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Leading from the margins: an intersectional qualitative analysis of the leadership experiences of Black mothers

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Leading from the margins: an intersectional qualitative analysis of the leadership experiences of Black mothers

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Leading From the Margins: An Intersectional Qualitative Analysis of the Leadership
Experiences of Black Mothers

Adiyah Aisha Ali

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education

May 2023

© Copyright 2023 Adiyah Aisha Ali 2023
All Rights Reserved

The Committee for Adiyah Aisha Ali certifies the approval of this Dissertation

Ingrid Hayes-Burrell
Courtney Malloy
Esther C. Kim, Committee Chair

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2023

iv
Abstract
This study sought to inform individuals and institutions about the benefits of having historically
excluded people—those relegated to the margins of society—in leadership positions.
Specifically, the purpose of this study was to learn how being a Black mother influences one’s
choices, career opportunities, and experiences as leaders. While the literature review included an
examination of the sociohistorical context for Black women’s oppression, this study focused on
the present-day oppressions that Black mothers in leadership positions face and the ways in
which they resist. In examining the relationship between race and gender within the construct of
motherhood, this study conceptualized this existence as Black motherhood identity. The four-
tiered conceptual framework was a lens to view the convergence of intersectional identities,
oppressions, and values and their influence on Black mothers’ leadership. Black feminist theory
and intersectionality were the theoretical frameworks leveraged to address the study’s research
questions, as they captured the myriad ways Black mothers navigate and resist intersectional
oppressions, and reimagine their position in social hierarchies, respectively.
An intersectional qualitative methodological approach was utilized to center the knowledge and
experiences of the historically excluded and marginalized study participants, allowing them to
tell counter stories to dominant narratives. The study design consisted of a primarily semi-
structured approach to both the focus group and interview protocols. The findings show that
Black mothers in leadership positions face workplace barriers but are deft at leveraging aspects
of their identity to lead effectively. Based on the conceptual framework and the findings, this
study has generated three recommendations for practice and future research that will help
workplaces dismantle barriers to equity and inclusion.

v
Dedication
To my children, Nylah Simone and Cameron Jasir. The most difficult part of my doctoral
journey was having to make difficult choices—particularly sacrificing some time spent with
you—so that I could study, research, write, work, and lead. Thank you for being patient and
understanding. I love you!

vi
Acknowledgements
I am thankful to my dissertation committee. Dr. Kim, thank you for serving as my chair.
Dr. Malloy and Dr. Hayes-Burrell, thank you for serving on my committee. Each of you helped
me get to this point. Your time, feedback, encouragement, and overall support were invaluable in
this doctoral journey. Thank you! My fellow Cohort 18 members—I needed to be in this
program with brilliant, passionate, and driven professionals who encouraged one another to push
forward. Thank you! To the 12 Black mothers who participated in the study, your generosity,
vulnerability, transparency, and support were a gift to me. I appreciate you sharing intimate
aspects of your lives and trusting me with your stories. Thank you!
I want to acknowledge my family, particularly my mother, father, husband, and children.
Thank you all for loving, encouraging, believing in, and rooting for me. To my loved ones who
are now ancestors, including Helen Thornton Spencer, Adria Carey, Cynthia Gregory, and
Denise Reid, I hope that I made you proud. To Black mothers everywhere—who have led, who
are leading, and who seek to lead—I see you, salute you, and thank you!

vii
Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv
Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... v
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ vi
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. ix
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. x
Chapter One: Introduction to the Study ........................................................................................ 11
Context and Background of the Problem .......................................................................... 14
Purpose of the Project and Research Questions ................................................................ 16
Importance of the Study .................................................................................................... 17
Overview of Theoretical Framework and Methodology .................................................. 18
Definition of Terms........................................................................................................... 19
Organization of the Dissertation ....................................................................................... 22
Chapter Two: Literature Review .................................................................................................. 23
Literature Review.............................................................................................................. 23
Summary ........................................................................................................................... 52
Chapter Three: Methodology ........................................................................................................ 53
Research Questions ........................................................................................................... 53
Overview of Design .......................................................................................................... 53
Research Setting................................................................................................................ 58
The Researcher .................................................................................................................. 59
Data Sources ..................................................................................................................... 61
Credibility and Trustworthiness ........................................................................................ 65
Ethics................................................................................................................................. 66
Limitations and Delimitations........................................................................................... 68

viii
Chapter Four: Findings ................................................................................................................. 69
Participants ........................................................................................................................ 70
Finding 1: Fear-Based Mothering Influences Black Mothers’ Leadership Practices ....... 78
Finding 2: Black Motherleaders Constantly Have to Prove Themselves ......................... 84
Finding 3: Being a Mother Shapes Black Women’s Leadership Styles ........................... 88
Finding 4: Black Motherleaders Have Little Support ....................................................... 94
Summary ......................................................................................................................... 104
Chapter Five: Recommendations ................................................................................................ 106
Discussion of Findings .................................................................................................... 106
Recommendations for Practice ....................................................................................... 112
Limitations and Delimitations......................................................................................... 119
Recommendations for Future Research .......................................................................... 120
Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 121
References ................................................................................................................................... 123
Appendix A: Code Book ............................................................................................................. 144
Appendix B: Protocols ................................................................................................................ 146

ix
List of Tables
Table 1: Data Sources 58
Table 2: Participant Overview 71
Appendix A: Code Book Error! Bookmark not defined.

x
List of Figures
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework 51
11

Chapter One: Introduction to the Study
On May 25, 2020, with a smirk on his face, Derek Chauvin, a White Minneapolis police
officer, knelt on the neck of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black father, for more than eight
minutes, killing him (Barrie, 2020). The brutality of George’s death led to protests in every U.S.
state and eventually crossed borders, becoming an international movement for racial justice
(Barrie, 2020). In reflecting on the moments leading up to the murder of George Floyd, Grady-
Hunt (2020) stated the following:
As George Floyd was dying, he used his last breaths to call out to his mother, Larcenia
Floyd. “Mama, Mama. I love you.” Larcenia Floyd preceded her son George in death by
two years. … When he called out for his mama, in his abject isolation, he connected to an
instinctual awareness of who Mama is. For most of us, she is our first experience of love
and protection. (pp. 4, 7)
This quote is significant in that it centers on the importance of Black mothers. Black
feminist theorists have long contended that motherhood is a social practice for Black families
(Collins, 1991; hooks, 1984; Lorde, 1984). Beyond being a physical state, motherhood is
communal, collaborative, and collective. With this more inclusive definition of motherhood in
mind, the experiences and practices of all Black women who are raising children in their homes
will be explored, including biological mothers, adoptive mothers, step-mothers, and
othermothers. The latter includes sisters, cousins, aunts, or grandmothers (Collins, 2009).
Not only are Black mothers often their children’s “first experience of love and
protection” (Grady-Hunt, 2020), but they are also leaders in their families, communities, and
society. This study is about Black motherleaders. A motherleader describes the interconnected,
interwoven, seamless nature of a woman as both a mother and a leader in her home, family,
12

community, and workplace (Collins, 1991). There is a long history of Black mothers
empowering their families, taking collective responsibility for the well-being of their
communities, and leading freedom and social justice movements (Allen, 1997; Love, 2019;
Watson, 2020). Arguably, Black mothers are the unsung heroes of the past’s abolition, anti-
lynching, and Civil Rights movements, and the #MeToo, anti-voter suppression, and the Black
Lives Matter (BLM) movements of the present. Yet, even in the occasional instances where
people acknowledge Black mothers for their contributions, they are seldom lauded for their
leadership. However, Black mothers’ profundity in parenting Black children in an anti-Black
world, coupled with their critical roles as arbiters of liberty, advocates of justice, and perfectors
of democracy (Hannah-Jones, 2019) make them highly effective in their leadership.
Black mothers’ roles in bringing attention to the inequitable impact of the coronavirus
pandemic and its debilitating effects on Black communities and their centrality in seeking justice
for families in the aftermath of police killings of Black men, women, and children cannot be
understated. When the COVID-19 pandemic was in the early stages of wreaking havoc on the
living, leaving many dead in its wake, the murder of George Floyd brought renewed attention to
the ubiquity of anti-Blackness and the relentless state-sanctioned violence against Black people
globally (Barbot, 2020; Barrie, 2020; Perez, 2021; Thelwal & Thelwal, 2021). During this time,
under the overarching umbrella of advancing equity, two very different conversations were
happening in workplaces throughout the United States.
One discussion focused on the need to dismantle barriers to leadership opportunities for
Black employees and others who hold historically excluded identities (Creary et al., 2021;
Meikle & Morris, 2022). The other concerned the impacts of the pandemic on the plight of
working mothers. Specifically, this conversation was about how the lack of childcare options and
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a loss of safety nets forced working mothers to leave the workforce or make other tough choices
(Kirwin & Ettinger, 2022; Zamarro & Prados, 2021). Just as these two conversations were, for
the most part, happening in silos, very little research married the two topics. Likewise, there is a
paucity of scholarship on the barriers to leadership for Black working mothers. In this study, I
connected these two seemingly parallel discourses.
Black working women constitute 4.4% of management positions (e.g., managers, senior
managers, and directors), 1.6% of Vice President roles, and 1.4% of C-Suite positions
(McKinsey & Company, 2020). Fifty percent of Black female workers are mothers (U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics, 2019; Wilson, 2017) whose lived experiences in navigating and interrogating
anti-Black, anti-woman, and anti-mother systems and structures account for their adaptive and
resilient leadership styles and the centrality of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in their
leadership practices (Cyr, 2021; Ross, 2014; Sarid, 2021). However, rarely are Black mothers
considered in the literature, theory, and scholarship on leadership. To silence Black mothers’
voices in the canon of leadership further marginalizes them and their experiences (Grimes,
2005). In this study, I sought to address this gap by exploring the perspectives, experiences,
challenges, strategies, and practices of Black mothers in organizational leadership positions, and
providing a theoretical underpinning of Black mothers’ identity negotiation within institutions
not built with them in mind.
In speaking about the lack of women of color in leadership positions, Purushothaman
(2022) noted the following:
The message is that we are different from the White male leader who created the
corporate ideal of leadership, and the delusion we are told is that we need to be more like
him, when in actuality, our differences are part of our power. (p. 9)
14

Moreover, the mainstream epistemology about leadership, as it concerns the role of women, “has
been constructed, canonized, and theorized from a White hegemonic female perspective”
(Grimes, 2005, p. 1). Black women are centered in this study to counter the supremacy of
Whiteness and patriarchy in scholarship on effective leadership. This study focused on the
critical and challenging role of Black motherhood as situated in the construct of work and
leadership.
While all working mothers may face challenges in the workplace, I have chosen to
specifically center and address the work and leadership experiences of Black women. Among the
research on the anti-woman and anti-mother barriers to career advancement that women of all
races and ethnicities face, very little mentions the impact of anti-Blackness in exacerbating the
leadership representation gap. Furthermore, there is a dearth of scholarship on how Black
mothers leverage their cultural knowledge and lived experiences to inform their leadership
practices. That is, there is not enough written about the unique leadership attributes of Black
women. To understand how motherhood as a social identity can be both oppressive and
liberating to women (Collins, 2009), this study addressed how Black working mothers negotiate
the tensions between and demands of mothering and leading.
Context and Background of the Problem
The setting for the study is the for- and non-profit sectors, which in the aftermath of the
so-called “racial reckoning” brought on by George Floyd’s murder, found themselves at a
crossroads when Black employees began to share their experiences with racism and
discrimination in the workplace. As the BLM protests took place daily in 4,446 cities for nearly 6
months (Cunningham, 2022), both sectors realized that the demand for accountability was not
only aimed externally at state actors (i.e., law enforcement) but also internally at them (i.e.,
15

organizational leaders). Thus, for- and non-profit leaders made statements expressing their
solidarity with and support of the Black community. Additionally, several corporate leaders
made more than $1.7 billion pledges to advance racial equity and justice, but were quickly
criticized for the lack of workplace diversity and the abundance of workplace inequity in their
organizations (Kerber et al., 2020). Of particular concern was that White men continue to be
overrepresented in leadership positions, even though research has shown that workplaces benefit
from leadership that includes people of color and women (Foma, 2014; Kapoor, 2011; Le, 2008;
McLauren, 2012).
The marginalization of Black women, in particular, “reflects their membership in groups
that are perceived as having less worth and are construed as being lower in status” (Craddock,
2015, p. 36). That is, being doubly oppressed by race and gender creates barriers to equity and
inclusion (Crenshaw, 1989). Therefore, Black women remain underrepresented in leadership
positions in both the for- and non-profit sectors. For example, in a recent survey of U.S.-based
nonprofit professionals, 612 Black women said that they believe that their race and gender
accounted for why they faced barriers to leadership (i.e., not being hired or not being promoted;
Biu, 2020). Less than half (48%) of the Black women surveyed said they were promoted in their
current place of employment, compared to 54% of other women of color, 50% of men of color,
55% of White women, and 56% of White men (Biu, 2020).
The for- and non-profit sectors’ inability or unwillingness to recognize the leadership
acumen of Black women, and in some cases, their sheer refusal to dismantle barriers to equitable
access to workplace opportunities, can have far-reaching repercussions. For example, more than
80% of Black women are the breadwinners for their families—they earn at least half of their
household’s income (Glynn, 2019). Thus, when Black women are excluded from the workplace,
16

their families’ economic security and well-being are at risk. Moreover, because Black women
often are also leaders in their communities, their ability to successfully surmount structural
barriers to inclusion in the workplace is paramount to the well-being of innumerable people.
Furthermore, workplaces deprived of the leadership of Black women are missing out on
opportunities to foster and maintain anti-oppressive, equitable, and inclusive cultures, retain
employees, and reap the economic benefits of having a happy and productive workforce.
Purpose of the Project and Research Questions
This study explored the influence of intersectional oppressed identities on the leadership
experiences, styles, and practices of Black mothers; and, in turn, informed individuals and
institutions of the benefits of having historically excluded people in leadership positions. Just as
Black mothers affirm their children’s dignity and teach them that true belonging (i.e., an inherent
desire to be accepted and supported) is about expanding, rather than fitting into, existing power
structures, all employees can benefit from this philosophy and practice being instituted in their
workplaces. In addition to identifying barriers to leadership, this study uplifted strategies that
employers can utilize to make their workplaces more inclusive. Specifically, the focus of this
study was on Black mothers in leadership positions in the for- and non-profit sectors, and it
sought to address the following research questions:
1. How do Black motherleaders perceive the influence of their intersectional identities
on their careers and leadership experiences?
2. How do systems oppress Black motherleaders?
3. What practices do Black motherleaders employ to navigate oppressive systems?
17

Importance of the Study
Whether referred to as the COVID-19 effect or “The Great Resignation” (Klotz, 2021),
employees have been resigning from their workplaces in droves since the pandemic made people
seek shelter in their homes and the BLM protests caused them to advocate for justice in the
streets. As a result, employers are scrambling to understand how to retain their employees. If the
job sector were equated with the housing market, with employers metaphorically as the sellers
and employees as the buyers, then most would agree that it is a buyer’s market in that employees
have the upper hand. Beyond a clarion call for increased diversity in the workplace, employees
are demanding an inclusive organizational culture and a shift of power (i.e., diversity in
leadership).
In a recent survey of 35,000 workers across 34 markets, 49% of Gen Z (18–24-year-olds)
and 46% of millennials (25–34-year-olds) said that diversity has to be a priority for a company
for them to work there (Randstad, 2022). Furthermore, Dowell and Jackson (2020) stated,
“Diversity and inclusion efforts, on a collision course with the Black Lives Matter movement,
have jointly arrived at the corporate table demanding justice” (p. 3). In other words, employees
expect companies to align with their personal values, including diversity, flexibility, work–life
balance, and corporate social responsibility. Almost half of Gen Z and millennials reported that
they would rather be unemployed than unhappy in a job (Randstad, 2022).
If workplaces genuinely want to make their employees happy, they can learn from the
leadership of Black mothers. Black motherleaders are social justice-oriented, culturally
competent drivers of workplace DEI efforts. They draw on their lived experiences to render
institutional policy advice and mediate DEI-centered conflicts (Dowell & Jackson, 2020). Due to
having to traverse the world while being constantly cognizant of their intersecting and oppressed
18

social identities, Black mothers have firsthand experience navigating challenges concerning
belonging. For example, Black mothers are adept at preparing their children to face anti-
Blackness and the accompanying injustices while ensuring they do not plant self-doubt or
inferiority. This delicate balancing act has uniquely positioned Black mothers to lead in a way
that affirms the dignity of their followers while also relaying their expectations for excellence.
This type of leadership is invaluable to all workplaces.
I am seeking to add to the scholarship on the intersection of motherhood and leadership
because I identify as a Black motherleader. In Chapter 3, I addressed how I monitored the
potential bias from having a shared identity with the study participants. This study included best
practices for coping with marginalization, dismantling structural barriers, resisting oppressive
systems, and joyfully building and creating community within workplaces. As numerous
employers grapple with embedding equity into their structures, systems, policies, and practices,
Black mothers could seamlessly step in and lead efforts to transform workplaces into
environments where all employees feel welcomed, valued, and belonging. Belonging uncertainty
is the phenomenon in which members of stigmatized groups question whether or not they fit in a
social setting (Walton & Cohen, 2007). By closing the leadership representation gap, for- and
non-profit organizations can leverage Black mothers’ lived and learned experiences to foster
anti-oppressive, equitable, and inclusive workplace environments.
Overview of Theoretical Framework and Methodology
According to Lorde (1984) and Rich (1986), when focused on the lives and
circumstances of Black women, categories such as “womanhood” and “motherhood” lose their
universality due to Black women’s unique experiences of living under oppressive systems (as
cited in Craddock, 2015). Black feminist epistemology centers on the experiences and
19

perspectives of Black women (Collins, 2009), countering the near erasure of Black women in the
discourse on womanhood and motherhood. Therefore, Black feminist theory (BFT), U.S. Black
women’s critical social theory encompassing bodies of knowledge that grapples with the central
questions facing Black women as a collectivity (Collins, 2009), is the primary lens utilized in
this study. BFT seeks to account for the specific ways in which Black women are subordinated
by their “multiply-burdened” identities (Crenshaw, 1989) while simultaneously acknowledging
the myriad ways in which they resist the subordination (Collins, 2009).
Intersectionality, a theory (Crenshaw, 1989) and methodology (Esposito & Evans-
Winters, 2022) that explores the overlapping and often interdependent axes of identity that make
one simultaneously invisible and hyper-visible, also applied to the study. Since the goal was to
understand the experiences of Black mothers in the workplace, a methodology that centered on
collecting data via speaking to them directly (i.e., interviews) was most appropriate for this study
(Esposito & Evans-Winters, 2022). Therefore, using narrative inquiry as the primary form of
data collection, an intersectional qualitative analysis was the methodology that undergirded the
research.
Definition of Terms
The following terms and definitions are central to understanding the design of this
dissertation and the methodological approach to the study. The terms are also the pillars
supporting the conceptual framework.
Anti-Blackness is the inability to recognize the humanity of people racialized as Black
results in unwarranted and inexorable violence against them (Dumas & Ross, 2016).
20

Anti-mother is the act of treating mothering as if it is a woman’s private issue, whereby
institutions make no or very little effort to put into place policies and practices that support
mothers (Coiner & George, 1998).
Anti-woman is defined as misogynistic hostility toward women due to the belief that they
are unequal to men and are not fully capable of engaging in all aspects of life (Hamisan-Khair &
Mohd-Dahlan, 2017).
Black is a category of racial identities describing people whose roots can be historically
traced to a shared cultural and political identity emanating from descendants of Africans who
were forced into a system of U.S. chattel slavery (Ghee, 1990). The terms “Black” and “African-
American” are used interchangeably throughout this dissertation.
Black feminist leadership is a practical leadership framework in which Black women
leverage their lived experiences to influence and empower followers to challenge social
oppressions and injustices (Hanson, 2003; Rogers, 2005; Rosser-Mims, 2010).
Black feminist theory is a critical social theory grounded in the belief that Black women
are inherently valuable and their thoughts, experiences, and perspectives should be centered in
any analysis, examination, and interpretation of Black womanhood (Collins, 2009).
Black motherhood identity is black women’s self-definitions and sense-making of
mothering while Black; the intersection of race and gender within the construct of motherhood
among Black women (Craddock, 2015).
Critical race feminism is a theoretical framework that centers the voices of women of
color in the analysis of how power relations, social identity, and oppression coalesce to form and
inform one’s lived experiences within social hierarchies (Verjee, 2012).
21

Critical race parenting is a pedagogical process whereby both parent and child are
engaged in a mutual exercise of teaching and learning about race whilst debunking dominant
narratives, messages, and ideologies about humanity (Matias, 2016).
Critical race theory (CRT) is a theoretical framework that focuses on the centrality of
race and racism, with the former being a social construct and the latter embedded throughout
society, including in institutions, legal systems, government policies, and workplace practices
(Crenshaw, 1989).
Cultural wealth is a framework within CRT that posits that there is an abundance of
capital (i.e., assets) in communities of color and other socially oppressed groups (Yosso, 2005).
Feminism is the assertion that women are whole human beings capable of engagement
and leadership in all spheres of life—economic, intellectual, political, sexual, social, and spiritual
(hooks, 2000).
Intersectionality is the theory of how interlocking systems of power and oppression (e.g.,
race, ethnicity, gender, class) shape the lives of people of color, particularly Black women
(Crenshaw, 1989).
Mothering is a powerful social construct centered on the activities of women involved in
nurturing and ensuring the growth and development of their children (Frances-Connolly, 1998).
In this study, “mother” refers to birth mothers, adoptive mothers, stepmothers, and figurative
mothers.
Motherwork is the extension of mothering that is racially and culturally specific in that
some mothers have the additional mothering responsibilities of instilling in their children the
practices of survival, resistance, and empowerment, as well as mothering their communities
(Collins, 1991; 2009).
22

Motherleader is the interconnected, interwoven, seamless nature of a woman as both a
mother and a leader in her home, family, community, and workplace; motherleaders are Black
mothers in leadership positions (Collins, 1991).
Womanism is a theory that is centered on the experiences of Black women and their
impact on humanity and links Black women’s experiences to the human spiritual and physical
struggle for liberation (Maparyan, 2012; Pellerin, 2012).
Organization of the Dissertation
In Chapter 1, I discussed the dissertation’s focus, the purpose and importance of the
study, and the background of the problem (i.e., the underrepresentation of Black mothers in
leadership positions). I also provided an overview of the theoretical framework and methodology
(i.e., Black feminist theory and intersectionality). Chapter 2 consists of a comprehensive study of
literature primarily pertaining to Black working women, in general, due to the dearth of
scholarship about Black motherleaders, specifically. It is focused on examining the barriers that
impact and inform Black mothers’ lives, work, and leadership. This is followed by the study’s
conceptual framework and the chapter’s content summary. Chapter 3 is the methodology section,
which includes an overview of the study’s design, the setting for the research, the positionality of
the researcher, sources of data, ethics, limitations, and delimitations of the study. In Chapter 4,
the findings of the study are provided. I provide an overview of the participants and the themes
that emerged from my conversations with them and then summarize the overall findings. After
discussing the aforementioned findings, in Chapter 5, I tie the findings to the research questions
and then translate the findings into recommendations for practice.
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Chapter Two: Literature Review
Black mothers organize, strategize, advocate, problem-solve, and make decisions that
empower their families, uplift their communities, and help their organizations maintain
competitive advantage while enhancing organizational culture. Yet, Black mothers face
numerous obstacles to career advancement and leadership opportunities. The following literature
review examines historical and contemporary systemic barriers that impact and inform Black
mothers’ lives, work, and leadership. Due to the paucity of research pertaining to the
perspectives of Black mothers in leadership positions (i.e., motherleaders), I conducted a
comprehensive study of literature primarily about Black working women. This review covers
literature under four topic areas that emerged from the review process: navigating intersectional
oppressions, negotiating identity, asserting inherent value, and leading from the margins.
Literature Review
This review is organized into five parts. First, a historical overview of feminism,
including the struggles of women in general working outside of their homes, is provided.
Second, the complicated relationship that mothers have with work is examined. Third, the origins
of Black women’s oppression and resistance, including the exploitation of Black women’s labor,
the devaluation of Black motherhood, and the many ways Black women have resisted
subordination, are explained. Fourth, I explore how contemporary Black women’s intersectional
identities affect their experiences at work and as leaders. Finally, I share how Black
motherleaders negotiate their identities and assert the value of their cultural wealth to redefine
motherhood and reimagine leadership.

