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The underrepresentation of African American women in corporate leadership roles
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Content
The Underrepresenta-on of African American Women in Co rporate Leadership Roles
by
Hope Y. Eady
Rossier School of Educa7on
University of Southern California
A disserta7on submi?ed to the faculty
In par7al fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Educa7on
August 2023
©Copyright by Hope Y. Eady 2023
All Rights Reserved
The Commi?ee for Hope Y. Eady cer7fies the approval of this Disserta7on
Lenese Stephens
Jennifer L. Phillips
Esther Chihye Kim, Commi?ee Chair
Rossier School of Educa7on
University of Southern California
2023
iv
Abstract
While the number of African American women in leadership roles in Corporate America has improved
recently, there is s7ll significant evidence that African American women continue to face barriers to
obtain upper level and senior level leadership positions. This study documents the voices of African
American female leaders detailing their perceptions of their experiences of racial and gender barriers in
Fortune 1000 companies. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to explore and
examine the perspectives of African Americans female leaders who serve in upper-level positions and to
examine inequity they may have faced while serving in their role. The sample size for this research study
was 12 African American female leaders who currently hold upper-level leadership positions. The
research ques7ons examined their experiences of gender and racial biases, discrimina7on, and
stereotypes. Virtual interviews were utilized to conduct semi-structured interviews and collect the
perceptions and lived experiences of the 12 participants. Thema7c coding was used to analyze the data
and group recurring themes from all par7cipants into clusters for interpreta7on and comparison.
v
Dedica-on
I dedicate this project to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and give Him all the honor and glory for
giving me the vision and sustaining me throughout this journey. I never would have made it without Him
and believe with Him, the best is yet to come.
To my mother, Eva Sco? , thank you for always believing in my dreams and for always
challenging me to be the best version of myself. You have been a constant source of support and
encouragement. You model what it means to be a strong, Black women. My love for you exceeds all
measures of any imagina7on.
To my sisters, Wanda Ray and Belinda King, thank you both so much for all the love and support
throughout this journey and every other task I have a?empted .
To Jeremiah, I pray this helps to inspire you to pursue your dreams and to aim high. You can and
will do great things as long as you put God first.
To my friends and sisters, Tonya Jackson, Lisa Knight, and Angel Duncan – you ladies rock! I have
been immeasurably blessed to get to do life with you all. You have helped me to laugh through tears,
bounce back from setbacks, and be humble in the midst of triumphs. I look forward to seeing what the
Lord is going to do through each of you!
To my brothers, Samuel Giles and Marcus Knight – You two are the best and I thank you for just
being my brothers and showing me all the support that you have throughout the years.
To my family, thank you so much for your ongoing support and for pu^ng up with Aun7e being
in school.
To Dr. Hart, Lady Kandis, and my church family, thank you for your support, prayers, and
understanding throughout this process.
vi
To the women who par7cipated in this study, thank you for your willingness to support and help
another Black woman to achieve her dreams. You each impact not only your organiza7ons, but your
communi7es, by being willing to invest in other women.
vii
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my sincere gra7tude and apprecia7on to my commi?ee chair, Dr. Esther
Kim. Thank you for your pa7ence, guidance, and sharing your wisdom with me. I appreciate everything
you have done throughout this process. To my commi?ee members, Dr. Jennifer Phillips and Dr. Lenese
Stephens, thank you for your guidance throughout this process.
