Investing in women of colour career starters

Relatable Mansplaining

Recently, I had the pleasure of?being mansplained for a good hour of my life.?

Instead of responding, ‘Thanks Mark, I am talking’

I didn’t appreciate his unwarranted comments that attempted to explain what I already know or even mansplaining’s cousin, the?‘talk over’, and being cut off before I can make my point is condescending!!!?

I felt my eye start to twitch and that pained humourless laugh came out!?

I’ve perfected it throughout the years, as you do!?

But, it was so cringe worthy. I wanted to curl up into a ball and die. Instead of fuming in private about it, and going over it again and again in my head. I told him what I wished I’d said.

Here was his reply??

Wait for it……..

To tell me that’s not what condescending is, condescending is when you talk down to someone ??

Female career starters?

I had spoke to another young woman that week, who unlike me was just at the start of her career.

And, already dealing with a regular dose of mansplaining, causing fatigue and a sense of helplessness, as he was in a more senior role. Hence, she didn't feel she had any power to limit their interactions.

She burst into tears at the daily mental anguish, taking a toll on her mental health and grinding down her confidence and self esteem ??

This tugged on my heartstrings and my maternal instinct wanted to protect her.?

A?recent McKinsey study ?found that not only are women less likely than men to be hired into entry-level roles, there’s also a ‘broken rung’ in the first step up to manager.

Only 87 women for every 100 men are promoted from entry-level to manager positions.?

Yet, women of colour have always faced leadership barriers , earned less and endured worse representation in management roles.

If you include intersectionality within the gender diversity discourse. Women of colour are consistently bypassed for promotions which is proven to significantly impact earnings.

So, this isn't just about confidence and self esteem, but it is career limiting!

Setting yourself up to overcoming barriers for promotion

Despite best intentions across organisations, there are still barriers to promotions for young female professionals.

These barriers include bias, imposter syndrome, and work-life balance challenges;

• Misogynoir: prevents young black female professionals from advancing in their careers with an increased likelihood of black women who are not recognising for their achievements as good enough. This leads to over-delivering and pushing yourself to extreme standards, leaving you feeling burnt out and emotionally drained. Organisations must work to eliminate bias by providing ant-racist training to people leaders who are supporting these roles, conducting blind resume reviews and implementing diversity and inclusion initiatives alone is not enough. Try to align to companies who recognise this work and are taking steps to eradicate these behaviours

• Imposter syndrome: Imposter syndrome is a psychological pattern in which people doubt their skills and accomplishments and have a persistent internalised fear of being exposed as a "fraud." Organisations must work to address imposter syndrome by providing mentorship opportunities and creating a culture that values diversity and inclusion

• Work-life balance challenges: Work-life balance challenges can also prevent young female professionals from advancing in their careers. Organisations must work to address work-life balance challenges by providing flexible work arrangements, parental leave, and other benefits that support work-life balance.

For Tips on Building a Strong Professional Brand and Reputation to advancing in your career. You may want to consider the Kinship accelerator programme.

If you are a people leader supporting women of colour in entry level roles.

Childcare responsibilities and the lack of investment in meaningful diversity & inclusion programmes have been defined as some specific areas people leaders can focus on to support #embracingequity

If you would like to explore this further please connect here

Dementia: Causes, Treatment and Research

Studying Dementia: Masters at the University College London. Rianna founded the Dominica Dementia Foundation at 18, in memory of my grandfather who passed away with dementia in Dominica. She has been accepted to pursue a master's degree in dementia at UCL to provide a culturally diverse and multidisciplinary environment with international leaders in dementia and is crowdfunding her place. Please support here

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