24

Historical Overview of Feminism
Though it began in the mid-nineteenth century as an outgrowth of the anti-slavery
movement, the “first wave” (i.e., period of activism) of U.S. feminism primarily focused on
advocating for the rights of middle-class White women (Collins, 2000; hooks, 1984; Sharlach,
2009). The prominent theme of the feminist movement was how the gendered division of labor
has resulted in the oppression of women who are housewives and mothers. In The Power of
Women and the Subversion of the Community, Costa and James (1971) noted the following:
The woman has been isolated in the home, forced to carry out work that is considered
unskilled, the work of giving birth to, raising, disciplining, and servicing the worker for
production. Her role in the cycle of production remained invisible because only the
product of her labor, the laborer, was visible. (as cited in Davis, 1981, p. 134)
“Motherhood and mothering in relation to patriarchal ideals is a position of victimhood because
motherhood as an institution under patriarchy oppresses mothers,” wrote Fongang (2015) in her
analysis of motherhood (p. 87).
During the first wave, a notable major win was the ratification of the 19th Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution, which granted women the right to vote; yet, it took more than four decades
before Black women could partake of this constitutional right without fear of reprisal. This
distinction between White and Black women’s access to the vote exemplifies how racial equality
took a backseat to gender parity. Collins (2009) noted that “White women’s inability to
acknowledge how racism privileges them reflects the relationship that they have to White male
power” (p. 177). While not all White feminists were oblivious to their privileges, historically, the
suppression of Black women’s thoughts has been influential in feminist theory (Collins, 2009).
25

The Civil Rights movement was already underway when the “second wave” of feminism
began in the United States. This period of protest and activism lasted for two decades (the 1960s-
1970s) and was characterized by a push for gender equality and justice in all aspects of American
life. Like the previous wave, second-wave feminism’s focus on the concerns of middle-class
White women created a contentious relationship between White feminists and feminists of other
races and classes (Roth, 2004). However, while White feminists were theorizing about the ways
in which sex excluded them from full participation in society, Black feminists, such as Alice
Walker (1981), Angela Davis (1981), and bell hooks (1984), were defining feminism in ways
that accounted for their double marginalization (Roth, 2004). “Although Black feminism varied
in its organizational form and ideology … it was nonetheless characterized by a consistent
examination of interlocking oppressions,” noted Roth (2004, p. 12).
Black women were calling out the sexism in the Civil Rights movement and the racism in
the feminist movement. Furthermore, not all feminists agreed on the origins of women’s
oppression or what it means to be liberated. Roberts (1997) noted that White women’s liberation
through reproductive freedoms was in stark contrast to the experiences of women of color; thus,
during the second wave of feminism, while White feminists were advocating for reproductive
rights (e.g., access to contraceptives), Black women were fighting for reproductive justice (e.g.,
an end to being subjected to forced sterilizations). Feminists of various races and classes agreed
that there needed to be equality in all spheres of life, including working outside of the home.
Working Women
In the 1960s, the great-granddaughters of the first wave of feminism now found
themselves contending with employment discrimination. Thus, they advocated for “equal pay for
equal work” and applauded the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (Avery, 2003). They also were supporters
26

of an amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited employers from
discriminating based on sex (Hersch & Shinall, 2015). However, despite these measures and
other legislative wins, including expanded childcare services, women still faced many barriers to
entering the workplace, such as job advertisements that segregated vacant positions by sex
(Hersch & Shinall, 2015). In addition, once on the job, women were placed in lower-status roles
and were paid lower wages than men due to the prevailing belief that women’s work is low-
skilled (Hartmann, 1976), whereas because men are perceived to be the most valuable workers,
they held the majority of leadership positions and were paid the highest wages (Bleiweis et al.,
2021).
Women account for two-thirds of the United States low-wage workforce (National
Women’s Law Center, 2018). According to Blau and Kahn (2016), over-representing one gender
in a particular occupation accounts for more than half of the difference between men’s and
women’s wages. While there has been some progress in closing the gender wage gap, there is
still much more to be done for there to be wage parity. For example, in 1973, for every $1 paid to
men, women were paid 57 cents; in 2020, women were paid 83 cents for every $1 paid to men
(Glynn & Boesch, 2022; Jones, 2021). Moreover, because working men typically are less
burdened by caregiving responsibilities than working women, it is easier for them to ascend to
leadership positions in the workplace (Bleiweis et al., 2021).
Working Mothers
Like men, women work to provide for themselves and their families; yet, unlike men,
because women bear and primarily rear children, their participation in working outside of the
home has been fraught with friction (Hartmann, 1976). “Birth is not just the ‘re/production’ of a
child, but also the act of ‘re/producing’ a mother, and in so doing transitioning a woman,
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physically and emotionally, into motherhood,” stated Frazier (2015, p. 149). Collins (2009)
asserted, “The traditional family ideal assigns mothers full responsibility for children and
evaluates their performance based on their ability to procure the benefits of a nuclear family
household” (p. 197). The experience of motherhood can create a role strain for working women,
as their roles as workers, friends, and wives, for example, can conflict with their roles as
mothers. Striving to be a good mother causes quite a conundrum for working mothers since
being primarily devoted to their dependent children is in contrast with being primarily committed
to their work (Collins, 2009; Correll et al., 2007).
Motherhood negatively impacts women’s wages, occupational status, and labor force
participation (Abendroth et al., 2014; England et al., 2016; Kahn et al., 2014). In the workplace,
women are penalized for being mothers. Compared to non-mothers and men, working mothers
are more likely to receive lower salaries and less likely to be hired or promoted (Correll et al.,
2007). In a study of 84 men and 108 women, researchers found that mothers were six times less
likely than childless women to be hired. In addition, childless women were eight times more
likely to be promoted than working mothers (Correll et al., 2007). On average, women’s post-
birth earnings are 40% less than their pre-birth earnings (The Economist, 2019). This
motherhood penalty is a crucial driver of the gender wage gap, exacerbating the leadership
representation gap.
Historical Context for Black Women’s Oppression and Resistance
For centuries in the United States, White and male characteristics were requisites for
leadership. When the United States was founded on the premise that only White, land-owning
men could vote, it created a unilateral and hierarchical caste system that relied on
institutions to uphold the status quo of ensuring that only White men were able to lead. Thus, the
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dominant ideology during this era was that Black women were the antithesis of leadership. As
Black women were excluded from leadership positions in conventional institutions, White men’s
thoughts and priorities were elevated (Collins, 1998; Higginbotham, 1989; Morton, 1991). Yet,
because women and people of color have continued to resist and advocate for full participation in
all aspects of society, this discriminatory practice of hoarding power has begun to be disrupted in
recent history. In situating Black mothers’ present-day experiences with leadership, it is
important to understand the historical context of the exploitation of their labor and the
devaluation of their motherhood identity.
Exploitation of Black Women’s Labor
Black women’s oppression originated from the transatlantic slave trade, followed by
centuries of exploitative and unpaid work. Kelley (2017) asserted that European slave traders and
colonizers sought to “eliminate the culture and consciousness while preserving the [Black] body
for labor” (pp. 268–289). Black women’s forced introduction to working outside of the home
accounts for historically having higher labor force participation than other women (Goldin,
1977). For much of American history, slavery was the main and most lucrative staple of the
United States, meaning the exploitation of Black women’s labor helped build the national
economy (Collins, 2009). Dunbar-Ortiz (2021) noted, “The slave colonies created and codified a
thoroughly racial capitalist slavery … building the wealth of the nation on enslaved African labor
and the land violently wrenched from the Native peoples” (p. 57). Under the legal institution of
American slavery, neither womanhood, matrimony, nor motherhood could protect Black women
from physical abuse or hard labor (Banks, 2020). This explains why seventeen years after
emancipation, 73.3% of single Black women and 35.4% of married Black women were in the
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labor market (albeit segregated into low-wage domestic and service jobs) compared to 23.8% of
single White women and 7.3% of married White women (Goldin, 1977).
According to Jones (1985), “If work is any activity that leads either directly or indirectly
to the production of marketable goods, then slave women did nothing but work” (p. 14, emphasis
in original). Stevenson (2021) noted how African women were equated with men, thus “erasing
these women’s public claim to feminine equality with other women” (pp. 18–19). Black working
women embodied the “assumed distinctions between work and family so central to the
definitions of masculinity and femininity,” asserted Collins (2009, p. 316). Davis (1981)
proclaimed, “The unorthodox feminine qualities of assertiveness and self-reliance—for which
Black women have been frequently praised but more often rebuked—are reflections of their
labor and struggles outside the home” (p. 133). In an essay titled “Black women’s labor,”
Stevenson (2021) stated, “These enhanced labor assignments, in turn, damaged women’s health,
prenatal care, and the amount of attention that they could give their dependent kin” (p. 19).
Devaluation of Black Motherhood
Black women have always had to negotiate the inherent tensions between mothering and
working due to the United States profoundly rooted and sinister history of devaluing Black
mothers (Collins, 2005). Black enslaved mothers were considered to be breeders for the benefit
of the slaveholders, not mothers to their children. As a result, Black mothers “had great difficulty
maintaining families and family privacy in public spheres that granted them no citizenship
rights,” noted Collins (2009, p. 55). Not only did slavery lead to the disruption of the Black
family structure, generational trauma, the criminalization of Blackness, and the feminization of
poverty, but it also is the genesis of equating Black mothers’ worth with their ability to produce.
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“It was a womanhood synonymous with market productivity, not motherhood,” noted Stevenson
(2021, p. 19). Jones (1985) asserted,
As Blacks, slave women were exploited for their skills and physical strength in the
production of staple crops; as women, they performed a reproductive function vital to
individual slaveholders’ financial interests and the inherently expansive system of slavery
in general. (p. 12).
According to Collins (2009), “African-American women’s experiences as mothers have
been shaped by the dominant group’s efforts to harness Black women’s sexuality and fertility to
a system of capitalist exploitation,” (p. 57). Black, enslaved women’s bodies did not belong to
them; by extension, neither did their children. For 244 years, Black people were traumatized,
terrorized, and treated like chattel, but one of the greatest afflictions was the separation of Black
mothers from their children. In attempting to defend their families, Black mothers “could not
always prevent their children from being sold, but by refusing to work or threatening to kill their
children if such sales took place, they made it less likely,” stated Ellison (1983, p. 57). When
Black mothers worked, the whereabouts and care of their children were often out of their control.
While there is a near universality in parents desiring to protect their children, Black mothers’
inability to exert control over their children resulted in many parenting from a position of fear.
“The visionary pragmatism of many U.S. Black mothers may grow from the nature of work
women have done to ensure Black children’s survival,” explained Collins (2009, p. 199).
Methods of Resistance
“She who passively accepted her lot as a slave was the exception rather than the rule,”
posited Davis (1981, p. 20). Ellison (1983) asserted, “Over two centuries, Black women
undermined slavery with stubborn inventiveness and a confident sense of outrage at the absurdity
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of the idea that they would suffer gladly the indignities of the servile state” (pp. 56–57). While
leading the Underground Railroad movement is among the most notable ways Black women in
bondage resisted enslavement and all of its related forms of oppression, there are a myriad other
ways Black women fought.
Some forms of resistance included committing suicide, threatening and at times
practicing infanticide, running away, plotting and leading insurrections, teaching their children
survival skills, keeping their families together, maiming mistresses, fighting off slaveholders’
rape attempts, participating in revolts and rebellions, breaking valuable equipment, committing
arson, and teaching themselves to read (Camp, 2005; Davis, 1981; Harrison, 2009). Arguably,
one of Black women’s most important acts of resistance during slavery was forging “powerful
bonds of love and affection that slave-owners could not break,” noted Ellison (1983, p. 57).
Navigating Present-Day Intersectional Oppressions
Though distinct forms of discrimination manifest differently, racism, sexism, and
classism are risk factors for poor life outcomes (Crenshaw, 1989; Yearby, 2018). Moreover, their
impacts are compounded when a person experiences these oppressions simultaneously
(Crenshaw, 1989). This is the reality for Black working women because they embody the
intersections of marginality (Crenshaw, 1989). In her seminal writing on intersectionality,
Crenshaw (1989) described how the either/or false dichotomy between racial discrimination and
gender discrimination produces a multiplicity of burdens for Black women because of the
“intersectional aspects of their subordination” (p. 148). Put differently, Black women’s
marginalization and exclusion in the workplace are intimately connected to their position on the
hierarchical axes of privilege, oppression, and domination (Cooper, 2017). Therefore, as
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Crenshaw (1989) asserted, it is critical to ensure that Black women are not erased in any analysis
of the seemingly mutually exclusive categories of racial and gender discrimination.
Black Working Women
Since arriving on U.S. shores, Black women have worked, often assuming the
responsibilities of family providers. One cannot conceptualize Black women’s relationship with
work without considering the wide range of work. Work for Black women can be “economically
exploitative, physically demanding, and intellectually deadening, or empowering and creative,”
asserted Collins (2009, p. 54). In noting the historical antecedents of today’s tensions with work,
Collins (2009) stated, “Under U.S. capitalism, slavery also established the racial division of labor
whereby African-Americans were relegated to dirty, manual, nonintellectual jobs” (p. 56).
Collins (2009) further explained how Black women’s paid work in both corporate jobs and
domestic service jobs (e.g., dishwashers, dry-cleaning assistants, cooks, and health-care aides),
as well as their unpaid work in their homes, can be quite taxing, both physically and mentally.
As previously stated, Black women have consistently had higher labor force
participation rates among women. For example, in 2019, 60.5% of Black women were in the
labor force compared with 56.8% of White women (Roux, 2021). However, it is important to
note that Black women also have greater representation in the labor force than Black men. There
were 10.8 million Black female workers in 2018, representing 53% of the Black labor force
(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019). In 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Black women’s labor force participation rate decreased (58.8%); however, Black women’s
participation still surpassed that of all other women (56.2%; Roux, 2021). During this time,
women of color, mothers, and low-wage workers lost jobs at significantly higher rates than other
33

groups (Schaller, 2021). Regarding the latter, Black women’s earnings are one indication of the
compounding effects that race and gender have on wages and overall economic well-being.
In 2020, Black women earned 64 cents for every $1 earned by White men (Bleiweis et
al., 2021). This means that Black women would need to work seven extra months to match the
earnings of their White male co-workers. Though Black women have worked longer and under
harsher conditions than other women in the United States (Roos, 2010), most scholarship on
women and work centers on the experiences of White women. According to Davis (1981), there
is a distinct difference between Black and White women’s relationship with industrial capitalism:
[Black women] have largely escaped the psychological damage industrial capitalism
inflicted on White middle-class housewives, whose alleged virtues were feminine
weakness and wifely submissiveness. Black women could hardly strive for weakness;
they had to become strong, for their families and communities needed their strength to
survive. (p. 132)
Collins (2009) noted, “Framed through the prism of an imagined traditional family ideal …
Black women become less ‘feminine,’ because they work outside the home, work for pay and
thus compete with men, and their work takes them away from their children” (pp. 53–54).
Black Women and Leadership
Black women’s long history of working outside the home does not translate to high
representation in leadership positions (Lloyd et al., 2021). Despite the fact that Black women
request to be promoted at the same rate as men, a recent national survey by McKinsey
consultants revealed that for every 100 men promoted to manager, 58 Black women are
promoted (McKinsey & Company, 2020). Similarly, for every 100 men hired into a management
role, 64 Black women are hired (McKinsey & Company, 2020). Institutional barriers prohibit
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Black women from ascending from the bottom rung of the job ladder into management, which
widens the leadership representation gap.
Institutional Barriers
Everything I know about leadership, I learned via my family, my community, and the
nonprofit sector. And, everything that has ever made me question whether or not I wanted
to continue on this path has also grown out of some troubling experiences I’ve had in this
sector—from micro- to macroaggressions—and most of those assaults on my dignity
have gone largely unchecked. (Lee, 2020, p. 2)
The above sentiment shared by a Black female nonprofit executive is also familiar to many
Black women in the for-profit sector. For example, the McKinsey researchers who surveyed
more than 65,000 employees representing 423 corporations asserted, “By almost any measure,
Black women are facing disproportionately high barriers in the workplace” (McKinsey &
Company, 2021, para 2). In fact, there are several institutional barriers that Black working
women in both the for- and non-profit sectors face. These include lack of support from
managers, being assigned undervalued tasks, contending with negative stereotypes about Black
women, stereotype threat, experiencing microaggressions, being both invisible and hyper-visible,
and the lack of flexible workplace policies.
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Lack of Support From Managers. The researchers of the aforementioned study found
that Black women tend to receive less encouragement, advocacy, and support from managers
than White women (McKinsey & Company, 2020). Managers are less likely to showcase the
work of Black women, to give them opportunities to manage people or projects, or to advocate
for them to take on stretch projects. This results in Black women having fewer opportunities to
build or showcase skills beyond their job duties (McKinsey & Company, 2020).
Additionally, in comparison to non-Black women, Black women seldom report that their
managers proactively check in with them, share feedback with them after they have delegated a
task or project, help them to navigate organizational politics, interact with senior leaders, or
sponsor them, all of which are often crucial for career advancement (McKinsey & Company,
2020). Less than 25% of Black women surveyed feel they have the sponsorship they need to
advance in their careers, which results in them being excluded from important conversations
about organizational priorities and strategy (McKinsey & Company, 2020).
Corporate Mammy Work. In an article titled, “For women and minorities to get ahead,
managers must assign work fairly,” Williams and Malthaup (2018) noted that some assignments
are glamorous (e.g., promotion worthy). In contrast, others are “office housework” (e.g.,
necessary but undervalued), and there is an expectation that the latter be done by women,
especially women of color (Williams & Malthaup, 2018). Office housework, or what Collins
(2009) refers to as “corporate mammy work” (p. 54), includes administrative work that keeps
things moving forward (e.g., taking notes and scheduling meetings), serving on internal
committees, and completing tasks that are not tied to revenue goals (Williams & Malthaup,
2018).
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“U.S. Black women still do a remarkable share of the emotional nurturing and cleaning
up after other people, often for lower pay,” asserted Collins (2009, p. 45). Doing office
housework negatively reinforces the power dynamics that place Black women in lower positions;
and, thus, it can impair Black women’s ability to get promoted (Williams & Malthaup, 2018);
yet, if Black women refuse to do the corporate mammy work, then they risk being labeled
“aggressive” or “angry” and are subsequently penalized (Williams & Malthaup, 2018).
Dominant Stereotypes of Black Women. “Angry Black woman” is a stereotype that has
followed Black women since emancipation. In the United States, “the enslaved African woman
became the basis for the definition of our society’s Other” (Christian, 1985, emphasis in original,
as cited in Collins, 2009, p. 77). According to Collins (2009), “The dominant ideology of the
slave era fostered the creation of several interrelated, socially constructed controlling images of
Black womanhood, each reflecting the dominant group’s interest in maintaining Black women’s
subordination” (p. 79).
Similar to how Black men began to be stereotyped as being lazy after slavery was
abolished, “to justify Black women’s oppression, Black women are often stereotypically
portrayed as mammies, matriarchs, welfare recipients, and hot mommas” (Collins, 2009, p. 76).
In addition to creating formidable roadblocks to career advancement, dominant stereotypes of
Black women continue to remind Black women that they do not fit within the mainstream
culture.
Stereotype Threat. Stereotype threat is the belief that anything we do that fits the
stereotype of one of our identities could be taken as confirming it (Steele, 2010). Steele et al.
(2002) noted how the effects of stereotype threat are felt by individuals who belong to groups
that are stigmatized and oppressed based on their social identities. Research shows that when
37