viii
Table of Contents
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................... IV
DEDICATION ........................................................................................................................................ V
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................................... VII
TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................ VIII
LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................... X
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................. XI
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO THE PROBLEM OF PRACTICE .......................................................... 1
Background of the Problem ..................................................................................................................... 1
Organiza7on Context and Mission ........................................................................................................... 4
Purpose of the Study and Research Ques7ons ........................................................................................ 4
Importance of the Study .......................................................................................................................... 6
Overview of Theore7cal Framework and Methodology .......................................................................... 6
Defini7ons ................................................................................................................................................ 8
Organiza7on of the Disserta7on .............................................................................................................. 9
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................. 11
Historical Context ................................................................................................................................... 11
Barriers to Career Advancement ........................................................................................................... 12
Coping Strategies ................................................................................................................................... 23
Conceptual Framework .......................................................................................................................... 25
Framework ............................................................................................................................................. 29
Summary ................................................................................................................................................ 31
ix
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................... 32
Research Ques7ons ............................................................................................................................... 32
Overview of Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 32
The Researcher ...................................................................................................................................... 33
Data Sources .......................................................................................................................................... 34
Trustworthiness and Credibility ............................................................................................................. 39
Ethics ...................................................................................................................................................... 41
Summary ................................................................................................................................................ 42
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS .................................................................................................................. 43
Par7cipant Profiles ................................................................................................................................. 43
Discussion of Findings ............................................................................................................................ 44
Key Findings ........................................................................................................................................... 47
Summary ................................................................................................................................................ 68
CHAPTER FIVE: RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................. 69
Recommenda7ons for Prac7ce .............................................................................................................. 70
Limita7ons and Delimita7ons ................................................................................................................ 74
Recommenda7ons for Future Research ................................................................................................ 75
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 76
REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................................... 78
APPENDIX A ........................................................................................................................................ 90
APPENDIX B ........................................................................................................................................ 91
APPENDIX C ........................................................................................................................................ 94
x
List of Tables
Table 1. Summary of Participants: Demographic Profiles ......................................................................... 44
xi
List of Figures
Figure 1. Concept Map …………………………………………………………………………….............................................. 30
1
Chapter One: Introduc-on to the Problem of Prac-ce
African American women are faced with both racial and gender-based discrimina7on. This
intersec7on of social iden77es magnifies the effect that race and gender discrimina7on have separately
(Sanchez-Hucles & Davis, 2010). According to Lean In (2020), of the current C-suite leaders, only 1% are
African American women. According to Catalyst (2016), most of the African American women in these
companies are in mid-level management roles. African American women sit in only 2.2% of total board
seats of S&P 500 companies. By comparison, according to the 2016 Board Diversity Census of Women
and Minori7es on Fortune 500 Boards, White men make up 69.2% of board members (Deloi?e, 2016).
Moreover, African American women are overrepresented in minimum-wage jobs and almost
nonexistent in C-suite roles (Catalyst, 2016). Understanding the dis7nc7ve barriers and challenges
African American women leaders confront in corporate America, including gender biases, has the
poten7al to provide valuable insights to combat both racial discrimina7on and gender inequali7es.
Background of the Problem
Racially based discrimina7on and prejudice have been long-standing social problems in the
United States. Despite over 50 years of effort, there are s7ll significant gender employment gaps
(Beckwith et al., 2016). Women of all races and backgrounds have been affected by the employment
gap. However, Black women specifically have experienced greater employment dispari7es than other
women. Women in leadership are onen defined by how people believe they should lead and what is
required for success (Eagly & Carli, 2007).
According to Beckwith et al. (2016), African American women execu7ves onen have less room
for mistakes as compared to their male and/or White counterparts. Research has shown that race and
gender biases onen result in distorted percep7ons of African American women’s abili7es, which onen
2
leads to greater scru7ny and cri7cism of African American women execu7ves (Beckwith et al., 2016).
This has resulted in a belief that African American women execu7ves must display masculine quali7es to
counter the percep7on of passiveness. At the same 7me, this asser7veness and ambi7on is frequently
misinterpreted as well (Sanchez-Hucles & Davis, 2010). These Eurocentric culture-based, idealized
images of leaders fit the stereotype of middle-class, White men and (at 7mes) women (Parker 2005).
According to Parker (2005), leadership theories are presented as race-neutral and, therefore, are
generalized to all people. Some organiza7ons are hesitant to appoint Black women to posi7ons of
pres7ge and high visibility, on en because of the belief that they lack the skills, leadership ability,
savviness, and drive to compete successfully in the execu7ve suite (Bell, 2004). This essen7ally sends the
message that African American women do not belong in leadership posi7ons.
