other along because it is enough for all of us.??