people are reminded of the ways in which they might be negatively stereotyped, it results in
anxiety, self-consciousness, reduced confidence, increased self-criticism, and impaired
performance (Steele et al., 2002), all of which may make it difficult for Black women to ascend
to leadership positions in their workplaces.
To deflect the threat of potentially being reduced to racial, gendered stereotypes, Black
women may code-switch at work. Though it is emotionally taxing, code-switching—changing
one’s behavior, speech, or appearance to enhance others’ comfort in exchange for fair treatment,
quality service, and employment opportunities—has long been a strategy for Black people’s
survival (McCluney et al., 2019).
Microaggressions. Women of color in the workplace are commonly at the receiving end
of microaggressions, the daily slights, snubs, or insults, which communicate combative,
belittling, or negative messages aimed at people who belong to oppressed groups (Sue et al.,
2009). Lee (2020) asserted, “Make no mistake, if you are ignoring the leadership of Black
women in the nonprofit sector, or actively working to undermine that leadership, you are causing
personal, psychological, economic, and social harm to Black women” (p. 2).
Whether intentional or unintentional, because Black women are doubly oppressed by
their race and gender, they typically experience more microaggressions than non-Black women
(McKinsey & Company, 2020). For example, Black women leaders are more likely to have their
judgment questioned and to be asked to prove that they are experts in their domain. Forty percent
of Black women surveyed reported having their competence questioned compared to 30% of
Asian women, 28% of White women, 28% of Latinas, and 14% of men (McKinsey & Company,
2020). Experiencing microaggressions on a regular basis can lead to burnout and apathy toward
one’s job (McKinsey & Company, 2021).
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Being Both Invisible and Hyper-Visible. In describing the invisibility of housework,
Ehrenreich and English (1975) explained, “No one notices it until it isn’t done—we notice the
unmade bed, not the scrubbed and polished floor” (as cited in Davis, 1981, p. 128). This
invisibility could easily describe the predicament of Black women, especially those among the
first, the few, or the “Onlys” (Purushothaman, 2022) at work—being the sole Black person or
one of a few Black people. Fifty-four percent of Black women say they are often Onlys in rooms
at work (McKinsey & Company, 2020). According to McKinsey and Company’s (2020)
research, women who are Onlys are more likely to experience microaggressions.
“Double Onlys” is a more accurate and fitting term for Black women, because they may
be the only Black person and the only woman in a room (McKinsey & Company, 2020). Black
women Double Onlys may also feel hyper-visible and are often exhausted from the weight of
being considered both a representative of their race and their gender and the knowledge that their
successes or failures will reflect on their entire racial, gendered group (McKinsey & Company,
2020). Black women Double Onlys reported being always on guard because they feel closely
scrutinized and under increased pressure to perform (McKinsey & Company, 2020).
Inflexibility of Structural Policies. The United States is the only developed nation
without a formalized policy that guarantees workers paid time off when they become new
parents (Burtle & Bezruchka, 2016). Beyond the lack of large-scale parental leave policies for
working parents in the United States, many workplaces, including for- and non-profit
organizations, have anti-mother policies or practices. For example, they lack adequate stress-
reducing supports, such as flexible work–life policies (e.g., the ability to work remotely) and
subsidized childcare (McKinsey & Company, 2021).
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Moreover, mothers of young children have a more difficult experience when they are the
Onlys or Double Onlys since they do not have the support of co-workers who would understand
and possibly could help them when they struggle to balance working and parenting (McKinsey &
Company, 2021). Thus, being an Only or Double Only working mother often results in
significantly more burnout than childless women. Furthermore, these women may experience
increased fears of being judged negatively (e.g., viewed as not being ready for leadership) if they
were to ask for more flexibility (McKinsey & Company, 2021).
Negotiating Identity
Working mothers often have to negotiate their identity as workers with their identity as
mothers. The former is quite simplistic, whereas the latter is much more complex. Being a
mother cannot be simplified to the act of giving birth, nor is there a requirement that one give
birth to be a mother (Laney et al., 2015). Instead, being a mother means both identifying with the
status of being a mother in conjunction with engaging in the practice of mothering (Laney et al.,
2015). Motherhood—the state in which a woman performs parental duties to children who may
or may not be her biological offspring (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)—is an identity, an experience,
and an institution (McMahon, 1995).
As an identity, motherhood is a salient gendered role in which women evaluate the extent
to which their agency, physical appearance, and relationships have changed since becoming a
mother and, as a result, modify how they see themselves (Nicolson, 1999; Steinberg, 2005).
Furthermore, the development of a motherhood identity requires that women internalize ideals
about how they believe they ought to mother and reconcile those with their reality of motherhood
(Choi et al., 2005; Shelton & Johnson, 2006).
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Motherhood is a subjective experience. In other words, no two women experience
motherhood precisely the same. Fongang (2015) noted, “Motherhood as an experience
(mothering) is a position of power and agency for most [Black] mothers, whereas motherhood as
an institution under patriarchy oppresses women” (p. 88). Copeland (1992) asserted,
“Motherhood in any patriarchal society … is an institution in which women are defined and
given value” (p. 101). Within the institution of motherhood, there are racial and social
hierarchies. For example, the archetypal “good” mother is a White, middle-class woman who is
self-sacrificial and overly endowed with unconditional love (Collins, 2009).
Black Mother Stereotypes and Expectations
In a society that routinely depicts Black women as stereotypical “good” mothers (e.g., the
faithful, obedient domestic servant aka “mammy”) on one end of the mothering spectrum, and
“bad” mothers (e.g., welfare queen or matriarch) on the other end, Black women must self-define
and continuously negotiate what it means to be a Black mother (Collins, 2009, p. 80). Collins
(2009) explained, “Just as the mammy represents the ‘good’ Black mother, the matriarch
symbolizes the ‘bad’ Black mother,” as the latter was accused of failing her children by spending
too much time working outside of the home (p. 83).
According to Collins (2009), “The controlling images of the mammy, the matriarch, and
the welfare mother and the practices they justify are designed to oppress” (p. 191). At times, due
to cultural expectations of what it means to be a good mother, the motherhood institution can feel
oppressive. Collins (2009) stated the following:
Some women view motherhood as a truly burdensome condition that stifles their
creativity, exploits their labor, and makes them partners in their own oppression. Others
see motherhood as providing a base for self-actualization, status in the Black community,
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and a catalyst for social activism. These alleged contradictions can exist side by side in
African-American communities and families and even within individual women. (p. 191)
This is further complicated, because to be the ideal mother that is often portrayed by
society, there is an expectation that women only have positive feelings about motherhood (Hare-
Mustin & Broderick, 1979; Marshall, 1991). Moreover, Crump (2015) asserted that many
women resist the heteronormative gender expectation that motherhood is a natural and desirable
status.
Mothering While Black
Although, Black mothers are not a monolith, to mother while Black oftentimes means to
embody the tensions between joy and sorrow, freedom and oppression, triumph and trauma, and
resilience and vulnerability. “Raising children is a joyous, painful, fulfilling, and often nebulous
undertaking. However, mothering while under the oppressive double layers of race and gender is
another task in itself,” stated Doaks (2015, p. 121). Black mothers teach their children survival
skills by providing critical tools to navigate societal barriers (i.e., critical race parenting).
DePouw and Matias (2016) noted how communities of color have long recognized the
need for instilling in their children a critical understanding of institutional racism and the
strategies and identities essential to well-being, security, and resilience. According to Fongang
(2015), “The collective plight of both mother and children define and shape the fight for agency
in a system that oppresses them” (p. 92).
Black Motherhood Identity
Black motherhood identity is the affirmation that a Black woman’s worth is not defined
by the negative attributes often associated with the coalescing of race, gender, class, and
motherhood status. To the contrary, the aforementioned typically oppressive markers of identity
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can be positive attributes, sources of joy, and shapers of effective leadership. Black working
women are leaders, not despite being mothers, but because they are Black mothers. That is, the
Black motherhood identity is leadership personified.
Black mothers lead efforts to empower their families. This strategic leadership is part and
parcel of what it means to be a Black motherleader. McClain (2019) noted, “Black mothers have
centuries of experience trying to build and support family and support our children in a place
that’s often inhospitable” (p. 3). Scott (1985) asserted that mothers could either foster their
children’s oppression by teaching them to believe they are inferior or they can instill in them
tools for resisting oppression (as cited in Collins, 2009, p. 57).
Black Working Mothers
Black mothers have the highest labor force participation rates of all other mothers (Roux,
2021). In 2020, 76% of Black mothers were in the labor force, compared with 71.3% of White
mothers, 62.8% of Hispanic mothers, and 64.3% of Asian mothers (Roux, 2021). Black mothers
often do not have paid caregiver or housekeeping help, making it easier for some mothers to
work outside their homes. In fact, this lack of support in balancing mothering and working is also
a legacy of American slavery. Black enslaved women were forced to labor on the slave
plantations and either mother simultaneously (e.g., wrap their babies on their backs and lay their
toddlers in the fields) or forgo mothering altogether (Branch, 2011; Roos, 2010).
Due to the exploitation of their ancestors’ labor, Black mothers typically do not have
generational wealth or other forms of safety nets that would enable them to support their families
without working. In other words, being a stay-at-home mom often is out of reach for Black
mothers. Collins (2009) posited, “By denying enslaved African women marriage, citizenship,
and even humanity, slavery provided no social context for issues of privatized motherhood as a
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stay-at-home occupation” (p. 56). That is, Black mothers must work. Davis (1981) noted, “Like
their White working-class sisters, who also carry the double burden of working for a living and
servicing husbands and children, Black women have needed relief from this oppressive
predicament for a long, long time” (p. 133).
It is important to note that beyond necessity, many Black mothers want to work. Collins
(2009) claimed that Black women reject the dominant narrative that working outside of the home
is “in opposition to and incompatible with motherhood” (p. 199). In 2019, 65.9% of Black
mothers with children under the age of 18 were the sole, equal, or primary earners in their
households compared to 39.3% of Hispanic mothers, 36.4% of White, non-Hispanic mothers,
and 31.2% of Asian mothers (U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, 2020).
Redefining Motherhood
There is a desire for Black women to define motherhood in a way that makes sense for
Black mothers, focusing the discussion on Black women’s production of knowledge (Simmons,
2021). Furthermore, in defiance of the historical devaluation of Black women as mothers to their
own children, Black women seek to undo the harm perpetuated by the demonization of Black
motherhood and redefine what it means to be a Black mother. As previously stated, within the
Black community, there is a more expansive definition of motherhood. That is, it is not
uncommon for othermothers—sisters, cousins, aunts, or grandmothers—to care for one another’s
children. However, these “women-centered networks of community-based care” are not
indicative of Black fathers’ powerlessness, but rather the centrality of Black mothers (Collins,
2009, p. 193).
The reliance on extended networks to support childcare duties is another contemporary
mothering practice whose origins precede and includes the institution of American slavery.
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While toiling on the cotton and tobacco fields or in the homes of the slaveholders, if they did not
have their children with them, Black women left their children in the care of elderly enslaved
women (Schwartz, 2010). According to hooks (1984), community-based childcare “is
revolutionary in this society because it takes place in opposition to the idea that parents,
especially mothers, should be the only child rearers” (p. 144).
Asserting Inherent Value
While the dominant narrative is that Blackness is a racialized social caste in which people
with the most melanin in their skin are deemed the least worthy, and womanhood is a
hierarchical gendered identity with Black women at the bottom (Welang, 2018), Black mothers
push back against these narratives by asserting that their race, gender, class, and motherhood
status are valuable assets that positively inform how they live and lead (Yosso, 2005). In other
words, Black mothers recognize that they are wealthy due to belonging to communities that are
“valuable sources of cultural knowledge, skills, abilities, and contacts” (Yosso, 2005, p. 69).
Furthermore, Collins (1986) asserted that Black women’s self-definition and self-valuation,
ability to navigate the interlocking nature of oppression, and understanding of Black culture have
enabled them to make “creative use of their marginality” (p. S14).
Cultural Wealth
The cultural wealth framework acknowledges the assets that are in socially oppressed
groups, particularly those within communities of color. A subset of critical race theory, a
theoretical framework used to examine how race as a social construct impacts structures,
practices, and discourses, cultural wealth is counter to the deficit-based lens that is typically
applied to communities of color (Crenshaw et al., 1995; Yosso, 2005). Yosso (2005) noted that
“various forms of capital nurtured through cultural wealth include aspirational, navigational,
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social, linguistic, familial, and resistant capital” (p. 69). Black motherleaders’ cultural knowledge
was passed down from their foremothers, who taught them how to negotiate the meanings of
motherhood and leadership.
Leading From the Margins
Black working women are both marginalized in feminist theory, which centers on White
women, and in antiracist politics, which focuses on Black men (Crenshaw, 1989). In discussing
the power of marginality, hooks (1990) said that “it nourishes one’s capacity to resist … and
offers to one the possibility … to see and create, to imagine alternatives, new worlds” (pp. 149–
150). Black motherleaders are deft at leading from the margins by leveraging their race, gender,
class, and maternal identities to bring about transformative change in anti-Black, anti-woman,
and anti-mother institutions. In the workplace, Black women have utilized “both an oppositional
stance to resist marginalization and the use of brave spaces to ensure professional and personal
success” (Mullings et al., 2020, p. 92).
With centuries of intergenerational resilience modeled by their ancestors, Black
motherleaders learned how to stay grounded through the chaos and thrive in oppressive
environments. By asserting the value of their lived experiences, Black mothers lead, organize,
and advocate for inclusive policies and practices in their communities and workplaces. Black
mothers’ resilient leadership, which is characterized by the ability to transcend and persevere
despite adversity (Christman & McClellan, 2012), was honed because Black mothers have had to
lead through crises and within anti-Black, anti-woman, and anti-mother institutions. As a result
of the self-awareness that comes from recovering from setbacks and trauma, Black mothers
reimagine leadership in their own images.
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Black Feminist Leadership
Having long been included in the organizational structures of Black civil society, Black
feminist leaders courageously and unapologetically pushed back against the male-dominated
ethos that permeated most of these institutions (Collins, 2009). “It is in these forums that Black
women are able to exercise influence and power in their lives, whereas they often face
inaccessibility to mainstream institutions of power,” noted Craddock (2015, p. 39). Likewise,
Rosser-Mims (2010) asserted that compared to their male counterparts, historically, Black
women have had to acquire power and leadership in nontraditional ways.
Thus, the advent of Black feminist leadership in the United States represents a history of
Black women’s struggle to be liberated from oppression while simultaneously working to lift the
Black community out of racial, economic, and educational subjugation (Hanson, 2003; Rogers,
2005; Rosser-Mims, 2010). This motherwork is central to Black women’s involvement in
community activism and social justice movements and accounts for why Black mothers are often
referred to as motherleaders (Collins, 1991). Smith Spears (2015) noted how Black women strive
to “balance the demands of one identity that calls for an allegiance to community and heritage
with the demands of the other which advocates for one’s individuality” (p. 110).
Black feminist leadership is inclusive, collective, transformative, situational, and
contextual (McLane-Davidson, 2016). Collins (2009) claimed that as activists, Black women’s
style of leadership “reflects a belief that teaching people how to be self-reliant fosters more
empowerment than teaching them how to follow” (p. 235). According to Collins (2009), as
leaders, Black women focus on “how power can be structured and shaped in organizational
settings, and how organizations would look if people were to be fully empowered within them”
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and, therefore, “reject models of authority based on unjust hierarchies” (p. 234). Black feminist
leadership centers on Black women’s resistance to subjugation.
Activist Mothering
If workplace duties are the first shift for all workers, and caregiving and household duties
are the second shift for working mothers (Hochschild, 2012), then community organizing is a
third shift for Black working mothers (Banks, 2020). Despite facing multiple forms of
oppression, Black women became community activists. Mullings et al. (2020) noted that “Black
women strive to cultivate safer communities under subjugating contexts, work to promote
empowerment among Black women and attempt to improve social conditions for all” (p. 93).
Black women’s community work, which included the creation of cooperatives and other
organizations to provide for the community, what the government did not, was labor, albeit
unpaid (Banks, 2020).
Economist Dr. Nina Banks (2020) argued that “the community is an important site where
racialized women perform unpaid, nonmarket collective work to improve the welfare of
community members and address community needs not met by the public and private sectors”
(p. 343). According to Banks (2020), Black women have historically engaged in grassroots
community organizing, championing equality in all aspects of American life, including access to
affordable housing, nutritious foods, and healthy environments.
Collins (2009) noted, “While efforts on behalf of Black children often may catalyze their
actions, working on behalf of the community means addressing the multifaceted issues within it”
(p. 208). McDonald (1997) asserted that Black motherleaders’ activism in their communities is
“born from a conscious, collective need to resist racist and sexist oppression, [and] is one passed
down for many generations by their Black activist foremothers” (p. 774).
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Community Othermothering
The leadership style of Black women reflects the way they mother—purposefully and
protectively. For many Black women, being a good mother means engaging in social activism as
community othermothers (Collins, 2009). In other words, in addition to addressing the needs of
their children, a good mother is a woman who is active in her community. Collins (2009)
contended that “Community othermothers model a very different value system, one whereby
ethics of caring and personal accountability move communities forward” (p. 207). Collins (2009)
explained, “Historically, this notion of Black women as community othermothers for all Black
children often allowed African-American women to treat biologically unrelated children as if
they were members of their own families” (p. 205). Some notable community othermothers are
Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells, and Mamie Till.
Intersectional Analysis of Womanhood. In 1826, with her infant daughter in tow,
Isabella Baumfree escaped to freedom. Two years later, she went to court to recover her son,
becoming the first Black woman to win such a case against a White man (Truth, 1850). Isabella
became an outspoken advocate for abolition and women’s rights and changed her name to
Sojourner Truth, one of her first acts of self-definition and (re)negotiation of identity. Sojourner,
an early proponent of an intersectional analysis of womanhood (Gines, 2011), proclaimed in her
infamous “Ain’t I A Woman” speech (Minister, 2012) that, unlike White women, Black women
cannot separate their race from their gender. In doing so, she became among the first Black
feminists to counter the dialectical agendas of Black male abolitionists and White middle-class
women feminists. Collins (1998) stated, “Her actions demonstrate the power of deconstruction—
namely, exposing a concept as ideological or culturally constructed rather than as natural or a
simple reflection of reality” (as cited in Collins, 2009, p. 18).
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Black Feminist Thought. Educator, investigative journalist, anti-lynching crusader, and
Black feminist Ida B. Wells was an early leader in the Civil Rights movement. In 1909, Ida co-
founded the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP; Wells,
1970/2020). She dedicated her life to fighting for freedom and equality, especially for Black
women, and unapologetically called out White women for ignoring racism in the feminist
movement (Brown, 2020). This led to her being ostracized by White suffragists; however,
undeterred, Ida founded what may have been the first Black women’s suffrage group, Chicago’s
Alpha Suffrage Club (Brown, 2020). Ida’s challenge to White feminism’s lack of an
intersectional framework embodies Black feminist thought (Collins, 2009; Gines, 2011). Her
autobiography, Crusade for Justice, was published posthumously in 1970, and Ida was also
posthumously awarded a Pulitzer for her anti-lynching reporting (Silkey, 2020).
Motherhood as a Catalyst to Activism. Mamie Till was the mother of Emmett Till, who
was kidnapped and lynched while visiting family in Mississippi on August 28, 1955 (Anderson,
2015). She bravely insisted that there be an open casket viewing of her 14-year-old son’s
bruised, battered, and tortured body. Determined to keep her son’s memory at the forefront of
America’s conscience, she went on a speaking tour with the NAACP and galvanized the nation
to reckon with racial terror. Her activism, which arguably started the Civil Rights Movement,
indicates motherhood’s power (Anderson, 2015). Collins (2009) asserted that motherhood “can
catalyze Black women to take actions that they otherwise might not have considered” (p. 210).
Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells, and Mamie Till are not exceptional Black women as much as they
are epitomes of Black womanhood (Davis, 1981).
Conceptual Framework
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The goal of this study was to explore how Black motherleaders perceive and make
meaning of the impact of their intersectional identities on their careers and leadership
experiences. With an overarching construct of resistance, four primary research topics informed
this literature review: navigating intersectional oppressions, negotiating identity, asserting
inherent value, and leading from the margins. Anti-blackness, anti-woman, and anti-mother were
the common concepts that emerged from the research on navigating intersectional oppressions in
the workplace. Black motherhood identity and cultural wealth were the key concepts under the
umbrella topics of negotiating identity and asserting inherent value. Black feminist leadership,
activist mothering, and community othermothering were the key concepts within the topic area
of leading from the margins.
Black motherleaders (re)negotiate, reclaim, and redefine what it means to be a mother
while leading from the margins through a pro-Black, pro-woman, and pro-mother cultural wealth
lens. The arrows in Figure 1 depict the bidirectional and reciprocal relationship between Black
motherleaders and their life, work, and leadership experiences. In other words, the figure depicts
how the lives, work, and leadership of Black mothers are formed and informed by their ability to
navigate and contend with the ubiquity of anti-Blackness, anti-woman policies and practices, and
anti-mother systems and structures in the workplace. Black mothers (re)negotiate what it means
to be a Black woman, Black mother, and a Black leader. Black mothers assert their worthiness
due to being inherently wealthy with cultural knowledge, abilities, assets, and connections.
Theoretical Framework
With resistance being a common theme throughout the review of literature on Black
women in general, and Black motherleaders, specifically, it became apparent that Black feminist
theory and intersectionality were the two theories that were best suited to both center the racial,
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gendered experiences of Black mothers and address the research questions within this
dissertation study. The Black feminist theoretical framework captures the myriad ways in which
anti-Black, anti-mother, and anti-woman structures, systems, policies, and practices marginalize,
exclude, oppress, and subordinate Black mothers and how they, in turn, navigate and resist the
intersectional oppressions (Collins, 2009). Intersectionality provides an inclusive framework for
viewing the convergence of hierarchies of social identities (e.g., race, gender, and class) in
relation to power and oppression (Cooper, 2017; Crenshaw, 1989).