The literature demonstrates that African American women face ongoing pressures to conform
to mainstream cultural norms while also facing internal pressure to resist that conformity and loss of
iden7ty (Davis & Maldonado, 2015). At the intersec7on of race and gender bias are significant systemic
and prevailing barriers and challenges. With their iden77es marginalized by race and gender, African
American women risk experiencing decelera7on in their career trajectories (Baga7, 2008). White women
historically use a glass ceiling analogy to describe barriers to career progression. However, African
American women and other marginalized groups refer to it as a concrete ceiling, where opportuni7es
for career advancement are significantly more challenging to a?ain (Ray & Davis, 1988). The concrete
ceiling is not only impenetrable but has the added disadvantage that the next step in leadership is
opaque (Catalyst, 1999). Racism has been cited as a cri7cal factor in explaining the underrepresenta7on
of Black women in management in corporate America (Bell, 2004).
3
Although racism has been part of the experience of African Americans da7ng back to slavery and
colonialism, contemporary racism has become significantly different from blatant acts of hos7lity and
discrimina7on. It is onen more likely to be expressed in subtle and ambig uous ways, crea7ng challenges
in both iden7fica7on and acknowledgment of its occurrence (Dovidio et al., 2002), while s7ll having a
profound, oppressive, and onen painful impact upon individuals (Sue et al., 2009; Torres, Driscoll, &
Burrow, 2010). A common form of subtle racism is racial microaggressions—“brief and commonplace
daily verbal, behavioral, and environmental indigni7es, whether inten7onal or uninten7onal, that
communicate hos7le, derogatory, or nega7ve racial slights and insults to the target person or group”
(Sue, Capodilupo, et al., 2007, p. 273). Racial microaggressions can have a cumula7ve nega7ve
psychological impact (Franklin, 1999), as they reinforce and perpetuate systemic racism.
Microaggressions influence how people see racial or ethnic groups and the value placed on them.
Microaggressions also influence the extent to which organiza7ons recognize the systems of inequality
that con7nue to exist.
The research supports the ongoing need to understand why African American women are
underrepresented at C-Suite level roles. Addi7onal research on the intersec7on of race, gender and
leadership is needed and beneficial as it weakens myths about gender gaps and brings more a?en7on to
the barriers that are onen overlooked, and rarely addressed. Understanding the many barriers Black
women face in corporate America, including gender biases, wage and opportunity constraints, nega7ve
impact of stereotypes, lack of mentoring, limited access to networks, and the coping strategies that are
u7lized will provide vital resources to combat discrimina7on and gender inequali7es. Fair and equitable
treatment of all employees is important to the advancement of society, especially given the growth of
racial and ethnic minori7es in the workforce and popula7on and the need for organiza7ons to compete
in a growing global marketplace.
4
Organiza-on Context and Mission
African American women are underrepresented in the corporate workplace beginning at what is
considered the “broken rung” at the ini7al cri7cal promo7on to a managerial role. Only 58 African
American women are promoted for every 100 men promoted to manager, despite African American
women reques7ng promo7ons at the same rate as men (Lean In, 2020). Only 64 African American
women are hired into manager roles for every 100 men hired as managers. So, there are fewer African
American women to promote at every subsequent level, and the representa7on gap con7nues to widen,
especially at the senior leadership level, where African American women are severely underrepresented.
For the purposes of this study, the focus will be limited to par7cipants working for Fortune 500
companies. Fortune magazine compiles and publishes an annual list of the 500 largest U.S. corpora7ons
by total revenue for their respec7ve fiscal years. The list includes both publicly held companies and
privately held companies for which revenues are publicly available. These are considered some of the
most pres7gious organiza7ons in the world with senior execu7ve leadership posi7ons consider ed to be
the most prominent in the corporate arena. This makes them a good popula7on to learn from for this
research as these are the companies with the most resources and influence. However, there is
significant research to support that African Americans, especially women, and other marginalized groups
are not afforded opportuni7es to serve in these posi7ons based upon discrimina7on, prejudice, racism,
and sexism. Currently, women make up 8.2% of Fortune 500 Chief Execu7ve Officers, and women of
color make up 1.2% (Good, 2022).
