Why Black Women Leaders Matter

Setting the scene

Following the global pandemic, greater scrutiny has been applied across all sectors to ensure employers continue to recruit from a diverse workforce into senior leadership positions, as black women leaders remain underrepresented in senior leadership (Dolan et al., 2020).

According to the UK Census (ONS, 2011), Black people comprise (Black African, Caribbean, Black British and Black others) and are 3.3% of the UK population. There are 20.6 million employed working-aged women; out of that, 2.9 million (14%) are from BAME backgrounds, and black women make up 63.6% of that group (Business in the Community, 2017).

Institutions across the public and private sectors are making efforts to reduce the inequalities that have shown to be apparent through the gender and race wage gaps. Albeit equity, diversity and inclusion departments are set up to address the inequalities, there remains an underrepresentation of black women in leadership positions.

Ngozi Cadmus Consultancy aims to have organisational workforces from senior levels to those at the bottom reflect the diversity of their communities (McGregor-Smith, 2017). Nevertheless, Black African and Caribbean women are overrepresented in key worker roles, particularly health and social care frontline care workers, in contrast to white workers (Trades Union Congress, 2020). Green Park's (2017) Public Service Leadership 5,000 conducted an in-depth examination of gender and ethnocultural diversity among 5,000 of the most senior employees who lead not-for-profit government-funded organisations. Their findings are that "Black and Chinese/other Asian Britons are still unrepresented at senior levels in not only central and local government but also in the National Healthcare Services and educational institutes" (p.23).

The most recent UK Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index revealed a complete absence of Black Chairs, Chief Executives and Chief Financial Officers within blue-chip companies. Black men and women across the UK are still overwhelmingly underrepresented in top managerial positions (the C-Suite), and there are no black women on Boards of FTSE 100 companies (Roxane, 2019; Black Women in Leadership Survey, 2022).

Black Women experience exclusions

Extant research has found that black professional women face external barriers in their leadership advancement and in enacting their leadership. Most black women are usually the only women of colour in their departments. Thus, they feel stereotyped and have to leave their culture at the door and adapt to the dominant organisational culture at personal cost. This is not an unfamiliar phenomenon for professional black women leaders who have often embraced a bifurcated approach that allowed them to separate their work and home identities (Opara, Sealy and Ryan, 2020).

The hindrances women face, especially Black women, are captured in the concept of 'labyrinth' (Eagly and Carli, 2007). Eagly and Carli (2007) suggested that women navigate various obstacles, twists, and turns to attain their leadership goals. Sanchez-Hucles and Davis (2010) found that gender and race are not the only intersections that Black women leaders present with. As an additional identity, ethnicity can also contribute to the stereotyping Black women experience whilst leading in their jobs. Showunmi et al., (2015) also found that class and religion intersect as identities and influence the perception of BAME women leaders and nationality and accent as a category related to ethnicity found in Opara et al., (2020).

The current landscape might appear bleak for emerging black professional women. But on the other hand, a great deal of work is being undertaken to transform organisational culture and create transparency around developmental opportunities and promotional pipelines across public and private sectors.

Stay tuned to part 2 to learn more about what organisations can do to increase diversity and representation in their leadership.

If you feel that your organisation needs help in identifying and training your Black Female talent, or you’re a black women professional and want your organisation to provide you with 1:1 coaching so you can overcome your imposter syndrome and excel in your leadership capabilities: ?email [email protected]

References

Eagly, A. and Carli, L. (2007). 'Women and the labyrinth of leadership', Harvard business review, 85,( 146), pp. 62-71.

Business in the Community. (2017). Race at work 2015-2017 survey insights BAME Women at work. [online]. Available at: https://www.bitc.org.uk/report/race-at-work-2015-2017-survey-insights/ [Accessed 2nd March 2022].

GREEN PARK. (2017). Public service leadership 5,000. [online]. Available at: https://green-park.co.uk/gp-research/leadership-5000-2017/ [Accessed 2nd March 2022].

ONS. (2011). Census, Room 4300S, ONS, Segensworth Road, Titchfield, Hampshire, PO15 5RR. Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/national-and-regional-populations/population-of-england-and-wales/latest (Accessed: 1st March 2022).

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Opara, V., Sealy, R. and Ryan, M. K. (2020). 'The workplace experiences of BAME professional women: Understanding experiences at the intersection', Gender, Work & Organisation, 27(6), pp. 1192-1213.

Roxane, L.G. (2019). 'Women in senior management: Exploring the dynamics of diversity in attaining senior leadership positions'. In Maureen, M., Helen, N., Husain, A.H (eds.). Leadership and Diversity in Psychology Moving beyond the limits. London: Routledge, p.166-192.

Sanchez-Hucles, J. V. and Davis, D. D. (2010). 'Women and women of color in leadership: Complexity, identity, and intersectionality', American Psychologist, 65(3), pp. 171-181.

Showunmi, V., Atewologun, D. and Bebbington, D. (2015). 'Ethnic, gender and class intersections in British women's leadership experiences', Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 44(6), pp. 917-935.