Figure 1
Conceptual Framework

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Summary
Since being kidnapped from Africa and brought to the Americas, Black mothers have
worked under brutal conditions, navigated intersectional oppressions, advocated for civil and
human rights, and engaged in various forms of resistance. Today, Black mothers continue to
provide tremendous leadership and labor (e.g., emotional, intellectual, and physical) to improve
the lives of all who are excluded, oppressed, and subordinated. While their leadership and labor
have largely been overlooked and undervalued, Black mothers are the cornerstones of their
families and communities. Physically, economically, politically, and socially, the United States
has exploited Black mothers’ labor and has been a beneficiary of their leadership yet has done
very little to recognize and reward them for their contributions.
Black women continue to (re)negotiate their identities as mothers and as leaders. Black
mothers redefine motherhood on their own terms and reimagine leadership in their own images.
Despite being in the labor force longer than all other women (and mothers), Black women (and
mothers) are often excluded from scholarship on working mothers, specifically leadership. The
research conducted in this study sought to address this gap by centering the unique perspectives
and experiences of Black motherleaders, and includes (a) strategies for navigating institutional
challenges and resisting oppressive systems and (b) recommendations to employers for
dismantling structural workplace barriers. Implications for future research and practice related to
women and leadership are explored.

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Chapter Three: Methodology
This chapter details the methodology used to explore the impact of intersectional
oppressed identities on the experiences of Black Motherleaders and how institutions can support
the career advancement and leadership aspirations of underrepresented employees. This chapter
is organized as follows: First, an overview of the research design is provided. Second, the setting
for the research is detailed. Third, the positionality of the researcher and how it informed the
choices made is explained. Fourth, the sources of the data are noted. Fifth, ethical considerations
that informed the researcher’s interaction with participants are explained. Finally, the limitations
and delimitations of the study are outlined.
Research Questions
1. How do Black motherleaders perceive the influence of their intersectional identities
on their careers and leadership experiences?
2. How do systems oppress Black motherleaders?
3. What practices do Black motherleaders employ to navigate oppressive systems?
Overview of Design
I am using a qualitative approach to the research study. A qualitative study aims to
understand a social phenomenon, meaning, context, and process through small purposeful
sampling (e.g., Black working mothers; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). This type of research design
aligns with the intent of the study: to explore Black motherhood identity and understand how
Black mothers resist its devaluation in the workplace. Merriam and Tisdell (2016) contend that
in qualitative studies, “the researcher is the primary instrument for data collection and analysis”
(p. 16). This is beneficial because, the researcher could adjust and adapt the study in real time;
however, being the primary instrument also required engagement in critical reflexivity to
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monitor the potential surfacing of biases and subjectivities (Esposito & Winters-Evans, 2022;
Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Research Orientation
I hold the philosophical assumptions of the critical transformative worldview (Creswell
& Creswell, 2018). The research is rooted in its focus: to address issues of power, domination,
and oppression experienced by the marginalized and to “change lives of the participants, the
institutions in which individuals work or live, and the researcher’s life” (Creswell & Creswell,
2018, p. 9). My axiology (i.e., underlying values; Organizational Communication Channel, 2017)
is that research is political, relational, and not neutral. Furthermore, I believe that all knowledge
is subjective. The Black feminist theoretical framework shaped my approach to all components
of the qualitative research study. From the study questions’ framing to the study’s design, I have
made decisions informed by my personal values, positionality, and worldview.
I believe that research should be empowering and beneficial to the study participants.
Thus, the study was designed in a way that allowed for there to be a reciprocal relationship
between myself and the participants, enabling the latter to describe their lived experiences as
they related to the problem of practice and the former to retell their stories (Creswell & Creswell,
2018). Delgado (1989) and Solórzano and Yosso (2002) described counter-storytelling as
enabling oppressed people to challenge dominant narratives by using stories to tell their
experiences. Castelli (n.d.) stated, “Counter storytelling is used to magnify the stories,
experiences, narratives, and truths of underprivileged communities” (para. 3).
Intersectional Qualitative Analysis
Intersectional qualitative analysis is the methodology that undergirds the research. As an
intersectional qualitative researcher, I seek to decolonize methodologies that privilege
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mainstream knowledge and dominant narratives (Esposito & Evans-Winters, 2022). My goal is
for the culture, consciousness, and epistemologies of research participants with oppressed
identities to be revered as invaluable artifacts. Esposito and Evans-Winters (2022) explained how
intersectional methodologies center the lives of those who have historically been marginalized,
exoticized, and othered in research:
Intersectional methodologies are an intentional interruption to Western Eurocentric male-
centered knowledge claims and productions because intersectional methodologies attempt
to center the cultural experiences, values, and beliefs of the research participants,
including the researcher herself. (p. 21)
To address each of the research questions, I collected information from primary data sources
(e.g., a focus group and interviews). Table 1 shows that both the focus group and the interviews
were the data sources for addressing each research question. Initially, I had planned to also
collect information from secondary data sources (e.g., review of documents and artifacts), but
despite requesting that study participants bring to the interview something that they considered
meaningful in their roles as motherleaders, none of them did. After the interviews, I followed up
with the study participants asking that they share a document or artifact via email, but I did not
receive a response.
I convened one focus group (i.e., group interview) of three Black motherleaders “to
examine, in detail, how the group members think and feel” about their intersectional identities in
relation to their work and leadership experiences (Johnson & Christensen, 2014, p. 234). A
strength of facilitating a focus group discussion is that I obtained data by witnessing the
interaction between the group members. The motherleaders helped each other recall situations
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they had experienced in the workplace, triggered memories about their mothering experiences,
and engaged in a rich dialogue about their unique and common experiences.
To understand how Black motherleaders made meaning of the influence of their
intersectional identities on their careers, using a semi-structured interview format, I conducted
one-on-one interviews with nine Black motherleaders. Participants for the one-on-one interviews
did not include any women from the focus group interview. I took care to recruit Black
motherleaders with a variety of backgrounds (e.g., professional roles, number of children). The
women were asked to self-describe the various aspects of their identities and how they
influenced their careers and leadership experiences, to name the challenges they faced, and to
share the practices that make them effective leaders. During the interviews, I took hand-written
notes. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim and then coded using a priori and
emergent codes. I used intersectional qualitative analysis to help tell each participant’s counter-
story. I then used the narrative inquiry analysis approach to explore common themes of the
counter stories.
Narrative Inquiry
As discussed in Chapter 1, a methodology that utilizes collecting data directly from
research participants was most appropriate for the study; therefore, narrative inquiry, a form of
exploration in which the researcher requests that the participants share stories (i.e., narratives)
about their lives, as the primary form of data collection, was used (Esposito & Evans-Winters,
2022; Riessman, 2008). Riessman (2008) noted that in studying the lives of individuals, the
researcher might collect stories about the participants, and, in turn, the researcher forms a
collaborative narrative by chronologically retelling the story, combining views from the
individual’s life with those of the researcher (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000).
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“People by nature lead storied lives and tell stories of those lives, whereas narrative
researchers describe such lives, collect and tell stories of them, and write narratives of
experience,” noted Connelly and Clandinin (1990, p. 2). Clandinin (2006) asserted that when
researchers begin narrative inquiry relationships, they start having ongoing negotiations,
including negotiating relationships, research purposes, and transitions. Therefore, whenever
salient parts of Black women’s intersecting identities are the focus of analysis, they should be
able to weigh in and feel seen, validated, and affirmed. Recognizing that Black women are the
authors of their stories, I centered them in the storytelling.
I did not take lightly the power and privilege to hear and retell a person’s story and the
importance of negotiating entry and exit from their lives. This is especially true for the study in
that the research participants were Black women who historically have had unflattering (i.e.,
stereotypical) stories made up about them. hooks (1989) declared, “Oppressed people resist by
identifying themselves as subjects, by defining their reality, shaping their new identity, naming
their history, telling their story” (p. 43). Telling stories or narratives is a central part of the oral
tradition that is endemic to Black culture, especially since Black people were prohibited from
reading and writing for a long time. In asserting the importance of the narrative, Amoah (1997)
stated the following:
Narrative inquiries allow traditionally marginalized and disempowered groups like
women and people of color to reclaim their voices. In addition, by laying claim to
personal Narrative (i.e., telling one’s own story), oppressed people can create their own
sphere of theorized existence and thus remove themselves from the marginalized position
to which the dominant society has relegated them. (p. 85)

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Table 1
Data Sources
Research questions Focus group Interviews
How do Black motherleaders perceive the
influence of their intersectional identities
on their careers and leadership
experiences?
X X
How do systems oppress Black
motherleaders?
X X
What practices do Black motherleaders
employ to navigate oppressive systems?
X X

Research Setting
The for- and non-profit sectors are experiencing a racial, gendered leadership gap. Black
women are sorely underrepresented in leadership roles in both sectors (Adetimirin, 2008; Smith
et al., 2018). In 2018, Black women constituted 12.7% of the U.S. population, representing only
2.2% of the Fortune 500 board of directors and 1.3% of senior management and executive roles
of S&P 500 firms (Smith et al., 2018). In addition, only four Black women have been chief
executive officers (CEO) in the Fortune 500’s 76-year history (Hinchliffe, 2021).
The nonprofit sector consists of organizations devoted to serving communities, primarily
people of color, in need of resources and support; yet, most of these organizations are also led by
White individuals (Adetimirin, 2008; De Vita et al., 2009; Ostrower, 2007). According to
Kunreutheror and Thomas-Breitfield (2017), for the last 15 years, the percentage of people of
color in the top executive role (e.g., executive director or CEO) at nonprofit organizations has
remained under 20%. This is despite the United States’ population becoming more diverse.
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In noting the need for the nonprofit sector to value the leadership acumen of Black
women, Branche and Ford (2022) stated, “With the retirement of baby boomers, the nonprofit
sector will lose 75% of its leaders soon. It is crucial that nonprofits consider the next chapter in
leadership” (p. 69). Because both sectors lack racial-gendered diversity in leadership roles, Black
women who have advanced in their careers in for- and non-profit organizations can provide rich
information regarding how they were able to do so. For these reasons, I have selected the for-
and non-profit sectors as the research setting. The research participants were Black women who
are leaders in their households (i.e., in their roles as mothers) and in their roles as for- and non-
profit organizational leaders. Their roles as mothers, workers, and leaders made them best suited
to provide answers to the research questions.
The Researcher
As a critical researcher, I assume that structured power relations are ubiquitous (Merriam
& Tisdell, 2016). I am aware that my “proximity to power” in my role as a researcher may trump
the fact that I also identify as a Black motherleader (Esposito & Evans-Winters, 2022). That is,
although the researcher and the researched have intersecting oppressed identities in common
(i.e., Black, woman, mother), the imbalance in power dynamics (e.g., me being a doctoral
candidate and researcher) had the potential to negatively impact how I was perceived and
received by the research participants (Esposito & Evans-Winters, 2022).
To mitigate my positional power as a researcher, I showed deference to the participants in
the study by treating them the way they should be treated—as experts in their own lives.
Qualitative research aims to help us understand the context of human choices; thus, I approached
the interviews with the attitude of “What does this person have to teach me?”
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My goal as a researcher is to critically examine and explore phenomena while elevating
the lived experiences of people who are marginalized, oppressed, and muted in scholarship. To
facilitate change and dismantle structural barriers to opportunity, I was particularly interested in
engaging in the systemic inquiry of power (e.g., who has it, how it is negotiated, and how it is
distributed; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Though I sought to approach the subject matter
objectively, the study’s design, focus, and research questions are all informed by my
positionality (Creswell & Creswell, 2018).
I am a Black motherleader. The reason that I chose to explore Black motherhood identity
is that it is personal. I recognize that I am inherently biased because my knowledge of the
problem of practice stems from my lived experience and my professional experience in leading
efforts to foster work environments that are anti-oppressive, equitable, and inclusive. I know this
could have been a real issue given that I was intimately close to the research; therefore, I took the
following actions to help mitigate the biases clouding the research.
I created verbatim transcripts, verified with the participants that I had accurately captured
their responses, and journaled as a way to engage in critical reflection. Additionally, I kept in
mind that just as Black people are not a monolith, all Black motherleaders do not share the same
experiences and perspectives. Therefore, I did not approach the interviews with any assumptions,
expectations, or preconceived notions of what the participants would reveal. Instead, I focused
on letting the conversations unfold organically.
In considering my relationship with research participants, I remained cognizant of my
positionality, insider/outsider issues, and reflections on both (Few et al., 2003; Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016). Critical reflexivity, a conscientious effort as a researcher to examine one’s
personal beliefs, biases, and motives, is a methodological tool that I used to carefully consider
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how my values shaped the choices I made. These choices included deciding on research
questions, making theoretical assumptions, choosing a research site, negotiating a relationship
with research participants, and interpreting and analyzing data (Esposito & Winters-Evans,
2022). It was important that I considered who I was in relation to the community that I drew data
from. To remain grounded, I asked myself the following questions: Who am I in the context of
this research? What are some things that will affect the way that people respond to me? Why am
I engaged in this topic?
Regarding the last question, I was drawn to this topic due to my outsider within status
(Collins, 1986). As an outsider, I aimed to address the research gap on this very important topic.
Because I identify as a Black woman, a Black mother, and a Black leader, I am also an insider
and was thus empathetic toward my target population (Few et al., 2003; Merriam & Tisdell,
2016). That is, I belong within the community I was researching. This could have helped me
build a rapport with the research subjects, or it could have created apprehension among the
participants, who may have felt judged by revealing specific aspects of their lives and comparing
them to what they assume my life is like (Esposito & Evans-Winters, 2022). I took great care to
monitor how I showed up in the research setting.
Data Sources
As discussed above, my data sources were information gleaned from one-on-one
interviews and a focus group.
Focus Group
Creswell and Creswell (2018) stated the following about focus groups: “These interviews
involve unstructured and generally open-ended questions that are few in number and intended to
elicit views and opinions from the participants” (p. 187).
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Participants
Since purposeful sampling is a key criteria in qualitative analysis, the participants in my
focus group were all Black motherleaders. That is, the study participants self-identified as a
Black person, woman, mother, and leader (i.e., oversees people, projects, or a budget) in the for-
or non-profit sector. I convened a focus group of three Black motherleaders who were recruited
from LinkedIn, Facebook, and a non-profit community development organization. The women
were diverse regarding the number of children, years of leadership experience, and job sector.
Instrumentation
Maxwell (2013) asserted, “Your research questions formulate what you want to
understand; your interview questions are what you ask people to gain that understanding” (p.
101). As such, to understand how Black motherleaders perceive their career and leadership
experiences, the focus group protocol (see Appendix B) consisted of five peer-reviewed
questions about the complexity of Black motherhood identity. All of the questions asked helped
me to answer the research questions. During the focus group discussion, I allowed myself to
pursue other topics of interest that naturally arose during the conversation, so long as they were
relevant to the study.
Data Collection Procedures
The focus group convening took place via Zoom. The discussion was recorded and
transcribed, and I took hand-written notes as well. In the email containing the link to the Zoom
meeting, I sent the participants the study Information Sheet, which explained the purpose of the
study, what would be done with the data collected, and how participants’ information would be
used and protected. I set aside 60 minutes for the focus group discussion.
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Data Analysis
After downloading the transcript of the recorded focus group discussion, I cleaned it up.
This entailed fixing typos and punctuation, swiping out study participants’ names for
pseudonyms, and anonymizing other identifying information. Next, I engaged in line-by-line
open coding of the transcripts and compared the emergent themes to those elicited from the
transcripts of the one-on-one interviews.
Interviews
Research interviews are descriptive and non-judgmental opportunities to identify
systematic patterns. Open-ended interviewing enabled participants to share and make meaning of
how they have experienced oppression and allowed me, as the researcher, to collect these
individual stories and examine them as a collectivity (Creswell & Creswell, 2018).
Participants
I conducted one-on-one interviews with nine Black motherleaders. Like the focus group
participants, the interviewees self-identified as Black people, women, mothers, and leaders (i.e.,
overseeing people, projects, or a budget) in their for- or non-profit organization. These women
were also recruited from LinkedIn, Facebook, and the same non-profit community development
organization from which I recruited the focus group participants. Because all of the interviews
took place online, participation was not limited by one’s geographical location.
To mitigate ethical concerns (Maxwell, 2013; Patton, 1990), I did not rely on
convenience sampling, for it is not very credible (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). I asked anyone
interested in participating in the study to email me at a disclosed email address, which was
created and used solely for the study. I also sought to diversify the study participants based on
their specific job sector, tenure, and the number of children.
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Instrumentation
My interview protocol (see Appendix B) consisted of 14 peer-reviewed questions
concerning opinions, values, experiences, and behaviors (Patton, 2002). I began the interviews
with a fairly “easy” prompt (e.g., describe your home life), with the goal being to get the
participants used to comfortably talking about themselves. All interview questions related to my
conceptualization of the intersection of race, gender, class, and motherhood status (i.e., Black
motherhood identity).
I primarily used a semi-structured approach to my interview protocol because it allowed
me to use probes to elicit more in-depth responses; however, as previously mentioned, by
starting the interviews with questions about the participants’ households, depending on where the
conversation went, I essentially used a combined approach: unstructured (i.e., informal
conversational) followed by semi-structured (i.e., general interview guide; Patton, 2002).
Data Collection Procedures
The one-on-one interviews took place via Zoom. Similar to the email about the study that
was sent to the focus group participants, I also shared with the interviewees information that
explained the purpose of the study, how their data would be used, and the steps I would take to
protect their identities. The interviews were recorded and transcribed, yet I took copious,
detailed, and richly descriptive hand-written notes (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The one-on-one
interviews each lasted approximately 60 minutes. At the completion of each interview, I
compared the transcripts of the recording to my notes and cleaned up the transcripts as needed.
Data Analysis
After downloading and cleaning up the transcripts, I engaged in line-by-line coding (open
and a priori) of the first four transcripts to create a hierarchical codebook consisting of parent
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codes and child codes (see Appendix A). I used key concepts from the research questions and
conceptual framework as filters for the parent codes in my code book. Once I was satisfied that
my codebook was stabilized, I coded the remaining transcripts. Afterward, I engaged in axial
coding, making comparisons between similar ideas and creating categorizations. I also counted
each time a theme occurred in each transcript to show typicality and or atypicality. Throughout
this process, I drafted analytic memos as a means to identify themes that emerged across several
transcripts. Then, I wrote my findings.
Credibility and Trustworthiness
There are several techniques that I could have used to enhance the likelihood that the data
and findings are plausible, believable, and accurate (i.e., credibility), and they are applicable to
other situations (i.e., trustworthiness; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). For the study, I employed three
strategies: triangulation, collecting verbatim data, and member-checking responses.
Triangulation refers to using multiple data-collection methodologies (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
As previously discussed, I convened with a focus group of three women to collect data that
enabled me to answer the research questions and conducted nine one-on-one interviews.
I also considered collecting observational data by participating in a social organization
for Black mothers and a membership group for women of color leaders. As Patton (2015) noted,
“Experiencing the program as an insider accentuates the participant part of participant
observation. At the same time, the inquirer remains aware of being an outsider” (p. 338).
However, because participation occurred online, I thought it would likely be too difficult to get
rich data in that format, especially without being intrusive. Verbatim data was obtained by
recording and transcribing the Zoom interviews, as well as taking notes by hand. Member
checking entailed verifying with the interviewees that the content of the data was accurate. I did
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this during the interviews by l saying things like, “What I think I heard you say … is related to
your motherhood status.”
Ethics
To address the rampant and gratuitous racism, classism, and oppressive violence imposed
upon human research participants in the name of research during the prior 100+ years, in the
1970s, the institutional review board process, the minimum safeguards put in place to look at
consent from an ethical lens, was established. Released in 1979 by the National Commission for
the Protection of Human Subjects in Biomedical and Behavioral Research, the Belmont Report
provides the ethical framework for the federal regulations designed to protect human research
participants (Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1979). The three main principles are
respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.
Respect for persons refers to acknowledging the autonomy of research participants and
protecting those with diminished autonomy (CITI Program, 2022). In other words, the researcher
must ensure that participants understand their participation is voluntary. Clandinin (2006)
asserted that narrative inquirers “need to imagine ethics as being about negotiation, respect,
mutuality and openness to multiple voices” (p. 52). In my recruitment flier and Study
Information Sheet, I clearly stated that participation is voluntary (i.e., volunteers can withdraw
from the research study at any time without consequence). Before beginning the focus group and
each one-on-one interview, I verbally reminded participants that they could end their
participation at any time and for any reason.
I ensured that the written information about the study was comprehensible (i.e., written at
a third-grade reading level), tailored to my target population’s linguistic needs, and delivered
culturally congruent. In soliciting volunteers to participate in the study, I let potential participants
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know the purpose of the study; what would be done with the data (e.g., USC requires that
researchers store data collected for at least 3 years); how their information would be protected;
and the positionality of the researcher, including the inherent power dynamics between
researcher and participant. To keep participants’ information confidential, pseudonyms are used
in lieu of real names.
Beneficence can be summed up as “do no harm.” It requires that the researcher make
efforts to secure the well-being of the participants. That is, as a researcher, I must seek to
maximize the potential benefits and minimize the possible harm (CITI Program, 2022). Talking
about trauma in the workplace can be triggering, so I did my best to frame and ask my questions
in a way that minimized harming the research participants. I also had information about
counseling services available to share with the participants. Specifically, beneficence requires
favorably balancing confidentiality, emotional, economic, physical, and stigmatization risks, and
potential benefits of research participation (CITI Program, 2022).
Justice concerns who ought to receive the benefits of research and who ought to bear its
burdens. This requires using fair recruitment practices. For example, participants should not be
chosen due to convenience. No segment of the population was favored or subjected to greater
risks (CITI Program, 2022). To remain impartial when it came to enrolling participants in the
study, I made sure that the deciding factor was that they met the criteria for my target population.
While Black motherleaders are the primary intended beneficiaries of the research, they will not
be the sole beneficiaries of a more inclusive and equitable workplace.
The goal is for employers to better understand what they can do to make their workplaces
more supportive to staff with historically excluded identities. Although Black motherleaders are
accustomed to resisting the compounding factors of intersectional oppressions, they should not
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be expected to fix organizational culture or fight oppressive workplace systems. Instead,
organizational leaders must prioritize creating anti-oppressive, feminist, and pro-mother
workplace policies and practices (Dillard & Walker, 2021).
Limitations and Delimitations
By its very nature, conducting interviews online is less personal than in person. Thus, I
may have been limited by my ability to observe participants’ body language and tone fully;
however, researchers have found participants to be more relaxed and comfortable online,
especially at home (Howlett, 2021). I also did not have any control of the truthfulness of the
participants, but believe that their perception of their reality is their truth. In focusing on
exploring the impact of one’s intersectional identities on their choices and opportunities, I
selected 12 Black mothers who are leaders in their organizations to participate in the study.
I employed an intersectional qualitative research and analysis approach centered on the
participants’ experiences navigating intersectional oppressions, asserting their inherent value,
negotiating identity, and leading from the margins. The Black feminist epistemology that frames
this study undoubtedly limited the target population to Black women. Due to my qualitative
research approach, I did not attempt to make generalizations about the participants’ stories. As
Creswell noted, “Qualitative research relies on the ‘particularity’ of the research site due to its
narrow focus on specific participants in a singular setting” (Creswell, 2009, p. 193).
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Chapter Four: Findings
The careers and leadership experiences of the Black motherleaders who participated in
this study were as diverse as their personal backgrounds; yet, there were some commonalities in
how the participants perceived the influence of their intersectional identities on their roles as
mothers and leaders, the ways in which they are oppressed by systems not built with them in
mind, and the practices they employ to navigate oppressive systems.
Findings pertaining to the study participants’ experiences as mothers and leaders are
described within this section. Despite facing challenges such as navigating social constructs, all
participants expressed joy and pride in their roles as mothers. Unique, one of the study’s
participants, summarized this sentiment as follows:
Being a Black mother goes back to the beginning of time. Anthropologists have found
that the oldest fossils that have to do with mankind have been found in East Africa. So,
what it means is that we are the original mother. We’re the mother of everybody, every
human being on earth. So, we need to be proud of that.
As Unique described, Black mothers should “be proud” of being a mother to “every human being
on earth.” Although there is a clear sense of pride, as will be further discussed below, there is a
burden to this responsibility.
As it pertains to their roles as leaders, all of the participants acknowledged that their
racial identity, gender identity, and motherhood status had influenced their careers and leadership
experiences; systems oppress them, and they engage in certain practices to navigate oppressive
systems. Four main findings emerged from conversations with the study participants:
1. Fear-based mothering influences Black mothers’ leadership practices.
2. Black motherleaders constantly have to prove themselves.
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3. Being a mother shapes Black women’s leadership styles.
4. Black motherleaders have little support.
Before detailing the themes that emerged, it is critical to properly provide background
information on each Black motherleader to contextualize the insights gleaned from their stories.
The following section provides a brief synopsis of each of the study’s participants.
Participants
Twelve Black mothers participated in the study—seven non-profit leaders and five for-
profit leaders. Many of these women are in top executive positions in their organizations (e.g.,
CEO). Several of the women are founders of their own businesses. Eight of the 12 women live
with a partner, legally married or common law spouse. Each woman is a mother to at least one
child. The majority of the women have between one and three children. One woman is a mother
to four children, and one has five children. The women’s children range in age from toddlers to
young adults. Table 2 provides an overview of the participants in the study.