Purpose of the Study and Research Ques-ons
The purpose of this study is to explore and examine the perspec7ves of African American female
leaders who are serving in upper level and senior level posi7ons with large U.S. corpora7ons and to
5
examine the types of racial and gender inequi7es they may have faced. This problem aligns to the
Rossier mission in that it seeks to address inequi7es within the promo7on and hiring prac7ces within
organiza7ons that are nega7vely impac7ng African American women. Although focusing on challenges,
the aim is to search for a be?er pathway forward. Through evalua7ng organiza7onal factors that are
influencing the hiring and promo7on of African American women, recommenda7ons can be proposed
that will support improvements in organiza7onal prac7ces to improve hiring and promo7on prac7ces at
the senior leadership level. These recommenda7ons may also be applicable for bringing greater equity
to hiring and promo7on prac7ces for African American women at other levels within organiza7ons. By
this study focusing on African American women who have a?ained senior manager or director level
roles, the increased representa7on of these women contributes to the informa7on in exis7ng literatu re
and may provide knowledge that will guide other women pursuing these roles on how to overcome or
mi7gate exis7ng barriers.
African American women will be supported most directly by this study’s contribu7on to the
current body of research regarding African American women by providing a narra7ve counter to
stereotypical images. The following research ques7ons, informed by intersec7onality theory, will help
further research in the underrepresenta7on of Black women in senior level corporate roles:
1. What are the lived experiences of African American women serving in leadership
posi7ons in Fortune 500 companies?
2. What coping strategies do African American women use to deal with experiences of
racial and/or gender microaggressions in the workplace?
6
3. What are the social, poli7cal, or environmental condi7ons that contribute to making
African American women vulnerable to under-representa7on in corporate leadership
roles?
Importance of the Study
This problem is important to address because despite the increasing diversifica7on of the
workplace and women showing advantages in gaining leadership skills, people of color are
underrepresented at the execu7ve levels in corporate America (Sanchez-Hucles & Davis, 2010). This is
especially apparent among professional Black women, who make up only one percent of U.S. corporate
officers (Taylor & Nivens, 2011). African American women represent an important and growing source of
talent for corporate America and have been fairly well represented in entry to middle level management
(Holder et al., 2015). However, as Black women approach senior leadership levels, they encounter
serious challenges (Execu7ve Leadership Council, 2008).
Overview of Theore-cal Framework and Methodology
In examining the impact of both race and gender inequality in workplace environments, on the
lived experiences and under-representa7on of African American women in corporate leadership roles, it
is effec7ve to look through the lens of intersec7onality as a conceptual framework. Intersec7onality is
grounded in both Black feminism and gendered racism and serves as both a theore7cal framework and
an analy7c tool (Kim, 2020). Kimberlé Crenshaw introduced the term in her essay, “Demarginalizing the
Intersec7on of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Cri7que of An7discrimina7on Doctrine, Feminist Theory
and An7racist Poli7cs,” Crenshaw addressed the marginaliza7on of African American women within
an7discrimina7on law and in feminist and an7racist theory a nd poli7cs (Carbado et al., 2013). Because
intersec7onality recognizes the complexity and connec7on between power and iden7ty, it offers a
systemic and structural analysis of both, while s7ll considering the uniqueness, fluidity, and con7ngency
7
of specific individual experiences (Cho, 2013). Intersec7onality theory includes both an opera7onal
approach and posi7on in comba7ng mul7ple forms of oppression ( Carbado, et al, 2013; Cho, 2013). For
this study, Black feminism helps provide the epistemology or context for examining the differen7ated
and variable logics of race, class and gender and other social divisions such as sexuality, age, disability,
culture, religion, and belief that structure African American women’s lives (Yuval-Davis 2006; McKi?rick
2006). Intersec7onality provides the complex ontology, which systema7cally reveals the everyday lives
of Black women who are simultaneously posi7oned in mul7ple structures of dominance and power as
gendered, raced, and sexualized “others.”
