A female professional isn't just a female professional

It sounds obvious, but all the evidence points to that not being the case.

Not to go over it again, but we have seen that campaigning for diversity, although positive strides have been made, has for the most part been about increasing women in boards and leadership, but what about Black women?

As Black women, we suffer from the double bind, that we face both racism and sexism, so when looking at how to support us, it isn’t as simple as that. Both of these binds have to be kept at the forefront of any programmes or new processes.

Interestingly enough, this recognition has been lacking, having had conversations with several organisations. They have been of the opinion that they already have more than enough experience either with women in leadership or developing and retaining talent globally, so they don’t need any further help.

Developing women in leadership is one thing, but the question I had for them was and is, what are you doing to develop Black women specifically? The irony being, that when I looked at the numbers of these companies, what were they lacking?

Black women at the top. If their methods to engage and retain Black talent haven’t worked so far, why would it be believable that this will change now if they don’t take meaningful action?

An article from the Harvard Business Review said this, ‘Our research suggests that company leaders are best able to recognize talent and understand others’ development needs when those talents and needs present themselves as theirs did; they often overlook—or are baffled by how to develop—talent that looks different.’

There is a fundamental disjoint between what a lot of companies believe will help versus what will truly help. Looking at the situation today and trying to find a quick fix solution, is like trying to cure a symptom and not the illness. This means before assuming anything, there is a level of KYC (Know Your Client) that has to be done.

There is no expectation that companies understand the issues, but denying that there are any, firmly closes the door to the possibility to make change.

We recognise and accept than when a business fundamentally wants to change strategic direction, then they put in time, resources and effort to make it happen. This should be no different. If companies want to make meaningful change, then they have to get comfortable with admitting they don’t understand how and why the path for Black women could be different. 

Trying to apply a one size fits all method will not work and shouldn't even been considered. The worst thing to do is take an existing solution and try to tweak it for Black women.

I read something along the lines of saying Black women don’t get to ‘lean in’, because to do so, we need to be at the table first. The hurdles that we face to get to the table of very different to those faced by either white women or Black men. 

Creating not only a path, but also an environment that gives Black women the space to bring their whole selves to work increases not only the chances of attraction but also retention. The right infrastructure makes all the difference.

This is the difference between vanity metrics and meaningful action. Vanity is just baiting us with big statements and pledges and branding, but being meaningful action is giving us the means to not only survive but to thrive.

So here are three things that companies can do to make a start:

• Create the opportunity to discuss issues or problems along with solutions either with a trusted colleague or an external party. Being seen and being heard is vital to feeling valued in a company.
• Be specific and be clear about supporting Black women. We have been grouped in with BAME and we have been grouped together with the Latinx community. Each group has their problems, but Black women are the most marginalised. Do not dilute the message in order to please more people.
• Don't try to push us into existing women's network. The intersectionality of being both Black and female is often missed in the traditional networks. By directly providing support for this group, shows an understanding of the unique position that we have.

And on top of all of this companies have to recognise that they a) can’t do this alone b) need to get assistance from people who can really help, i.e. not asking Black employees to solve the problem and c) don’t expect this to be either cheap or free. 

Committing to change means being open to learn, to accept a level of discomfort, but ultimately showing Black female employees, that they are genuinely valued.