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Table 2
Participant Overview
Participant
pseudonym
Job sector Job title Living with
partner
Number of
children
Leah Non-profit Professor Yes 4
Janae Nonprofit Deputy secretary Yes 1
Bianca Non-profit Founder/CEO Yes 5
Mae Non-profit Senior director No 2
Halle Non-profit Chief operating
officer
No 1
Laila Non-profit Director of
development
Yes 3
Wanda Non-profit Senior development
officer
Yes 2
Wilma For-profit Founder/CEO No 1
Unique For-profit Chief executive
officer
Yes 3
Caroline For-profit Founder/CEO No 1
Tracy For-profit Founder/principal
consultant
Yes 2
Gina For-profit Outpatient clinician Yes 3

Leah
Leah is a professor and internship coordinator at a community college in the suburbs of a
metropolitan city in Maryland. She is a mother of four children. Two of her children are college
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students. One is a middle schooler, and the other is a high schooler. Leah always wanted to be a
mother. She believes motherhood is her primary role and responsibility. Leah described
motherhood as joyful but not without challenges.
For Leah, to be a mother means to “wear a lot of hats.” Not only is she responsible for
her children, but she is also a wife and a professional. Leah admitted to feeling that she had to
sacrifice pursuing some of her personal and professional goals due to her role as a mother. She
said, “Honestly, I think that it’s put me in a position where I’ve put the things that I’ve wanted to
do kind of on the back burner, because I want to make sure that they are thriving, and that they
are doing well.”
Janae
As deputy secretary of a New England state agency, Janae is the second in command for
all diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Her husband’s job keeps him working abroad for
much of the year. Janae is very deliberate about instilling cultural values and an expectation for
excellence in her teen daughter while leaving a little bit of room for her child to live carefree.
Janae strives to keep in mind the pressure her daughter may feel for needing to measure up but
maintains that “we [Black people] don’t have the space—because of the visibility in this
environment—to be … reckless.”
Janae believes that part of what distinguishes Black mothers from non-Black mothers is
largely culture as it relates to parenting and expectations. In speaking about her expectations for
her daughter, Janae stated the following:
There’s just certain cultural elements in terms of what you do when you get home, how
you present yourself in terms of hair and dress, and how you show up. There’s certain
expectations for how you do in school. How you present yourself to people.
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Bianca
Founder and CEO of a non-profit that serves women of color entrepreneurs, Bianca is a
former high school foreign language teacher. Her experience as an educator prepared her to
balance the demands of her blended, mixed-race family, consisting of her three biological Black
children—including twin boys—and her partner’s two White children from a previous marriage,
with the demands of her business.
In contrast to her partner, who is racialized as White, Bianca noted that she must engage
in a tremendous amount of motherwork. Bianca believes that “what makes Black parenting
different is that you have to have real conversations with your kids about real stuff really early.”
She added, “With the [twin] boys, we’ve had to have more race-based talks in their youth. …
Because anything that they did at school someone would need to say something about.”
Mae
Mae is a senior director at a national nonprofit organization. Her job entails resource
development, training, and capacity building. Mae is also an entrepreneur. The genesis for
creating her business was to honor those who mentored and coached her by paying it forward—
providing coaching and consulting services to non-profit professionals. Mae has two young adult
children. She expressed sentiments of mom guilt that stemmed from having had to sacrifice time
spent with them when they were young so that she could climb the professional ladder.
Mae stated, “Everything that I do is for my children. Moving up in my career was so I
could have more income. … My kids went to private schools just about all of their lives. And
that is not cheap.” Mae added the following:
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But on the flip side of that, because I work for an organization where I had to travel a lot,
it did impact my relationship with my kids. I didn’t know it until they were older. I
always felt like as long as they were with family, then it was fine. But it wasn’t.
Halle
As COO of a small nonprofit organization, Halle oversees human resources, information
technology, building operations, accounting, and compliance; however, her most important job is
being a single mother to her 2-year-old daughter. Halle noted that being a mother is a source of
joy and pride. She stated, “There’s nobody stronger. There’s nobody smarter. There’s nobody
faster. There’s nobody more creative than Black people. So, it’s an awesome privilege to be a
Black mother.”
Halle also noted that there is a great responsibility to be a Black mother due to all of the
social constructs that they must navigate. She said that there is some anxiety that comes from
mothering a Black child. Halle stated, “I care deeply about how she’s treated in the world, and
that’s partly being a mother, but partly being a Black mother of a Black child.” And although her
daughter is just a toddler, Halle often thinks about her daughter’s future, specifically about
having to teach her daughter what it means to be Black, while not wanting to burden her
daughter with the weight and reality of anti-Blackness.
Laila
As the director of development at a nonprofit in the northeastern United States, Laila is
quite cognizant of the magnitude of disparities in income and wealth and the de facto racial
segregation that exists. So, when she and her husband relocated with their three school-aged
daughters to the suburban community in which they currently reside, she noted that they were
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very intentional about how they would parent their Black children in predominantly White
spaces.
“When we moved to this place we were very deliberate about having networks of Black
folks and/or White folks who really center race in their understanding of the world,” Laila
explained. They have also been adamant about ensuring that their daughters feel empowered to
educate their classmates about the complexities of race. For example, during a show and share
event at school, Laila’s first grader talked to her classmates about sugar cane being something
that they enjoy with their cousins in Florida but also being a cash crop that caused their ancestors
to be brought from Africa.
Wanda
Wanda, a senior development officer at a national nonprofit, lives in the Midwest with
her husband and their two elementary-aged daughters. She has been very intentional about trying
to find the right balance between having a successful career and being able to be present for her
daughters. Wanda noted that she recalls her own mother grinding and trying to get ahead in her
career. According to Wanda, at that time, women in corporate America were expected “to
sacrifice their family a little to get ahead.” That was Wanda’s mom’s experience, and she
realized early on that she never wanted that for herself.
Prior to giving birth to her own children, Wanda would ask herself, “How can I find that
perfect tipping point between having some professional success myself but being able to be the
mom who can show up with all the cupcakes and be there dropping my kids off and picking them
up?” Now that she is a working mother, Wanda yearns to see more successful women modeling
how to deliver on their work while simultaneously being very protective of the time that should
be spent with their families.
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Wilma
In addition to being a real estate agent and the founder and CEO of a property
management company, Wilma is a technical writer for a company that specializes in K–12
curricula. As a former college professor, Wilma acknowledged that she does not have the career
that she could have had, because of personal choices she made to the benefit of her children. For
example, Wilma said that living in her community was a deliberate choice because there’s a
Black middle class there. She stated the following:
I’ve lived in other places where there are Black people, but they’re not middle class. So, I
wanted my son to have peers who are educated. I want him to be around families where
people who look like him were also educated and had money.
When Wilma was finishing up her doctoral program and was offered a job teaching at a
university in a predominantly White community, Wilma turned them down due to the lack of
diversity. She was adamant about raising her Black sons in a diverse and inclusive community.
Her adviser could not understand Wilma’s reasoning. “She was clueless about my needs around
my career choices,” Wilma stated. Wilma knew that she had two Black boys to consider in all of
her decisions, so she decided to explicitly tell her adviser why she turned down the job offer.
“My boys have to be raised around other Black people,” Wilma told her.
Unique
Unique is the CEO of an international testing center, as well as an educator in a K–12
school. When she entered the field of education several decades ago, she did so because she
wanted to inspire young children to dream big and reach their full potential. She often reflects on
how Black children who attended under-resourced and segregated schools were limited in terms
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of their career options. “At the time I came along very few [Black people] were in the field of
education as leaders, as principals, as superintendents, and as owners of schools,” Unique stated.
Although her three children are all grown with their own families and careers, she still
worries about their well-being and safety. Unique stated the following:
I don’t want them to be discriminated against at their jobs. I don’t want them to be
harassed. And I certainly don’t ever want to pick up my phone and know that something
seriously happened where they might have been killed, because somebody misinterpreted
their moves. So, as a Black mom in this country I am constantly fearful.
Caroline
As a therapist, founder and CEO of a mental health company, and a mother to a child
with a disability, Caroline does her best to balance her leadership and parental responsibilities. In
the workplace, Caroline often is questioned about her expertise or has her leadership outright
contested. “People might not think that I know a certain diagnosis, a certain terminology, certain
theories, or theoretical orientations. I know my stuff. It’s just people’s biases,” she stated.
Caroline described the worry, anxiety, and pressure that all mothers might feel as being
exacerbated in her case due to the fact that she mothers a Black son whose actions may be
misunderstood. Caroline said, “You see all of the things that’s going on in the world with our
Black children. … I’m just overly protective of my son.” Having a Black child who is differently
abled informs all of the decisions that Caroline makes, both personally and professionally.
Tracy
Tracy, the founder and principal consultant of a social impact firm, is very cognizant of
the challenges faced by Black mothers due to the coalescing of multiple oppressed identities. She
stated, “There is a lack of awareness, acknowledgment, and affirmation outside of the Black
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mother community around the multi-faceted and intersectional challenges that we experience as
Black mothers.” People have made assumptions about her abilities and capabilities based on
stereotypes about Black women.
When a potential client of a former employer questioned her ability to manage a large
project, Tracy confidently reminded them that she had just pitched the proposal to their team
while simultaneously rocking her sick child to sleep. While the client was impressed with her
response, Tracy wondered how many other Black women have faced similar situations but were
never given the benefit of the doubt that motherhood was not a disqualifier for leadership.
Contrarily, motherhood can make one a better leader, Tracy believes.
Gina
Gina is an outpatient clinician at a mental health facility and a mother to 5-year-old twin
girls and a 2-year-old son. In reflecting upon the many Black women who have been in positions
where they were not given opportunities, Gina said, “People questioned their ability to complete
a task without considering that they complete many tasks, as a woman and as a mother.”
Gina mentioned that COVID-19 caused an overall shift in society’s view of mothers and
their capabilities. She expressed gratitude that COVID-19 enabled her to spend more time with
her children. Gina stated, “My kids … see me working from home and taking them to the park,
and maybe even blending the two. I was grateful for the opportunity that COVID-19 presented
with these work from home options that were not there before.”
Finding 1: Fear-Based Mothering Influences Black Mothers’ Leadership Practices
One of the “residual impacts of generations of slavery” (DeGruy, 2018) is fear-based
mothering, a standard feature of the Black motherhood identity. Because enslaved Black mothers
were unable to exert control over the lives of their own children, generations of Black mothers
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post-emancipation continue to grapple with how to parent Black children in a world that is at
best unloving and at worst violent towards Black people. Since anti-Blackness does not
discriminate based on age, Black mothers worry about both the psychological well-being and the
physical safety of their Black children.
Black children are more likely to be perceived as “less innocent” (Morris, 2016) and,
therefore, more culpable for their behaviors than their non-Black peers. This “adultification” of
Black children (Morris, 2016) has led to Black children being at risk of harm or death when
doing mundane things like playing with a toy gun or even simply going to the store to buy candy.
Thus, in an effort to stave off a potentially horrid future that may be harmful to their children,
many Black mothers parent from a position of fear.
Unique, a mother of three, described fear-based mothering as “constantly trying to
reinforce survival skills,” and Leah, a mother of four, noted that given today’s racial climate, she
feels “a little bit more pressure” to make sure she gets it right, believing that her children’s lives
are dependent upon her tenacity. The “it” that Leah is trying to get right is the reinforcement of
survival skills that Unique mentioned.
Sometimes this reinforcement manifests as “the talk” that Black parents have with their
children, particularly boys, about the ways they should and should not interact with law
enforcement and other people of authority. Other times it looks like advising their children on
how to speak, dress, and behave when in predominantly White spaces. For example, common
instructions include the following: Do not use African American Vernacular English; do not
wear ball caps or hoodies; and, as Janae noted, “Do not embarrass me in front of these [White]
people.” At all times, this reinforcement is very strategic and an example of the motherwork that
Black mothers do for the sake of their children’s safety.
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Despite all of her efforts, Leah knows that she has to eventually let go of the idea that she
is in control and instead let God bring her peace. Thus, when she feels overwhelmed by the
reality of not truly having control over her children’s safety, she leans on her faith. Leah shared
the following:
I think prayer and talking to God has helped because I don’t have the future in my hands.
I can’t be with my kids 24/7. So, I do pray a lot and rely on my spiritual beliefs to help
me have a little bit of peace and calm in knowing that they are being watched over.
Regardless of one’s religion, for Black mothers, relying on one’s faith or “spiritual beliefs”
meant resigning to the fact that they do not believe that they have control. This deeply rooted
sense of wanting to have control is a direct reaction to anti-Blackness. And, while having faith is
not a salve, it did bring many Black mothers like Leah “a little bit of peace and calm” because
faith allowed them to believe that an external force had control.
When Black mothers lean into their faith, they have come to terms with the limitations of
their mother role. That is, they cannot watch over their children at all times, as Leah noted. So,
when their children are in their company, they remind them of their greatness, inundate them
with love, and try to prepare them for a world that may be less kind to them. When their children
are out of sight, Black mothers worry and pray and focus on what is in their control—their roles
as leaders. The Black motherleaders in the study were well aware of their ability to have some
control over how their colleagues—particularly those with oppressed identities—experience the
workplace. They described being cognizantly aware of the responsibility that comes with their
leadership role, intentionally making themselves accessible to colleagues, and coaching,
supporting, and advocating for marginalized staff. That is, the lack of control in one domain (i.e.,
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safety of their children) led to them exerting more control in another domain (i.e., wellbeing of
their colleagues).
To be clear, fear-based mothering does not mean that the mother-child relationship is
devoid of love. On the contrary, because Black mothers are fearful that anti-Black violence may
befall their children, they engage in motherwork, as described by Collins (1991; 2009), and make
a lot of decisions—out of love—to protect their children. Examples of these major decisions
include what careers to pursue, where to raise their children, and how to parent their children.
Wilma noted that when she was deciding where she and her children would live, she was
determined to live in a safe community where her children could have “a normal childhood
without fear.” Wilma explained, “I wanted them to be able to make the same mistakes that other
[non-Black] children make without dying for them or being harshly punished in ways that other
[non-Black] kids are not.” When Wilma mentioned wanting her children to be able to make
mistakes, she was speaking to the unpleasant reality that Black children are often treated like
adult criminals rather than presumed innocent and given the benefit of the doubt that is afforded
to non-Black children. Seven Black mothers in the study related to Wilma worrying about her
children’s ability to have “a normal childhood.”
Black mothers are fearful that their daughters will be assaulted and battered like Dajerria
Becton, a young Black girl who was slammed to the ground by a Texas police officer at a pool
party (Phillips, 2017). Black mothers are afraid that their sons will be murdered, like Jordan
Davis, a young Black boy whose only “offense” was playing his music at a volume that was
displeasing to a White man (Walsh, 2014). Yet, Black mothers do not have the privilege of
simply worrying. They also must take action.
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Laila, a mother of three, described being a Black mother as “trying to nurture and do
typical mom stuff alongside the background of systemic racism and misogyny—misogynoir.”
What Laila was articulating is critical race parenting, described by DePouw and Matias (2016) as
the work done by parents of color to foster pride regarding their race and culture in their children
while simultaneously teaching them the tenets of racism and strategies of resistance. One
example of Laila’s motherwork to her girls was helping them unlearn, in an age-appropriate way,
the whitewashed version of one of America’s ‘founding fathers.’ Laila described this incident as
follows:
George Washington was being painted as a great national hero. They were told that he
was kind to his slaves. When they came home, I had to help them unlearn that. We did
our own research, put together some bullet points, and made a video. We presented this to
their teacher.
In essence, Laila’s girls were receiving two educations, one from school and the other from their
mother. To be a Black mother requires engaging in additional work because helping their
children unlearn information that is not only incorrect but also harmful requires a lot of love,
patience, and labor. Seven of the study participants expressed the additional labor they are
required to do as they navigated the challenges of parenting children in a racist society.
Mae, a mother of two, stated “As a Black mother, there are a lot of things that you have
to do to protect your [Black] child and educate them that the world is different [for them].” Mae
had conversations with her daughters about potential interactions with police officers in hopes
that with this knowledge, they would come home alive after a traffic stop or other incident that
involved law enforcement. Mae is well aware of stories of Black female motorists who do not
make it home after incidents involving police, like Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old Black woman
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from the Midwest who was taken into custody—and died shortly thereafter—following a
confrontational traffic stop by a White police officer in Texas (Montgomery, 2019).
Bianca, a mother to five children, shared Mae’s concerns. She stated the following:
My daughter is about to get her license. I’m concerned about a person who doesn’t have a
fully formed brain operating a motor vehicle. … But then on top of that, I’m concerned
about her getting stopped by the police. … I worry about her safety because of her
Blackness.
Bianca was well aware that neither her daughter’s youth nor gender would protect her from
experiencing anti-Blackness. Therefore, whereas non-Black mothers of teenage drivers may be
concerned about them potentially getting in a car accident, Black mothers have the additional
worry of their children dying, not from the accident, but from a racist police officer or motorist.
Bianca, who described fear-based mothering as “a lot of worrying and a lot of warning
children,” was also concerned about the safety and well-being of her twin Black sons. She stated,
“Knowing that in their lives, because of the color of their skin, and the way that their hair is,
people are going to assign things to them that they do not have to own.” Emphasizing that her
children “do not have to own” the labels bestowed upon them is a form of resistance, a core
feature of Black feminist leadership (Hanson, 2003; Rogers, 2005; Rosser-Mims, 2010).
Bianca noted that there is a lot of juxtaposition and juggling in Black parenting. This
sentiment was expressed by other study participants as well who, like Bianca, were intentional
about resisting forms of oppression related to being Black, being a woman, and being a mother,
as well as teaching their children how to resist. Bianca noted that she recognized that worrying
“comes from a place of necessity.” In doing so, she was speaking to fear-based mothering being
a standard feature of Black motherhood identity.
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However, in not wanting her children to live life being afraid, Bianca’s mothering
practices also include a focus on sharing cultural traditions with her children, enabling them to
stay connected to their ancestors and appreciate their history. By intentionally balancing the
“worrying and warning” that is endemic to fear-based mothering with reminding her children of
their cultural wealth and traditions, which is a central feature of activist mothering, Bianca found
a way to address the juxtaposition inherent in her Black motherhood identity.
Finding 2: Black Motherleaders Constantly Have to Prove Themselves
Though not unanimously expressed, another theme amongst many of the study
participants was constantly having to prove themselves at work, as McKinsey and Company
(2020) described, because assumptions rooted in anti-Blackness are made about their skills and
abilities despite their expertise and credentials. For example, Caroline, CEO of a mental health
company, was aware that she must navigate intersectional oppressions due to her racial identity.
Caroline stated, “People believe that you should not [lead] them, and you don’t know what you
know because you’re Black.”
If people believe that Black people “should not [lead] them,” their racism shows. If
people believe that because someone is Black, they “don’t know what [they] know,” their racism
is on full display. Anti-Black racism is causing Black women to have both the legitimacy of their
leadership and the validity of their expertise called into question over and over again. Because
Black motherleaders embody a trifecta of oppressive identities—being Black, being a woman,
and being a mother—they constantly have to prove themselves.
Halle agreed that she also is often asked to prove herself. She stated, “Every day. All day.
Somebody questions a call I make.” As COO of a nonprofit, Halle is required to make a lot of
calls, so to constantly have them questioned is not only exhausting but also very frustrating.
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Halle told her colleagues that when she makes a decision and they question it or feel the need to
verify it with a White colleague, then what they were doing is considered a microaggression.
It is not surprising that microaggressions, described by Sue et al. (2009) as the slights,
snubs, or insults that communicate combative, belittling, or negative messages, were the means
by which Halle was asked to prove herself since Black women tend to experience more
microaggressions than other women on account of the double oppressions associated with their
racial and gender identities (McKinsey & Company, 2020). Halle recalled the following
conversation that she had with one colleague:
I would like for you to examine why you feel like you need to go around me because you
don’t feel like you need to go around the other leadership in this organization. … The
only difference that I can see, it’s because I’m Black.
Halle’s bravery in calling out her colleague for his insistence on “go[ing] around” her, a passive-
aggressive way of questioning the legitimacy of her leadership, cannot be understated. Directly
naming the behavior that was causing her discomfort took the onus of having to once again prove
herself off of Halle and placed it at the feet of her colleague to contend with. In essence, Halle’s
naming of her truth in a direct way was an example of her resistance.
Janae, deputy secretary at a state agency, described the professional obstacles that she
faced with proving herself to people who made assumptions about her and how she might react
to certain situations. Before they had a chance to get to know her or see her work, either directly
or indirectly, Janae’s colleagues would request that she prove herself. Janae expressed her
dismay at having some of her colleagues contest her leadership. One colleague in particular
verbally attacked her in public meetings. Janae believed that by insisting that Janae prove herself,
her colleague made assumptions about Janae’s bravery. Janae explained that she thinks that her
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colleague assumed that Janae would back down when confronted. “She thought I was going to be
meek. People tend to perceive me as a human cupcake. ‘Oh, she’s going to be so sweet! She’s
going to be like a mom.’ Yeah, well, sometimes your mom’s not sweet,” Janae said.
By stating that “sometimes your mom’s not sweet,” Janae was alluding to the reality that
Black women often are not allowed to express a full range of emotions due to the fact that
another legacy of slavery is expectations for how Black women are to behave. These
expectations often manifest as dominant stereotypes, which Collins (2009) described as socially
constructed controlling images of Black womanhood that reflect “the dominant group’s interest
in maintaining Black women’s subordination” (p. 79).
Janae said that having a conversation with her colleague was an example of an instance in
which she has had to be very clear about her boundaries when it comes to addressing peers who
insist that she prove that she is skilled, an expert in her domain, and worthy of her leadership
position. When Janae addressed her colleague’s disrespect, she did so in private because she was
hyperconscious of the stereotype that Black women are angry and did not want to feed into it.
Stereotype threat, as explained by Steele (2010), causes people with oppressed social identities to
be anxious, self-conscious, and to make decisions so as not to play into the stereotype. Seven of
the Black motherleaders interviewed expressed that dominant stereotypes—rooted in anti-
Blackness—about Black women influence their leadership styles and experiences.
Wilma stated, “I’ve always just been a very candid person, but when you’re a Black
woman, and you’re candid, then you’re [labeled as] angry.” Wilma noted that her non-Black
colleagues were privileged not to be demonized, reprimanded, or punished for expressing
themselves authentically. That is, non-Black employees are allowed and expected to express a
range of emotions in the workplace. It is normalized. Whereas Black people do not have that
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same privilege. Mae agreed that Black women are often characterized as angry: “That’s just
something that’s conditioned in my head. And I try not to be angry.” The conditioning that Mae
spoke of is another example of stereotype threat. By being very cognizant that the “angry Black
woman” stereotype exists, Mae was constantly trying to prove that she does not fit that image of
Black women.
Similarly, Caroline shared that when colleagues disagree with a decision she has made,
believing that she will be hostile, they approach her with a combative posture. Like Mae, she is
put into a position of having to prove that she does not fit this stereotype about Black women.
Caroline posited, “I think that they look at Black women in a way of assuming that we’re going
to be ghetto, loud, or rude.” To prove that they are not “ghetto, loud, or rude” or angry, hostile,
or aggressive, some Black women couch their remarks with words and a tone that brings comfort
to their colleagues. McCluney et al. (2019) noted that the deliberate change in appearance,
speech, or behavior in which the comfort of others is prioritized over one’s own authenticity is
known as code-switching.
Janae, deputy secretary at a state agency, is well aware of when certain situations require
that she code switch, as it is a way of proving to others that she has what it takes to get the job
done. “I usually will do my work speech: ‘At the close of quarter three, we have to make sure we
have these deliverables.’ And then I will say it in plain language,” Janae stated. Code-switching
enables Janae to get the outcome that she wants, but it comes at a cost—Janae’s authenticity.
While it may appear that code-switching is something that one can turn on and off, Black
motherleaders do not feel like they have a choice. In order to be viewed as a leader, Black
women must show up in a particular way. Constantly proving themselves, switching code, and
combatting dominant stereotypes is exhausting.
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Parker and ogilvie (1996) contend that “it is because of their ability to code switch and
successfully navigate between corporate and diverse cultures” that Black women are innovative,
creative, and have sophisticated adaptive skills, which benefits all organizations (as cited in Sims
& Carter, 2019, p. 100). Black women’s bi-culturalism is an asset, making Black motherleaders
highly adaptable and resilient leaders. Bi-cultural describes people who traverse two cultures—
the dominant White culture and their historical cultural or racially minoritized identity (Sims &
Carter, 2019). Martinez and Welton (2015) asserted that “biculturalism has its roots in Black
American sociologist and civil rights activist, W.E.B. Du Bois’ term ‘double consciousness’ that
was used to describe the ‘two-ness’ African Americans in the 19th century felt in being both
American and African American” (p. 126).
Finding 3: Being a Mother Shapes Black Women’s Leadership Styles
Since being brought to what would become the United States in the early 17th century,
Black mothers have navigated the “two-ness” that Du Bois (1968) spoke of and mastered
survival. With very few resources, Black mothers orchestrated rebellions, birthed children, and
supported their families. This history of adapting to their given circumstances and leading out of
necessity—and with a scarcity of resources—explains Black mothers’ knack for leadership.
Furthermore, what makes Black mothers effective leaders is that they are empathetic
(Blumenfeld, 2021); they see greatness in others; they leverage their cultural wealth while also
considering various perspectives (Yosso, 2005); and they center diversity, equity, and inclusion
in their leadership practices (Dowell & Jackson, 2020). Black women’s leadership style mirrors
their mothering style, making them assets to their organizations.