U7lizing intersec7onality allows the research to not be limited to single issues (e.g., race,
gender, or class) but to instead address the compounded reali7es of people’s lived experiences (Cho,
2013). U7lizing an intersec7onal approach allows for analyzing how different forms of discrimina7on
and bias intersect and overlap, as well as considering the poli7cal, social, and historical forces that are
impac7ng a group (Carbado et al., 2013). The fundamental benefit of adop7ng an intersec7onal
approach to this research is that in providing an understanding of the issues that are closer to the lived
experiences of African American women in corporate.
Methodology
This study will use a qualita7ve research method with a phenomenological research design
(Creswell & Creswell, 2018). This type of research design is used when the researcher “describes the
lived experiences of individuals about a phenomenon as described by the par7cipants” (Creswell &
Creswell, 2018). This research design aligns with the purpose of this study as this issue will best be
understood and analyzed through insights gained from the people who experience it. Phenomenological
methodology is well suited to understand the experiences of African American women by a?emp7ng to
8
make meaning of the effects of organiza7onal prac7ces which contribute to the underrepresenta7on of
African American women in leadership roles.
Defini-ons
The following are defini7ons to navigate the rest of the disserta7on:
● Black/African American (used interchangeably): applies to people, and their offspring,
with African ancestral origin (many are descendants of persons brought as slaves); used
in USA censuses; in prac7ce, North Africans from Algeria, Morocco, and such countries
are excluded from this category (Agyemang et al., 2005).
● Women: individuals iden7fying as female biologically, socially, or culturally, regardless
of sex at birth (Meyer, 2016).
● Manager posi7on: A leadership posi7on within the organiza7on that is not high enough
to be considered at the top management or execu7ve level but s7ll has influence on
decisions made at the highest levels of management (Einarsdo^r et al., 2018).
● Leadership role: For the purposes of this study, the term “leader” is used to represent
an individual with sustained managerial responsibility. In the current study popula7on,
leaders represent individuals with at least 5 years of decision-making authority for at
least one level of direct reports.
● Racism: involves “one group having the power to carry out systema7c discrimina7on
through the ins7tu7onal policies and prac7ces of the society and by shaping the cultural
beliefs and values that support those racist policies and prac7ces” (Racism Defined,
2021).
● Sexism: can be defined as “‘a system of oppression based on gender differences that
involves cultural and ins7tu7onal policies and prac7ces as well as the beliefs and ac7ons
of individuals” (Dick, 2013).
9
● Discrimina7on: can be defined as “the unequal treatment of members of various groups
based on race, gender, social class, sexual orienta7on, physical ability, religion and other
categories” (Ins7tute for Democra7c Renewal and Project Change An7 -Racism Ini7a7ve,
2000).
● Marginaliza7on: can be defined as “a social process by which individuals or groups are
(inten7onally or uninten7onally) distanced from access to power and resources and
constructed as insignificant, peripheral, or less valuable/privileged to a community or
‘mainstream’ society” (Given, 2008).
● Microaggressions: can be defined as “the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and
environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether inten7onal or uninten7onal, which
communicate hos7le, derogatory, or nega7ve messages to target persons based solely
upon their marginalized group membership” (Sue, 2010).
● Glass ceiling: an invisible barrier that confronts women and people of color as they
a?empt to progress up the corporate hierarchy (Jackson & O’Callaghan, 2009).
● Concrete ceiling: a unique iden7fier that describes impenetrable barriers for African
women and minori7es; it cons7tutes a career limi7ng factor that affects both the ability
to ascend in an organiza7on and the ability to co-exist (Beckwith et al., 2016).
