The Weight of Survival: Empowering Black Women to Thrive at Work — and in Life

Navigating the corporate workplace, or any workplace, really, can be challenging for anyone. But for Black women, the journey often feels like a high-stakes balancing act. Worse, the balls that you’re juggling may spontaneously change size and weight, but you still have to keep them up in the air.?

The pressure to perform, the loneliness of often being the only one in the room, and the constant battle we face combatting the stereotypes that others are quick to try and attach to us, create a unique set of challenges. But thriving — and not just surviving — is possible with discipline and determination. Often all Black women need are actionable strategies to help guide us in how best to excel in our careers and how to prioritize our well-being without losing ourselves in the process.

Recognize Your Right to Be in the Room

Let’s start there. We have the right to be in any room we enter. A lot of the bravado society and the media like to portray when they offer stories — or caricatures — of Black women is simply not real. Or, those frequently half-baked stories of strength and resilience — you’ve no doubt seen any number of cartoons of black women with capes billowing in an imaginary wind and plush, black top knots aloft with baby hairs shining — become the primary narrative.?

The problem is, those antiquated or inaccurate tropes completely ignore the other aspects of Black womanhood that stand right beside that indomitable strength, the things that make us human. We’re not just strong. We’re soft too. We get scared. We are feminine, and we experience all kinds of joy.?

Despite what society may think, we are real women. Real women are multi-dimensional. We bleed when cut. We cry when we’re sad. We laugh when something is funny. And we are not always strong.

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