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Empathy Is a Superpower
Black motherleaders’ ability to empathize—understand the experiences, emotions, and
motivations of others to meet their needs and preferences (Anaissie et al., 2020)—is an under-
appreciated yet exceedingly powerful attribute and skill. Wanda, the senior development officer,
recognized the power of being empathetic. Wanda stated, “I feel like there’s so much that we can
see and feel and observe that is just missed. And, I think that’s what makes us great bosses, great
teammates, and great leaders.”
Wanda was acknowledging that as a Black mother, she has an inherent gift that enables
her to “see and feel and observe,” which benefits those that she works with. To feel seen is a
prerequisite for feeling included, which is another reason that Black motherleaders are great at
leading DEI initiatives. As empaths, Black mothers feel when something is amiss, and they are
adamant about taking the correct action. As leaders, Black mothers observe their colleagues,
enabling them to understand their strengths and individual needs, and then provide the support
that will help them succeed at their jobs.
Tracy, the founder and principal consultant of a social impact firm, credited her children
for the human-centered, empathetic approach to her leadership. Tracy noted that having two
hypersensitive children, and being hypersensitive herself, has enabled her to tune into people’s
body language, their breathing and “pick up on the other things that signal that we humans may
not be okay.” When Black motherleaders seek to understand the experiences, emotions, and
motivations of their children, and respond accordingly, their children benefit from having a
parent that is more attuned to their needs. Similarly, when Black motherleaders harness their
empathy in their workplace relationships, the people that they lead also benefit from feeling seen
and understood.
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In describing the similarities between her mothering style and leadership style, Bianca,
founder and CEO of a nonprofit and mother of five, named empathy as one of her attributes. She
stated the following:
I learned how to lead in the school system, which is already set up in a mothering-like
framework. … There’s a lot of care. There’s a lot of patience. … It informs my parenting.
The empathy, the listening, and the patience. That is all the same.
As Bianca noted, “the empathy, the listening, and the patience” that was present at work, in her
role as an educator, was also present in her home life, in her role as a mother. Empathy is a
superpower for Black motherleaders, and they leverage it effectively.
Leveraging What They Know While Considering What Others Know
Acquiring information about how the world works via direct, first-hand experience and
engaging in perspective-taking—seeing situations from alternative points of view—helps people
expand their moral compass, make inclusive decisions, and lead more effectively. Black
motherleaders do both, leveraging their cultural knowledge and leaning into their lived
experience while simultaneously seeking out the knowledge and perspectives of others.
Black motherleaders’ knowledge of their familial connection to ancestors that resisted
oppression and exhibited resilience when faced with adversity—Christman and McClellan
(2012) refer to this as “resilient leadership”—strengthens their resolve when they are challenged
in both their personal and professional lives. Unique, a mother of three, asserted that before
becoming mothers themselves, Black women can be certain that they are leadership material
because they have gained knowledge from watching, listening to, and studying their mothers,
aunts, and grandmothers. As Yosso (2005) noted, people of color’s worthiness is not tied to
economic wealth or the lack thereof, but rather to cultural knowledge and connections.
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Bianca, a mother of five, had a special connection to her maternal grandmother, who was
an integral part of her family. At 89 years old, her grandmother was taking Bianca’s 5-year-old
twin sons on adventures—bus rides to the mall, window shopping, and eating out. She had lived
a full and flavorful life, yet when she died, there was sadness, a heavy feeling of loss, and a sense
of urgency for Bianca to move forward with turning her vision of supporting women of color
entrepreneurs into a reality. In reflecting on how her grandmother’s passing nudged her to start
her business, Bianca stated the following:
What I really felt when she passed was how the things that move me and drive me to
reflect, to take chances, to have a vision and move it forward, lived equally as much
inside of her and her mother. … And because of the time and the circumstances, these
women were like in boxes, and could never fully realize [their potential].
When Bianca spoke of leveraging what she knows to pay homage to the women who
were “in boxes,” she was speaking of generations of Black women who had dreams, desires,
goals, and gifts but were born in an era in which they could not fully express or achieve them.
That is, because racism and sexism were core features of the society in which Black foremothers
grew up, they were unable to realize their visions. Bianca was able to leverage this knowledge to
help other entrepreneurs of color realize their visions.
“I really wanted to maximize on them [the freedoms we have], not just for myself and the
vision that I had, but also for the women before me, who had all this inside of them, but couldn’t
let it out,” Bianca explained. In recognizing that the lives of her ancestors “who had all this
inside of them, but couldn’t let it out” were stunted due to misogynoir, a term that describes the
intersection of anti-Blackness and misogyny (Bailey, 2021), Bianca was adamant about paving
the way for other women of color.
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Halle, a mother of a toddler, believes that being a Black mother makes her an effective
leader because it gives her a new and useful perspective that benefits the people with whom she
works. Halle stated, “It gives me depth. So, I understand now when somebody says they can’t
come to work because their child is sick. … Before I accepted it. But now I understand it.”
Halle’s mention of previously accepting that an employee had to take time off to care for a sick
child versus now having a greater understanding of what that means speaks to a perspective shift.
Most employers are required to offer their employees sick leave to care for themselves or
a loved one, but this does not mean that employees are comfortable with taking it. This could be
due to taking time off being culturally frowned upon. Now, beyond simply accepting it, Halle is
supportive of her employees taking time off to care for their loved ones. This, in turn, is likely to
help boost employees’ morale. Halle further explained that being a Black mother has caused an
identity shift as well, as she now sees that her Black motherhood identity is a core part of how
she self-defines and engages in sensemaking as she navigates the workplace and the world.
Centering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Leadership Practices
Black motherleaders’ intersectional identities account for them being especially attuned
to oppression and empathetic towards the oppressed, which are requisites for advancing
diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. As deputy secretary of DEI at a state agency,
Janae’s day-to-day professional responsibilities are focused on improving how employees
experience the workplace. She described her leadership style as being “very intentional,
especially in the interpersonal.” This means she is purposeful in demonstrating inclusivity in her
interactions with colleagues.
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Janae explained that in recognizing that institutional racism, and oppression more
generally, is a system, she is intentional about trying to find out what employees need so that
they do not run up against barriers when navigating these systems. Janae stated the following:
I’ve got members of my team who are across the gamut in terms of personality, identity,
disability status, and how they process information. I don’t need them to all be the same.
… It would perpetuate a kind of oppression if I required that of them.
To treat diverse employees like a monolith would “perpetuate a kind of oppression”
because it would support the narrative that White, cis, able-bodied, neurotypical men are the
norm and people who are different in “personality, identity, disability status, and how they
process information” are deviants. Janae rejected this dominant narrative by centering diversity,
equity, and inclusion in her leadership practices.
In describing her efforts to make her workplace more equitable and inclusive, Mae,
senior director at a nonprofit organization, shared that she and her colleagues were creating an
advisory board for a new community initiative. When speaking to her colleague who was leading
this effort, Mae questioned her about the racial composition of the advisory group. For example,
Mae asked, “Do we have representation in this group? Is there Black representation? Is there
Hispanic representation?”
By asking about whether there was racial diversity, Mae was forcing her colleague to
account for why White advisory group members would be the norm. In other words, why
wouldn’t a diverse group be the norm for any initiative spearheaded by a nonprofit organization,
especially one that serves communities of color? Oftentimes, asking pointed questions is the way
that Black motherleaders ensure that DEI is a must-have rather than a nice to have in their
workplaces.
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Halle, nonprofit COO, is also very deliberate about making her workplace more diverse,
equitable, and inclusive. Halle noted that her organization lacks diversity, and one way to work
around what she could not control (i.e., the racial composition of staff) was to focus on what she
had control of—the selection of vendors and contractors. So, Halle got rid of the majority White
IT team that had been working with her organization for years and hired a team that was owned
by a person of color.
Finding 4: Black Motherleaders Have Little Support
Unsurprisingly, one common theme amongst Black motherleaders is a lack of support.
Whether partnered or single, each of the 12 study participants expressed a need for more support
in both parenting and leadership. The types of desired support include financial, organizational,
and physical. Organizational support refers to employers demonstrating that they value
employees’ work contributions and care about their well-being (Eisenberger et al., 2016).
Physical support entails the partners of Black mothers doing more child-rearing, housework, and
overall management of the household to alleviate these responsibilities that are often bestowed
upon mothers.
Why Paying Black Women Their Worth Matters
Black motherleaders need more financial support. Bleiweis et al. (2021) reported that in
2020, Black women earned 64 cents for every $1 earned by White men. Eighty percent of these
women are the breadwinners for their families (Glynn, 2019), meaning their families’ economic
security and well-being depend on them being paid equitably. It is critical that mothers have
financial resources to outsource help, whether that be childcare services, house cleaning services,
cooking services, laundry services, or other supportive services.
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Unique, mother to three adult children, reflected on the fact that her own mother had very
little financial resources and had to work several jobs to support her four children. There is no
doubt that the racial and gendered division of labor accounted for the low earnings of Unique’s
mother and other Black mothers. Unique noted that the difference between Black mothers and
mothers of other races is that because Black communities are under-resourced—an effect of
accumulated discrimination and inequality, as reported by McIntosh et al. (2020)—Black
mothers have less support overall.
Gina, a mother of three young children, lamented the need for Black mothers to have
access to more resources. “Some of the things that we [women] do is produce children. So, why
not have … viable resources for us, ways that we can get in contact with those resources, [so
they’re] a little bit more accessible,” she questioned. Gina was expressing how baffling it is for
there to be such few resources—and less recognition of their seemingly invisible labor—for
people with such an important role and huge responsibility. Just as Costa and James (1971) noted
that women have critical roles—“birthing, raising, disciplining, and servicing the worker for
production” (as cited in Davis, 1981, p. 134)—Gina, in essence, was expressing that because of
their role in our economy (i.e., birthing the would-be laborers), mothers should have access to
more resources.
Single Mothering Is Harder
Halle, a mother of a 2-year-old, agreed that mothers need more financial resources:
Mothering is hard. Single mothering is harder. Single mothering without any financial
resources is about impossible. It’s just virtually impossible. There’s no support. Because
you could pay for support.
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In expressing how difficult it is to be a single mother with limited financial resources,
Halle deemed it to be “virtually impossible.” When she stated, “Because you can pay for
resources,” she was inferring that having financial resources would enable her and other single
mothers to outsource help, which might include nanny care, cleaning services, and laundry
services. In addition to Halle, three other study participants—Mae, Caroline, and Wilma—are
solo parenting.
Mae, a mother of two, knew that as a single mother, she would need additional support
despite the misconception that Black women are strong and therefore do not need help. Mae
stated, “I think we are portrayed as being strong. There is nothing wrong with that. But it also
allows us sometimes not to reach out for help.” Mae’s way of challenging that portrayal of a
“strong Black woman” was to ask her sister to help with her daughters’ care. While her sister
stepped in to provide support, Mae expressed dismay at how time spent away from her children
due to traveling for work took a toll on her relationship with her daughters. Mae stated, “I mean,
you read about people that don’t have relationships with their parents and stuff like that, and I
just didn’t want that for me, for my kids.” There is always some degree of mom guilt stemming
from decisions made, especially if there are unintended consequences like Mae’s daughters being
emotionally closer to their aunt than their mother. Even when the decisions are in the best
interests of one’s children, the feelings of guilt seem to be exacerbated for single mothers
because they do not have a partner to help carry the emotional weight.
Caroline, a single mother of one child, agreed with Mae’s sentiments concerning the
portrayal of Black women as strong. “I think that people have an expectation of me to always be
strong and figure things out. So, even when I am in need of help, and I ask for help, I think the
help is very limited,” stated Caroline. The expectation “to always be strong” is another example
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of a dominant stereotype that hurts Black women. If people believe that Black women will
“figure things out,” they will be less inclined to offer support. Sometimes, Caroline’s parents
help out with her son, but on a very limited basis. “They’re kind of the ones [grandparents] that
are like, ‘You had your child. You got to raise him.’ … So, it’s not a lot of support,” she
explained. Just as some mothers push back on the notion that to be considered a “good” mother,
one must be self-sacrificial (Collins, 2009), some grandparents also reject the idea that to be
considered a “good” grandparent means that they should happily be on board to babysit their
grandchildren frequently.
Wilma, a mother of a young college student, credited her community for providing her
the support she needed in raising her two sons as a single mother. “There is definitely a
community here where we raise each other’s children. So, my choice of where to live has
mediated some of the things that I think I would worry more about if I wasn’t here,” she stated.
Having a community of parents that had eyes on her sons when Wilma was unable enabled her to
grant her children more autonomy, such as playing outside with other neighborhood children or
walking unescorted to the community park. Without that community, as a single mother, Wilma
would have had to keep tighter reins on her children.
Being Both Invisible and Hyper-Visible Is Exhausting
Black motherleaders have little organizational support. Leah, a community college
professor, expressed the need for organizations to demonstrate that they want Black
motherleaders to be successful by investing in ways to support them. She said, “I think as a
leader, it can be a lonely place, and that’s really unfortunate, especially for women, and probably
for Black women, maybe even more so.” This accounts for why she believes there is a need for
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more organizational support “in the way of mentors and people you can confide in without
feeling like you can’t be totally honest and open and transparent.”
Leah’s desire to confide in a mentor “without feeling like you can’t be totally honest”
was a sentiment shared by eight of the study participants. Like Leah, they felt both invisible and
hyper-visible. They expressed a desire to have access to a confidant because they need someone
that they can trust, who will not judge them, question their competence, or contest their
leadership. The loneliness—invisibility—that Leah spoke of is quite familiar to Black
motherleaders who work in organizations that lack diversity. Black mothers in leadership
positions who are hyper-visible—they are the only representative of their race and the only
representative of their gender—are at greater risk of burnout, as reported by McKinsey and
Company (2021), and thus require even more support from their organizations. In fact, being the
only or among a few Black women in an organization is considered an environmental
microaggression (Holder et al., 2015).
Halle, nonprofit COO, expressed frustration with being “the Only [Black person].” “I’m
tired of going to places and looking out at a sea of only White faces. I don’t want to be the only
Black person in the room anymore,” stated Halle. Not seeing themselves represented in a large
crowd can feel very lonely. It makes Black motherleaders feel hyper-visible. Halle is among the
54% of Black women who are the “Onlys” in rooms at work (McKinsey & Company, 2020).
Black motherleaders are hyper-aware of what it means to be deemed a representative of
all Black people. That is, if they mess up, it would negatively affect the chances for there to be
other Black women—other Black mothers—in leadership positions. Thus, Black motherleaders
could benefit from organizations investing in them via mentorship or other mechanisms of
support that will allow them to be “totally honest and open and transparent.”
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Laila, director of development at a nonprofit organization, agreed with Leah that a
mentorship is a form of organizational support that is lacking. She said that there is a need to
have “someone who will just validate and empower you when you need to make some of those
tough decisions.” Laila believes that organizations should also invest in Black mothers by
providing them with paid benefits such as paid time off—and encourage Black mothers to use
it—and childcare stipends, in addition to making investments in their overall well-being.
Regarding the latter, Laila’s supervisor encouraged her to hire consultants that could
provide strategic support to her because her supervisor did not want Laila to experience burnout.
Laila explained that there are very few Black women fundraisers—which makes them hyper-
visible if they do not meet their goals and invisible when they have particular needs. Over the
years, two consultants that Laila hired were Black women. In addition to strategic support, the
Black women consultants provided the emotional support that Laila needed, as she did not have
to explain to them what it means to be a Black woman in a traditionally White space.
Wanda, senior development officer at a nonprofit organization, said that she wished that
organizations were more visibly supportive of working mothers so that she could have seen more
Black women modeling how to balance their professional careers and motherhood
responsibilities. “I think of the women who are coming up behind me. I want them to see a
woman who is thriving and succeeding but will tell you very clearly that my children and my
family come first,” stated Wanda. Wanda wants to be the kind of visible leader who is seen as
“thriving and successful,” but as she mentioned, she will not sacrifice her family. What this
means is that positive visibility is not without its challenges since it may require putting in long
hours, which results in fewer hours spent with one’s family.
The Laborious Nature of Childcare and Housework
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Black motherleaders need more physical (i.e., hands-on) support from their partners.
Unique, who has been married for over 30 years, stated, “A lot of times Black women—even
though we might be married—have dual roles, playing the role of a mom and of a dad.” Unique
often felt that her husband was not as invested in childrearing nor housework the way she was
because he does not consider them to be his responsibility. The dual roles that Unique played
were likely not something that she imagined she had to take on when she and her husband had
their three children. As such, the labor comes not only in having to perform or do the labor but
the added burden of the labor being unplanned and unexpected.
Leah, a mother of four, was able to relate to Unique’s sentiments about the dual role that
Black mothers play. Leah felt overwhelmed by “the pressure of being responsible for every
single thing” that involved her children. During our interview, Leah felt relieved to share that
sentiment out loud. At that moment, it was clear that Leah was feeling the full weight of the
motherhood institution, which as Collins (2009) noted, can, at times, feel oppressive.
Although her husband contributes to running their household, Leah feels ultimately
responsible for cooking, cleaning, and caring for their children due to the gendered norms and
expectations about what it means to be a “good” mother. Several scholars have noted that
mothers are expected to only feel positive about their motherhood role (Hare-Mustin &
Broderick, 1979; Marshall, 1991). Collins (2009) contended that though it seems contradictory,
for Black mothers, in particular, motherhood can feel both liberating and oppressive.
Prior to going into business for herself, Tracy, a mother of two, often had to decline work
events because they conflicted with her “second shift” duties—managing and organizing the
household to keep things running smoothly. Tracy explained, “We [mothers] have to go home
and pick up our children and get them ready to transition after school or daycare; get dinner
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going; and yes, we have partners that support us, but we’re the ones organizing stuff.” Though
unbeknownst to her at the time, Tracy’s use of “second shift” was in reference to sociologist
Arlie Hochschild’s (1989) research on the uneven (and unpaid) domestic labor (e.g., housework
and childcare) that working mothers routinely perform at home.
Unsurprisingly, White mothers were the primary focus of the mothers studied in The
Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home (Hochschild, 1989), even though, as
Roos (2010) noted, Black mothers have been in the workforce longer than all other mothers.
However, scholars like Roos (2010) would likely maintain that it is okay that Black mothers
were excluded from Hochschild’s analysis because her analysis does not appear to be applicable
to Black mothers. That is, for Black mothers, there is no “second shift,” labor at work and labor
at home are one and the same. In other words, there is no distinction between Black mothers’
leadership in their workplaces and their leadership in their homes.
Black mothers experience one “single shift” (i.e., 24 hours/day), which causes them to
redefine what it means to be a Black mother and reimagine what it means to be a Black leader at
work. The “single shift” encompasses their Black motherhood identity, and this re-imagination
of what it means to be a working Black mother informs their Black feminist leadership, the latter
of which Hanson (2003), Rogers (2005), Rosser-Mims (2010), and Collins (2009) characterize as
resisting oppression (by engaging in motherwork) and empowering others.
This “single shift” is not without sacrifice. Black motherleaders sacrifice health and
themselves. Being “on” all of the time causes both mental and physical stress. And, it is nearly
impossible for Black Mothers to be equally “good” mothers and “good” leaders due to limited
time and their attention being pulled in opposite directions. This was the cause of the mom’s
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guilt expressed by Mae, mother of two, because climbing the career ladder came at the expense
of spending time with her children.
A Seemingly Elusive Work–Life Balance
Black motherleaders also feel pressured to maintain a healthy work–life balance, even
though the idea of attaining a work–life balance is unrealistic. What Black motherleaders
actually need is more support and flexibility. Anti-mother policies and practices are those that
are devoid of flexibility, such as those that do not grant mothers the option to work from home
on occasion or to work remotely full-time.
Because very few employers have pro-mother policies and practices, many mothers like
Unique seek out employment in places where it is easier to work around their children’s
schedules. Prior to creating her business, Unique was an elementary school teacher and principal.
Part of the reason that she chose the field of education was that her work schedule would be in
sync with her children’s schedules, which meant that she could spend more time with them. Yet,
Unique still felt pressure to get the right balance between her home life and her work life. She
stated, “It’s not been easy trying to juggle marriage, children, and my profession.”
Like Unique, Bianca was also an educator before stepping out on faith and embracing
entrepreneurship. Bianca expressed that when she was a teacher, she and her colleagues who
were mothers would leave school knowing that their workday was not ending. Bianca explained,
“There was no ‘Wow that was a tiring day. Let me go curl up with some tea.’ ” Bianca was
expressing that, though the tasks may differ, the workplace and home-based responsibilities are
the same for Black motherleaders, because they are leaders in both places.
While attaining a work–life balance conducive to their roles as leaders and mothers may
seem elusive, when Black motherleaders report to women of color and women who are mothers,
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they tend to feel more supported in their pursuit of a healthy equilibrium. For example, when
Wanda, a senior development officer, was pregnant with her first child, she recalled feeling
supported because her supervisor was a woman of color. In reflecting on her former supervisor,
Wanda said, “She was so protective of what it meant to be a mother and what that time would
mean for me.”
Being “protective of what it meant to be a mother” is a great summary of what Black
motherleaders need—for others to see their motherhood status as something of value and worthy
of protection. This includes providing them with the space, resources, and support to care for
their needs and the needs of their children. Wanda further explained that her supervisor created
an atmosphere in which Wanda did not have to justify what she needed to successfully balance
motherhood and work. If Wanda had to return home during the workday to check on her baby,
who was being cared for by a nanny or needed to come into the office late, she was given the
flexibility to do so, and she was not questioned about whether or not she would be able to
successfully do her job.
Similarly, when Tracy was pregnant with her second child and working at a firm owned
and run by women, she felt tremendous support. The women principals of the firm anticipated
Tracy’s needs, going as far as to have a pumping room constructed in the building from which
they were leasing office space. Tracy explained what she believed was the rationale for why the
firm’s owners were supportive of her:
Because they knew that their workforce was dependent on me getting the support and
resources that I needed, that every woman—any person that identified as a woman who
was going to give birth—would need eventually. This was based on their own
experiences as the principals of the firm who all had children.
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It is very noteworthy that all of the owners of the firm where Tracy worked were mothers. Their
motherhood status accounted for why they were able to empathize with Tracy and anticipate
what her needs were likely to be. These motherleaders were more than willing to demonstrate
their support by building a pumping room and providing Tracy with other resources, knowing
that “any person that identified as a woman who was going to give birth” would also need [the
same type of support] eventually. This is why representation matters, specifically as it concerns
Black mothers in leadership positions.
Summary
Leadership, like motherhood, is rewarding, challenging, and sacrificial. For Black
mothers, there is little distinction between mothering and leading. This blending of roles and
responsibilities accounts for their Black motherhood identity. Unlike the “second shift”
experienced by other working mothers, Black mothers in leadership positions have one “single
shift”—all day, every day—and they need more support in both their homes and their
workplaces.
Fear-based mothering is a standard feature of being a Black mother, resulting in Black
mothers having valuable leadership traits and skills (e.g., adaptability, resiliency, critical
thinking) that can be transferred to their workplaces. Black mothers are constantly fighting
against oppressive systems that may cause harm to their children and oppressive systems that
may create barriers in the workplace. This includes anti-Blackness, dominant stereotypes about
Black women, and having to constantly prove that they are experts in their domains.
Being a mother shapes Black women’s leadership styles. It makes them more empathetic
leaders. It enables them to lean into their lived experience and leverage their cultural knowledge.
It informs the collaborative nature and style of their leadership. It makes them intentional about
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seeking out and bringing in the knowledge and perspectives of others. It is at the core of why
they prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion in their work.
The findings of this study addressed the research questions: (a) How do Black
motherleaders perceive the impact of their intersectional identities on their careers and leadership
experiences? (b) How do systems oppress Black motherleaders? (c) What practices do Black
motherleaders employ to navigate oppressive systems? Specifically, Black motherleaders believe
that their racial identity, gender identity, and motherhood status influenced their careers and
leadership experiences. For example, they face microaggressions, navigate dominant stereotypes
about Black women, and have assumptions made about them because they are mothers.
Black motherleaders are oppressed by anti-Blackness, anti-woman policies and practices,
and anti-mother systems and structures. These oppressive systems make them responsible for the
majority of childcare and housework and cause them to be both invisible and hyper-visible in the
workplace. Black motherleaders engage in certain practices to navigate oppressive systems. This
includes leveraging their cultural knowledge, centering diversity, equity, and inclusion in their
leadership practices, and being empathetic towards the needs and experiences of their colleagues.
In the following chapter, I discuss how these findings align with the conceptual
framework and further detail how they address the research questions. Also included are
recommendations for practice and future research.