Organiza-on of the Disserta-on
This study consists of five chapters. Chapter One introduces the problem of prac7ce;
background of the problem; organiza7onal context and mission; the purpose of the study; the
importance of the study; research ques7ons; overview of the theore7cal framework and methodology;
defini7ons of the terminology associated with this study; and the organiza7on of the disserta7on.
Chapter Two provides a review of the literature associated with the lived experiences of African
American women in the workforce with an emphasis on the intersec7onality of gender and race.
10
Historical context, barriers to career advancement, and coping strategies are examined. Chapter Three
describes the study's methodology, the selec7on of par7cipants, data collec7on methods, validity and
reliability, and ethics. Chapter Four provides an analysis of the data and presents the study's results and
findings. Finally, Chapter Five is a discussion of results and findings, and recommenda7ons for future
research.
11
Chapter Two: Literature Review
There is a large gap between the number of African American female college graduates and the
representa7on of these women in the higher levels of leadership in US corpora7ons (Malveaux, 2013).
There has been limited research conducted regarding African American women in the workplace (Pope
& Edwards, 2016), which has further limited the understanding of how Black women can achieve greater
corporate success (Holder et al., 2015). This chapter examines the research literature in rela7on to
African American women in the workforce with an emphasis on the intersec7onality of gender and race
and how it affects the professional trajectory of Black women into corporate leadership roles. Topics to
be covered include historical context; iden7fied barriers to career advancement such as bias,
stereotypes, pay inequity, lack of access to networks and managerial support and mentors, lack of
training, workplace prac7ces; and coping strategies.
Historical Context
Evidence shows inequity s7ll exists amongst women in comparison to their male counterparts
(Kellerman & Rhode, 2007). This disparity s7ll impacts women and African American women to a greater
extent. According to Sanchez-Hucles and Davis (2010), “White women may experience gender
discrimina7on, whereas African American women may experience both gender and racial
discrimina7on. The joint possibility of gender and racial discrimina7on makes it impossible for African
American women to make accurate causal a?ribu7ons concerning poten7al discrimi na7on if they are
passed over for leadership development opportuni7es” (p. 176).
Pompper (2012) examined the intersec7onality of age, ethnicity, and gender iden77es among
women of color working in senior management. Pompper reported that even highly talented and
educated women of color s7ll face uncertainty, agita7on, fear, frustra7on, disappointment, and anger
12
when describing their inefficacious a?empts to advance in corporate America. As a result of senior
leadership’s failure to correct deficiencies in diversity at the execu7ve leadership level, organiza7ons are
s7ll "White boys’ networks" characterized by strategic racism that is subtle but destruc7ve (Pompper,
2012). Despite the achievements of the Women’s and Civil Rights movements, if organiza7ons had truly
changed their cultures to be more inclusive, more educated African American women would be CEOs of
major organiza7ons, directors of nonprofit organiza7ons, and members of independent boards of
directors (Pompper, 2012). Fairness and equality of opportunity con7nue to be an issue of concern for
women, especially African American women, in corporate America (Dworkin, Maurer, & Schipani, 2012).
According to Holvino (2010), women of color must demand that improvements in employment
situa7ons and advancement opportuni7es occur, or they will remain in lower-level posi7ons of
organiza7ons. Though African American women have recently obtained more leadership posi7ons in
public and private organiza7ons, they con7nue to endure hos7le work environments and isola7on, and
they remain underrepresented at the top of organiza7onal pyramids (Holvino, 2010).
Barriers to Career Advancement
African American women face a number of systemic barriers to career advancement including
bias, gender and racial stereotypes, pay inequity, lack of access to networks, lack of manager support
and mentors, lack of training and development opportuni7es, and prejudicial workplace prac7ces and
societal norms like the glass ceiling. The following sec7on will discuss each as a way to address how
African American women remain oppressed in the workforce.
Unconscious or Implicit Bias
Unconscious biases and percep7ons about African Americans s7ll play a significant role in
employment decisions (Jones et al., 2017). Discrimina7on is onen more subtle and can be directly
13
a?ributable to unconscious bias (Jones et al., 2017). African Americans are historically not considered,
groomed, or selected for high level posi7ons because of the stereotypical view (or unconscious bias)
that those posi7ons are considered nontradi7onal for African Americans. Individuals may not be aware
that their decisions are mo7vated by bias because it is subconscious rather than inten7onal, and
therefore they do not take steps to change their biased decision making. It may be difficult to prove
discrimina7on mo7vated by unconscious bias because it is not conducive to current legal analysis (EEOC,
2012). Although self-reported measures of racial bias in hiring selec7ons have generally declined over
7me, the impact of implicit bias on employment decisions has not (Dovidio & Gaertner, 2000). While
many Americans may subscribe consciously to the norm that African Americans deserve equal
treatment and racial integra7on is a desirable goal (Bobo & Charles, 2009), that does not mean that
stereotypes tradi7onally associated with African American people have been eliminated; rather they
con7nue to linger in people’s unconscious and express themselves in a variety of implicit bias ways
(EEOC, 2012). Jones et al.’s (2017) research on vic7miza7on and microaggressions found that much of
the covert discrimina7on reported by employees included tac7cs such as exclusion from ac7vi7es and
inten7onally withholding informa7on.
Stereotypes
According to Malveaux (2013), stereotypes surrounding African American women are familiar
and tend to plague women in general; however, African American women are confronted with
addi7onal nega7ve ideas, which are drawn from the media. These nega7ve p ercep7ons of African
American women tend to correlate to the limited representa7on of African American women in senior
level corporate leadership. Gorman (2005) pointed out that racial stereotypes and gender stereotypes
have contributed to inequality in the workplace. These stereotypes are far-reaching and impact staffing
14
decisions, levels of respect for the decisions that are made, and viewpoints of the capabili7es of the
candidates that are put in place.
African American women face stereotypes around their leadership abili7es as well as nega7ve
iden7ty percep7ons. Based on the stereotypes, decision makers tend to associate certain types of
behaviors and quali7es with a specific sex, onen deeming one sex superior to the other. According to
Hoyt and Chemers (2008), there is a stereotypical connota7on that women take care and men take
charge. Research supports that women respond in one of two ways to these gender-based stereotypes
by either giving in to the stereotypes and accep7ng them as norms or they work to contradict them
(Hoyt & Chemers, 2008). Eagly and Carli (2007) asserted that percep7ons of the male style of leadership
are "command and control," while the female style is frequently viewed as "facilita7ve and
collabora7ve." While many acknowledge that both forms of leadership are important and needed,
women are onen expected to walk a 7ghtrope between being not too “wimpy” and not too “bitchy”
(Bronznick & Goldenhar, 2008).
African American women frequently face stereotypes about their iden7ty and personali7es.
These stereotypes can affect self-percep7ons as well as the percep7ons of others. According to Feagin
(2014), popular culture and the media perpetuate stereotypes of women of color that can make it
difficult for them to be perceived as effec7ve leaders. African American women are onen viewed as
support systems in the workplace in contrast to occupying a leadership posi7on. The credibility, skills,
and authority in the workplace of Black women is frequently seen as unqualified (Parlea-Buzatu, 2011).
Three primary personas commonly depicted by the media about Black women are:
Mammies (asexual, nurturers, and caretakers); Sapphires (overbearing, sassy, angry, and emascula7ng);
or Jezebels (sex-crazed, animalis7c, and an object of sexual pleasure). These personas portray Black
15
women as confronta7onal/quarrelsome, promiscuous, or sexually immoral (Feagin, 2014). These
nega7ve images have been used as a jus7fica7on for mistreatment and oppression. For example, the
term “Angry Black Woman” has been used to describe African American women as aggressive, illogical,
hos7le, and ignorant, which becomes a barrier for them in the workplace (Ashley, 2014). If African
American women workers display characteris7cs, such as asser7veness, decision-making, and boldness,
these characteris7cs can be mistaken as a reflec7on of the angry Black woman (Lewis & Neville, 2015).