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Chapter Five: Recommendations
The purpose of the study was to learn how different aspects of one’s identity affect their
experiences at work. Specifically, the study focused on how being a Black mother, in particular,
influences one’s choices, career opportunities, and leadership experiences. It was important to
conduct this study because understanding Black motherleaders’ perceptions of how their
intersectional oppressed identities both account for the barriers they face and enhance their
leadership practices can aid for- and non-profit organizations in their efforts to make their
workplaces more anti-oppressive, equitable, and inclusive.
The answers to the research questions were obtained via an intersectional qualitative
analysis of the participants’ lived experiences, centering their culture, consciousness, and
epistemologies in the study. During the interviews and focus group discussion, a narrative
inquiry was utilized, enabling the participants to tell counter stories to dominant narratives of
what it means to be Black, a woman, and a mother.
This chapter first includes a discussion of the findings connected to the conceptual
framework and extant literature. Following are the study’s limitations, recommendations for
practice, as well as recommendations for future research. Finally, this chapter will close with the
study’s conclusions.
Discussion of Findings
In focusing on the experiences of Black mothers in leadership positions in the for- and
non-profit sectors, the study addressed the following research questions: (a) How do Black
motherleaders perceive the influence of their intersectional identities on their careers and
leadership experiences? (b) How do systems oppress Black motherleaders? (c) What practices do
Black motherleaders employ to navigate oppressive systems?
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The findings of the study provide foundational support to and are in alignment with the
conceptual framework and the four primary topics that emerged from the review of literature:
navigating intersectional oppressions, negotiating identity, asserting inherent value, and leading
from the margins. Specifically, the conceptual framework describes (a) Black motherleaders’
navigation of anti-Blackness, anti-woman policies and practices, and anti-mother systems and
structures; (b) negotiation of what it means to identify as a Black woman, Black mother, and a
Black leader; (c) assertion of their inherent worthiness; and (d) acknowledgment that their
adaptive and resilient leadership styles benefit their children, colleagues, and communities.
The Black feminist theoretical framework and intersectionality proved to be appropriate
lenses to study the convergence of multiple oppressed identities, power (i.e., control) or lack
thereof, and forms of resistance (Collins, 2009; Crenshaw, 1989). The Black motherleaders who
participated in the study shared the myriad ways in which they resist the structures, systems,
policies, and practices that seek to subordinate, exclude, marginalize, and oppress them. Forms
of resistance include critical race parenting, engaging in motherwork, and centering diversity,
equity, and inclusion in their leadership practices.
Whether solely focused on their roles as mothers or their roles as leaders, the study
participants expressed that they were challenged due to a lack of support. Overwhelmingly, the
participants believed that their leadership style mirrors their mothering style, which makes them
assets to their organizations; however, anti-Blackness and dominant stereotypes about Black
women, anti-mother workplace policies and practices, constantly being asked to prove
themselves, and being both visible and hyper-visible in the workplace create barriers to inclusion
and leadership for Black mothers.

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Black Motherleaders Navigate Intersectional Oppressions
The ubiquity of anti-Blackness means it shows up in all aspects of Black motherleaders’
lives. Nine of the study participants specifically named anti-Blackness as an oppression they
must navigate in either their home lives, work lives, or both. Moreover, Black mothers’ attempts
to navigate anti-Blackness inform their mothering style (e.g., fear-based mothering), which, in
turn, informs their leadership style (e.g., adaptive and resilient).
Recognizing that despite their efforts, they cannot guarantee that their children will be
protected from the ills of anti-Blackness, Black mothers rely on their faith to abate their constant
worrying. At work, leveraging their lived experience and using their positional power, Black
motherleaders who participated in this study were purposeful in taking action to protect their
colleagues of color from practices that might minimize, marginalize, or devalue their full
participation in their organizations.
In addition to navigating anti-Blackness, Black motherleaders must traverse anti-woman
policies and practices—those rooted in misogyny. Misogynistic policies and practices impact
female workers in several ways. This includes being assigned to lower-paying positions; being
held to different or higher standards; being evaluated more harshly; being denied a promotion,
pay raise, or training opportunity; or being rejected for a job, forced out on leave, or given fewer
assignments because they are pregnant (Equal Rights Advocates, n.d.).
Several of the study participants expressed loneliness that stems from being the only
Black woman in a room, as well as frustration with women being paid less than their male
counterparts; unfair expectations for how female leaders, in general, and Black female leaders,
specifically, should look, speak, and behave; and often being steered towards office housework.
The latter includes leading DEI efforts but not being compensated for this additional labor.
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Anti-mother systems and structures are additional oppressions that Black motherleaders
are forced to navigate. Coiner and George (1998) characterized anti-mother institutions as those
in which organizational leaders make little or no effort to institute policies and practices that
support working mothers. The Black motherleaders in the study expressed a dire need for
employers to demonstrate that they are pro-mother organizations by providing more support and
flexibility. These women were seeking to obtain a seemingly elusive work–life balance, so that
the time and energy they put into their families is at least matched by the time and energy they
put into their careers. Since both their leadership roles and their mother roles are core features of
their identities, they want to thrive in both arenas.
If for- and non-profit organizations want to demonstrate their support for creating safe
and equitable spaces for mothers to thrive, then there are several ways that they can show that
they are pro-mother organizations. These include allowing and encouraging working mothers to
have flexible work arrangements; being more generous with leave (e.g., more sick days); and
instituting inclusive return-to-work programs for new mothers, such as the establishment and
promotion of a lactation-friendly work environment.
Black Motherleaders Negotiate Identity
As Laney et al. (2015) noted, to be a mother entails both identifying with the status of
being a mother in conjunction with engaging in the practice of mothering. In other words,
motherhood is not simply a state of being, nor is it limited to biology. Being a mother requires
that one engages in the act of mothering. That is, “mother” is actually a verb. Thus, even the term
“working mother” seems to be a bit redundant, for anyone engaging in the act of mothering is
doing work. Black motherleaders are constantly doing work in both their roles as mothers and
their roles as leaders. As mothers, Black women lead efforts to provide sustenance, protection,
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and support to their children. As leaders, Black women lead efforts to provide direction,
guidance, and encouragement to their teams. Because time is finite, there is an internal
negotiation that needs to happen to resolve the tensions between and demands of mothering and
leading. The Black motherleaders in the study described a two-pronged approach to address the
tensions.
First, they redefine what it means to be a “good” mother. Being a good mother is not
simply providing food, shelter, education, and protection for their children, which is an
expectation of all mothers. For Black mothers to be considered “good” mothers, they must also
be intentional about passing on cultural values to their children so that they recognize their
inherent wealth, understand their worth, and know that they are deserving of dignity and respect.
Second, Black motherleaders reimagine leadership in their own images. That is, contrary to
dominant societal messages that continue to paint leaders in the image of White men, Black
motherleaders envision themselves as leaders, knowing that they too can—and do—effectively
articulate a vision, achieve a mission, and empower others. Furthermore, the lived experiences of
Black motherleaders, especially as it relates to mothering from a position of fear, have provided
them with adaptive and resilient leadership attributes that benefit their workplaces.
Black Motherleaders Assert Their Inherent Value
Black motherleaders wholeheartedly reject the dominant narrative that people with the
most melanin in their skin are the least valuable. They also refuse to believe that their gender
identity renders them less knowledgeable or less qualified than their male counterparts. One way
that they resist society’s attempts to assign their “rightful place” to the bottom of the racial,
gendered hierarchy is to assert that they inherently have value. This inherent value is due to the
positive attributes associated with the intersection of their racial identity, gender identity, and
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motherhood status. Black motherleaders assert their inherent value by engaging in critical race
parenting and counter-storytelling to lift up how their multiple oppressed identities have made
them more resilient and to pass down the value of their cultural wealth to their children. As
Collins (1986) noted, Black women have been able to self-define and self-valuate what it means
to be a Black woman, enabling them to make “creative use of their marginality” (p. S14).
Black motherleaders also have inherent value because of their connection to their
ancestors—Black activist foremothers who were the prototypes of resistance. Black women’s
mere existence is a form of resistance because they “were never meant to survive” (Lorde, 1978,
para 2). Resistance is both individual and collective. Individually, Black women push back on
messages about their worth that they encounter on a daily basis (e.g., microaggressions, being
asked to constantly prove themselves, etc.), and they engage in motherwork, teaching their
children how to resist oppression. Collectively, Black women lean on one another for support,
“adjusting the crowns” of other Black women (i.e., Black women helping one another and
reminding each other of their worth). When asked whether or not she had help during her
leadership journey, Janae, one of the study participants, said, “Yes, and they were always Black
women.” This is an example of Black women adjusting the crowns of other Black women.
When Audre Lorde (1978), a Black feminist civil rights activist, stated, “Caring for
myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare,” she
was reflecting on the need for Black women to know that they are inherently worthy of care and
rest “in a world that continuously exploits their labor” (Taylor, 2021). Self-preservation is the
only way Black women will have the strength and power to dismantle the structures that do not
serve them or their children, paying homage to their Black foremothers who paved the way for
them.
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Black Motherleaders Lead From the Margins
Due to their embodiment of a trifecta of oppressed identities—Black, woman, mother—
Black motherleaders are on the margins of society. They are not given the same recognition nor
resources afforded to other mothers or leaders. Despite having little support, Black mothers are
leading from the margins to benefit their children, colleagues, and communities. Each of the
Black motherleaders who participated in the study is a leader—in their families (i.e., activist
mothering), in their workplaces (i.e., Black feminist leadership), and in their communities (i.e.,
community othermothering). By redefining what it means to be a mother and reimagining a more
expansive view of leadership—one in which they can see themselves—Black motherleaders
have proven to be deft at leveraging their racial identity, gender identity, and motherhood status
to positively inform their parenting and leadership styles and practices.
Existing at the margins has provided Black motherleaders with a unique vantage point—
they can see the center, where power is nearly exclusively held by people who do not look like
them. Black motherleaders know that if they are able to make it to the center, they will have
proven that despite facing barriers and hurdles, they can achieve what they set their sights on and
help others along the way. That is, they can authoritatively claim that, unlike any other leader,
Black mothers intimately know what it takes to successfully navigate, interrogate, and dismantle
anti-Black, anti-woman, and anti-mother structures. By leading from the margins, Black
motherleaders use their knowledge and lived experience to make their organizations safer and
more accessible places to work, especially for people with oppressed identities.
Recommendations for Practice
The following section focuses on the recommendations for practice based on the findings
of this study. The target audience for the following recommendations is organizational leaders.
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Based upon the extensive review of extant literature and intersectional qualitative analysis of the
lived experiences of the study participants, it is recommended that for- and non-profit
organizations take the following actions to increase the representation of Black mothers in
leadership positions and support them once they are there:
1. Organizational leaders must eradicate systemic oppression in the workplace.
2. Organizational leaders should compensate Black mothers for their DEI work.
3. Organizational leaders should create mentorship programs for Black mothers.
Recommendation 1: Eradicate Systemic Oppression in the Workplace
The murder of George Floyd was a wakeup call for some, and a reminder to others, that
Black people are facing two pandemics—COVID-19 and anti-Black racism—and they are both
deadly. I believe that the latter is deadlier, because at least with COVID-19, there is a protocol
for minimizing your chances of being infected (e.g., wash your hands, wear a mask, practice
social/physical distancing); however, with anti-Black racism, there is nothing that Black people
can do to stay safe or alive. Systemic oppression is killing Black people—it is a public health
crisis. The for- and non-profit sectors are facing an existential calamity. Organizational leaders
must address systemic oppression with the same fervor that they put towards helping their
employees navigate COVID-19-related challenges.
Systemic oppression, the intentional disadvantaging of groups of people based on their
identity while advantaging members of the dominant group, exists at the level of institutions and
across interconnected and reinforcing structures such as education and health (National Equity
Project, n.d.). The only way for Black mothers to thrive in the workplace is for organizational
leaders to eradicate all forms of systemic oppression.
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Black mothers are underrepresented in leadership positions because they face several
systemic oppressions due to their intersectional identities. Black motherleaders, like other
employees with oppressed identities, have to navigate workplaces that were created to serve the
needs and interests of cis-gender, wealthy (i.e., land-owning), and able-bodied White men who,
for a very long time, were considered ideal leaders. Collins (1998), Higginbotham (1989), and
Morton (1991) contended that this accounts for why the thoughts and priorities of White men
have been elevated in traditional institutions.
Navigating institutions that were not built with them in mind creates barriers to
leadership for Black mothers. Because anti-Black, anti-woman, and anti-mother systems,
structures, policies, and practices are prevalent in workplaces, the Black motherleaders in the
study found themselves having to constantly prove themselves. For- and non-profit organizations
must be intentional and strategic about eradicating systemic oppression. This requires
identifying, interrogating, and dismantling barriers to equity and inclusion for Black mothers and
all employees with oppressed identities.
Organizations that lack diversity in their leadership ranks often are quick to invest in a
robust recruitment strategy that targets individuals of specific demographics; however, this is the
wrong approach. Organizations should first prioritize focusing on addressing systemic
oppression within their workplaces, because systemic oppression creates a culture that would be
harmful or even toxic to new hires with oppressed identities. That is, to root out and eradicate
systemic oppression, for- and non-profit organizational leaders must evaluate their workplace
systems, structures, policies, and practices using an anti-oppression, equity, and inclusion (AEI)
lens.
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An AEI lens is a strategic tool that organizational leaders can and should use to identify,
interrogate, and dismantle barriers to inclusion and equitable outcomes (Nelson & Brooks,
2016). Applying an AEI lens requires that organizations thoroughly examine policies and
practices that may harm some people while privileging others and actively seek to prevent racial
injustice. It entails examining decision-making processes and equitably allocating resources.
Finally, it means that organizational leaders acknowledge the context in which their institution
exists: a society defined by inequalities of race, gender, class, and more.
When organizations are using an AEI lens, they are taking care not to other employees,
which Esposito and Evans-Winters (2022) described as decentering the cultural experiences,
values, and beliefs of people of color in favor of Western Eurocentric male-centered knowledge
claims and productions. That is, to other is to further marginalize employees from
underrepresented and oppressed groups, including Black motherleaders.
Organizational leaders that want to demonstrate that they are serious about making their
workplaces more anti-oppressive, equitable, and inclusive must apply an AEI lens to all aspects
of their organization, including operations, programs, services, processes, and products. More
specifically, for- and non-profit organizational leaders should apply an AEI lens to their
recruitment and hiring processes; examine their salary compensation plans; and create and
develop pro-Black, pro-woman, and pro-mother policies and programs, respectively.
Black mothers will not be the sole beneficiaries of the application of an AEI lens in
organizations. Every employee will benefit from the discontinuance of processes or products that
perpetuate racist structures, reinforce stereotypes, and exploit suffering and the furtherance of
fostering a safe and welcoming environment, inclusive decision-making, and the equitable
allocation of resources (powell et al., 2019).
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Recommendation 2: Compensate Black Women for Their DEI Work
The study participants confirmed what the literature review revealed: Black women
spend a significant amount of time leading efforts to make their workplaces more diverse,
equitable, and inclusive (Dowell & Jackson, 2020; McKinsey & Company, 2021). The work to
advance DEI in the workplace is time-consuming and emotionally draining labor that benefits
organizations as it improves organizational culture and employees’ experiences in the workplace
(McKinsey & Company, 2021). Black women should be compensated for this additional labor.
There are various ways that Black women engage in DEI work in their workplaces,
including serving on DEI committees, leading employee resource groups, organizing and
speaking on DEI panels, spearheading efforts to conduct pay equity studies, and counseling
executive leadership on issues concerning belonging. Yet, Black women’s efforts often go
unacknowledged.
The Black motherleaders in the study noted that in addition to the above named efforts to
advance DEI, they also raise the alarm when initiatives are not inclusive; informally mentor staff
of color; make space for staff of various identities to show up authentically and succeed in the
workplace; lean on their lived experiences to empathize with and help staff who are on the
margins access the supports they need to succeed; and build community within their workplaces
so that staff with oppressed identities feel seen and safe. Only one of the 12 study participants is
paid for her DEI efforts, and this is because her specific job is focused on advancing DEI.
By compensating Black women, for- and non-profit organizations can formally recognize
the additional value that Black women bring to their workplaces. Organizations benefit from
Black women centering DEI in their leadership practices. Additionally, Black women are skilled
at navigating, interrogating, and dismantling oppressive structures and systems, which makes
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them particularly effective in their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts (Cyr, 2021; Ross,
2014; Sarid, 2021).
Moreover, compensating Black mothers for the DEI work would be an opportunity for-
and non-profit organizations to demonstrate that they do not want to repeat history (e.g., the
slave era) by benefiting from Black women’s free labor, and they are not paying lip service to the
pledges they made, during the so-called “racial reckoning” of 2020, to make their workplaces
more diverse, equitable, and inclusive (Kerber et al., 2020; McKinsey & Company, 2021).
Beyond providing pay raises to Black women who engage in DEI work, organizations
should also formally recognize Black mothers’ efforts by noting it in their performance reviews
to count towards opportunities to be promoted, receive a bonus, or a salary increase. That is,
efforts to make one’s workplace more diverse, equitable, and inclusive should be considered
worthy of accolades, top priority, highly valuable, and greatly appreciated. Thus, organizations
should pay Black women their worth.
Recommendation 3: Create Mentorship Programs for Black Mothers
The Black motherleaders who participated in the study indicated that they need more
support from their organizations, and they specifically noted that providing mentorship
opportunities is one way their organizations can invest in their success. In addition, Black
mothers seeking leadership opportunities and those currently serving in a leadership role would
benefit from being mentored by Black women leaders.
Beyond sharing their experiences and providing advice, mentors with shared racial and
gendered identities can support Black mothers on their leadership journeys by serving as
confidants (Nicholson, 2021), which was something desired by several of the Black
motherleaders in the study. Eby et al. (2010) characterized mentoring as a relationship between a
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junior colleague and a more experienced, senior colleague that focuses on the professional
advancement and personal growth of the mentee, the junior colleague who is being mentored.
Vargas et al. (2021) contended that because mentors are presumed to have more experience and
greater expertise than mentees, it creates an inherent relationship of unequal power.
Due to the low representation of Black women in the higher ranks of many fields,
including the for- and non-profit industries, Black motherleaders are often mentored by someone
of a different race, typically someone who is White (Thorne et al., 2021). Thus, the unequal
power dynamic referenced above is further exacerbated in a cross-racial mentorship relationship.
Contrarily, if the mentors and mentees share a racial identity and a gender identity, then this
could help to facilitate a better connection due to the fact that neither the mentor nor the mentee
would be concerned with the other person lacking understanding as it pertains to their racial
gendered experiences and cultural perspectives.
Furthermore, because mentors provide both professional and socioemotional support,
mentorship contributes to positive career outcomes for mentees (Thorne et al., 2021).
With its focus on supporting professional development, serving as a sounding board, and sharing
insights, a same-race, same-gender mentoring relationship can help close the racial gendered gap
in nonprofit and corporate leadership (Bruce, 2021). Thus, for- and non-profit organizations
should create mentorship programs for Black mothers who are emerging and existing leaders.
Every nonprofit or corporation that purports to value and prioritize diversity, equity,
inclusion, and belonging should allocate a percentage of its annual budget to developing and
maintaining its emerging and existing leader mentorship program. The mentors who participate
in the program would be recruited from all industries, and the nonprofit or corporation that
“houses” them would pay them for their services. By investing in mentorship for Black mothers,
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organizations would provide the support they need to be successful, both personally and
professionally. However, they will also be making an institutional investment since the Black
motherleaders will have the support needed to excel at their jobs.
While these recommendations are for organizations—organizational leaders must do the
work to break down barriers to equity and right the systems that have wronged people with
oppressed identities—this entire body of work is for Black motherleaders, an acknowledgment
that they are seen and valued.
Limitations and Delimitations
The fundamental delimitation for both the one-on-one interviews and the focus group
interview was the purposeful small sample size—12 participants who self-identified as a Black
person, as a woman, as a mother, and as a leader. That is, by design, the scope for qualitative
studies is narrow, and because a theoretical construct that centers on Black women—Black
feminist theory—framed the study, the target population was intentionally limited to Black
motherleaders. Due to the qualitative nature of the study, I did not attempt to make
generalizations about the lived experiences of the study participants. In other words, Black
motherleaders are not a monolith—each story told was that individual participant’s truth. By
employing an intersectional qualitative research and analysis approach to the study, the beliefs
and epistemologies of each Black motherleader were centered and revered, forming a collective
narrative of what it means to navigate intersectional oppressions, negotiate identity, assert one’s
inherent value, and lead from the margins.
It was possible that by conducting the interviews digitally, I could not pick up on the
nuances in the study participants’ body language and tone. This is due to the fact that by its very
nature, conducting interviews digitally creates a barrier to getting to know someone on a more
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personal level; however, Howlett’s (2021) research found participants to be more relaxed and
comfortable online, especially if they are at home.
Recommendations for Future Research
Using an intersectional lens of race, gender, motherhood status, and leadership identity,
this study was limited to Black mothers currently in leadership positions. Yet, three areas of
future research emerged through the literature review and the qualitative data gathering.
First, future researchers may consider including Black mothers seeking to be in a
leadership role to account for the barriers they face and the support they need, as well as Black
mothers who are retired from leadership positions to gain insights into their experiences. The
researchers may want to explore convening with a focus group of current Black motherleaders,
aspiring Black motherleaders, and retired Black motherleaders, so that they could glean insights
into how the women share their experiences and, in turn, create a collective narrative. If possible,
the focus group should be conducted in person rather than online to mitigate potentially missing
the physical expressions (e.g., voice, body, etc.) that often get “lost in translation” when
conveyed via a digital medium.
Second, future research should also include a deeper dive into single Black mothers’
leadership experiences, particularly seeking to understand whether or not their mothering style,
and hence leadership style, is influenced by their solo parent status.
Lastly, future researchers should consider conducting a comparative study of the
leadership traits, behaviors, styles, and strategies of Black mothers and other mothers of color to
determine if the latter experiences oppressions that are akin to anti-Blackness, and whether or not
those experiences shape their leadership.
121

Conclusion
The purpose of this research study was to explore how intersectional oppressed identities
influence the leadership experiences, styles, and practices of Black mothers, with the goal of
informing individuals and institutions about the benefits of having historically excluded
people—those relegated to the margins of society—in leadership positions. This study was
important because although their adaptive and resilient leadership styles make them effective
leaders, there is a dearth of Black mothers in leadership positions. By leveraging Black
motherleaders’ lived and learned experiences, for- and non-profit organizations can help to close
the leadership representation gap. That is, the for- and non-profit organizations that are
struggling to make their workplaces more anti-oppressive, equitable, and inclusive could benefit
from the leadership of Black mothers. It is worth noting that there was no real difference
between the leadership experiences of Black motherleaders working in for-profit organizations
and Black motherleaders working in non-profit organizations.
Not only did this study identify some of the barriers that Black motherleaders face,
including having to navigate intersectional oppressions in the workplace and having little support
from their partners and organizations, but it also uplifted the experiences and practices that make
Black mothers effective leaders. It is important to note that this study did not place the blame on
Black mothers for the barriers they face, for “the issues [Black] women leaders encounter are not
of their making, and they alone cannot end these negative experiences” (Sims & Carter, 2019, p.
108). Thus, for- and non-profit organizations must work to eradicate systemic oppression,
including anti-Blackness, racial-gendered bias, dominant stereotypes, gendered expectations, and
other obstacles to inclusion.
122

This study demonstrated that by listening to Black women, valuing their lived
experiences and leadership styles, and supporting their leadership practices, organizations can
make their workplaces great places for all employees, especially those with oppressed identities.

123

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Appendix A: Code Book
Parent code with child codes Description of code
Dominant stereotypes pervasive stereotypes that characterize Black women
as angry, hostile, aggressive, overbearing, and
illogical
Motherwork the ways Black mothers navigate the challenges of
parenting in a racist and sexist society
Mom guilt feelings of guilt women experience in relation to their
children
Prove yourself ability is questioned; assumptions are made about your
skills and abilities
Oppressive systems barriers that make it difficult for Black women to lead
Invisible and hyper-visible being the sole Black person or one of a few Black
people
Lack of mentors/models lack of experienced and trusted advisers whose
behaviors can be emulated
Second shift the double burden experienced by working mothers
Anti-mother policies and practices
(e.g., lack of support)
the inflexibility of structural policies and practices,
including lack of familial and/or financial support
Pressure the mental distress caused by trying to find a happy
medium between the amount of time you spend
doing your job compared with the amount of time
you spend with your family and doing things you
enjoy
Sacrifices giving up something that is valuable or important to
obtain something else for yourself or someone else
Anti-Blackness actions or behaviors that minimize, marginalize or
devalue the full participation of Black people in life
Racial gendered discrimination being subject to unjust treatment due to one’s race and
gender
Leadership practices
Hands-off trusting others to get the job done
Present making oneself accessible
Intentional being cognizantly aware of one’s role and
responsibility and behaving purposely
Advocate/foster belonging encouraging and supporting staff and connecting them
to resources and opportunities
145

Parent code with child codes Description of code
Cultural wealth an array of knowledge, skills, strengths and
experiences that are learned and shared by people of
color and marginalized groups
Doers getting the job done
Empathetic the ability to understand and share the feelings of
others
Seeing greatness in others inspiring and motivating people to become the very
best version of themselves
Perspective-taking seeing situations from an alternative point of view
Lived experience personal knowledge about the world gained through
direct, first-hand involvement in everyday events
DEI leadership practices leading efforts to make the workplace more diverse,
equitable, and inclusive
Sisterhood demonstrating solidarity with other Black women

146

Appendix B: Protocols
Introduction to the focus group discussion:

Hello everyone. I’m Adiyah. Thank you for agreeing to participate in the study. I
appreciate you taking the time to talk to me. Before we get started, I want to remind you about
the purpose of this study and answer any questions you might have about participating in this
focus group discussion. I am a doctoral student at USC and am seeking to learn how different
aspects of one’s identity affect their experiences at work. I am particularly interested in how
being a Black mother influences one’s choices, career opportunities, and leadership experiences.
You each were selected to participate in the study because you self-identified as a Black mother,
and as currently working in a leadership position in a for- or non-profit organization.
As I mentioned when I spoke to each of you individually, the purpose for conducting this
interview in a group setting is for you to have a conversation about the similarities and
differences in your experiences as Black mothers in leadership positions. I will prompt you with
questions to guide the conversation and keep us on track; however, I am mostly interested in
witnessing the natural progression of the conversation, the “aha” moments, and the various
perspectives that you each will bring to the conversation. Does anyone have any questions at
this time?
There are no right or wrong answers, only points of view. I’m hoping that a response to
one of my questions will elicit further discussion by the other participants. It is absolutely okay
to disagree with one another with the caveat of doing so respectfully, of course. I ask that only
one person speaks at a time, as I want to be sure that I accurately capture everyone’s
contributions. Some of the questions that I ask may not be easy to answer and could cause an
emotional or triggering reaction. Remember, you do not have to answer anything that you are not
147

comfortable with. Just simply let me know that you’d prefer to skip that question. I want to
remind you that this interview is confidential. What that means is that your name will not be
shared with anyone outside of the research team. As stated in the study Information Sheet that I
previously provided to you, you were given the option to use the Zoom settings to change your
name to a pseudonym. Whether or not you chose to do so, I will still use pseudonyms in the
study to protect your identity. Please do not state the name of your organization. When
describing your workplace, you can simply say something like, “At my organization, we do ABC
or in our nonprofit, we focus on XYZ.”
The data for this study will be included in my dissertation and while I do plan on using
some of what you say as direct quotes, none of this data will be directly attributed to you. I am
happy to provide you with a copy of my dissertation if you are interested. Do you have any
questions about the study? I also included in the study Information Sheet that I would like to
record our conversation so that I can accurately capture what you share with me. The recording
will not be shared with anyone outside the research team. May I have your permission to record
our conversation? Thank you. I’m going to start the recording now.
Ok, now let’s get started. We’ll start with introductions. Please state your preferred name
for this discussion. This can be your real name, a nick name, your initials, or a pseudonym. Also
tell us the industry in which you work and the number of children that you have.
Tell me about your experience being a Black mother at work. How does being a mother
affect the choices you have made in your career? For example, have you ever declined a work
event because it conflicted with your mother duties? Have you ever turned down a promotion
because it would mean longer work hours?

148

Describe to me how being a mother—that is, the role of being a mother—has had an
impact on the opportunities you were given in your career. For example, did any supervisors
make assumptions about your commitment, interests, or capacity due to you being a mother?
What would you say if someone were to ask you, “What is it about being a Black mother
that makes you an effective leader?” For example, what makes your leadership unique? What do
you think are the most important things you do as a leader? What do you think you do well as a
leader?
Introduction to the interview:

Thank you for agreeing to participate in the study. I appreciate you taking the time to talk
to me. As I mentioned when we last spoke, the interview should take between an hour and an
hour and a half. Does that still work for you? Ok, great. Before we get started, I want to remind
you about the purpose of this study and answer any questions you might have about participating
in this interview. I am a doctoral student at USC and am seeking to learn how different aspects of
one’s identity affect their experiences at work. I am particularly interested in how being a Black
mother influences one’s choices, career opportunities, and leadership experiences. My goal is to
understand your perspective, and I am talking to other Black mothers who are in leadership
positions to gain their perspectives as well.
Some of the questions that I ask may not be easy to answer and could cause an emotional
or triggering reaction. Remember, you do not have to answer anything that you are not
comfortable with. Just simply let me know if you’d prefer to skip that question or if you want to
end the interview, we will. As stated in the study Information Sheet I provided to you previously,
this interview is confidential. What that means is that your name will not be shared with anyone
outside of the research team. I will use a pseudonym to protect your identity. The data for this
149

study will be included in my dissertation and while I do plan on using some of what you say as
direct quotes, none of this data will be directly attributed to you. I am happy to provide you with
a copy of my dissertation if you are interested.
Do you have any questions about the study? I would like to record our conversation so
that I can accurately capture what you share with me. The recording will not be shared with
anyone outside the research team. May I have your permission to record our conversation?
Thank you.
Let’s start by talking about your household. Describe your current home life. You can
think about it in terms of what you enjoy doing at home; what a typical day is like for you; and
who lives with you.
In your own words, what does it mean to be a Black mother? How might this be different
from a non-Black mother? What are some adjectives that describe Black motherhood? What are
the “highs” of being a Black mother? What are the “lows” of being a Black mother?
How, if at all, does being Black shape the way that you mother your children? If you
were not Black, do you think that you would mother differently? If yes, in what ways? What are
some early experiences that have shaped how you mother/have mothered?
Now, let’s discuss your career. Tell me about your current job. What’s your title? How
long have you been in this role? What are your core responsibilities? How do you feel about your
job overall?
How does being a mother—that is, the role of being a mother—affect the choices you
have made and the opportunities you were given in your career? Have you ever declined a work
event because it conflicted with your mother duties? Have you ever turned down a promotion
150

because it would mean longer work hours? Did any supervisors make assumptions about your
commitment, interests, or capacity due to you being a mother?
Now that we’ve talked about how different aspects of your identity have impacted your
career, we are going to discuss your leadership style, experiences, and practices. First, let’s start
with your leadership style. How, if at all, does being a Black woman shape your leadership style?
What are the similarities or differences between your leadership style and the way that you
mother?
Now, let’s talk more specifically about your experiences as a leader. Describe a time
when you have been confronted or questioned by a member of your staff who contested your
leadership. What happened? Why do you think it happened?
Okay, now let’s discuss your leadership practices. What is it about being a Black mother
that makes you an effective leader? What makes your leadership unique? What do you think are
the most important things you do as a leader? What do you think you do well as a leader?
If applicable, describe your efforts to make your workplace more equitable and inclusive.
Why are you involved in this work? How is it being received? Are you or were you formally
recognized for your efforts?
Let’s switch gears a bit, and talk about challenges that you face as a leader. What are you
challenged by as a leader? What are you challenged by as a mother? Are there challenges that
you uniquely face because you are a Black woman? How do you negotiate the tensions between
mothering, working, and leading? What are some strategies of self-care you use?
Finally, I’d like us to talk about what must be done so that there are more Black mothers
in leadership positions in their workplaces. What advice would you give to Black mothers
seeking to advance in their careers? What are some specific actions they should take?
151

Are there things that they should steer clear from? What do you wish you would have known
when you first embarked on your leadership journey?
What can organizations do to support Black mothers in their pursuit of leadership
opportunities? What are some things that organizations should start doing?
What are some things that they should stop doing?

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Asset Metadata

Creator Ali, Adiyah Aisha (author)

Core Title Leading from the margins: an intersectional qualitative analysis of the leadership experiences of Black mothers

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Degree Conferral Date 2023-05

Publication Date 05/30/2023

Defense Date 03/30/2023

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag anti-Blackness,anti-mother,anti-woman,Black feminist theory,black mothers,black women,Black women leaders,cultural wealth,diversity,equity,inclusion,intersectional qualitative analysis,intersectionality,leadership,OAI-PMH Harvest

Format theses (aat)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Kim, Esther C. (committee chair), Hayes-Burrell, Ingrid (committee member), Malloy, Courtney (committee member)

Creator Email aaali@usc.edu,adiyahali@gmail.com

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