Holder et al. (2015) conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 Black women who had
worked as senior-level corporate professionals, par7cipants cited experiencing stereotypes of African
American women as intellectually inferior. Several par7cipants also received nega7ve feedback about
their overall competence and intellectual capabili7es as well as their authority being ques7oned despite
their holding senior posi7ons in their companies. These percep7ons not only contribute to crea7ng
nega7ve work environments but can also nega7vely impact performance evalua7ons, which drive
promo7on and compensa7on decisions.
Pay Inequity
According to Cohen and Huffman (2016), qualified women are onen blocked from upper-level
managerial posi7ons and denied the benefits of those jobs, which has the ripple effect of impac7ng pay
levels for nonmanagerial women as well. Women are clustered at the low end of organiza7onal
hierarchies even within managerial roles. This suggests that female managers remain concentrated in
workplace se^ngs with lower wages across the board.
Kim (2011) conducted a study of 941 African American freshman students and indicated that
regardless of the university a?ended, African American graduates start their careers earning less than
White students. Regardless of if the college is a historically Black college or university or a historically
16
White one, African American employees’ salaries will typically s7ll be lower than their counterparts
(Kim, 2011). Kim also noted that African American women earned significantly less than men did. This
trend places African American women well behind their compe77on, which makes compe7ng difficul t
on a senior execu7ve level when they are star7ng at a disadvantage. Although the salary gap has
lessened from 42% in 1960 to 21% gap in 2014, it is expected to be another 40 plus years before the pay
is equal to men (Ins7tute of Women’s Policy Research, 2016). This means that it will be another two
genera7ons before the salary of African American women would be equal to men. In the interim, many
of these women are serving as the primary or sole breadwinners for their families.
Lack of Access to Networks
The lack of access to key people and networks within organiza7ons is a contribu7ng factor for
African American women not entering senior level corporate roles. In the Holder et al. (2015) study,
many African American women indicated never having an interac7on with a senior leader in their
organiza7on. Par7cipants also shared examples of exclusion in the workplace such as not being invited
to social gatherings and work-related mee7ngs, thus not being afforded key career opportuni7es as
others in the group. Holder et al. (2015) indicated access to influen7al networks provides insights on
informal and unwri?en rules and values of an organiza7on, leads to high visibility assignme nts that help
employees cul7vate key skills, and increases exposure to key decision makers. Wya? and Silvester
(2015) conducted a study of 40 professional African American and European American women who held
memberships in professional organiza7ons. The results indicated the strategies that were most helpful
to par7cipants were networking, professional development, and performance evalua7on.
Lack of Managerial Support and Mentors
17
The need for support from manager and mentorship opportuni7es have also been iden7fied as
contribu7ng factors. In the Holder et al. study (2015), par7cipants shared that having sponsors and
mentors helped them to feel empowered and validated their presence in the workplace as well as their
feelings when they encountered racial microaggressions in the workplace. Mentorship allowed aspiring
African American female leaders to get coaching from more senior Black women in areas that could
poten7ally derail career advancement.
African American women execu7ves are a minority in execu7ve posi7ons, which onen results
with few, if any, peers of their race and gender. This contributes to a lack of influen7al mentors or
sponsors (Brown, 2004). With the low numbers of African American women execu7ves, there is a lack of
African American women execu7ves to mentor within the same organiza7on. This results in requiring
African American women execu7ves to network across industries. Furthermore, women, in general, are
typically mentored by other women with few having male mentors while most men have male mentors
(Sahadi, 2015). Because men hold most execu7ve posi7ons, this directly influences the hiring and
promo7on of many women. Therefore, a consequence of not having access to senior-level mentors is a
decreased likelihood of ge^ng access to key posi7ons that help promote career advancement (Silva et
al., 2012).
Durban and Tomlinson (2014) examined the careers of 27 women employed as part-7me
managers and concluded that limited access to mentors creates a significant challenge to the corporate
advancement of women. Mentorship programs that match employees with organiza7onal leaders would
be beneficial to both the employees and the organiza7on. These rela7onships not only facilitate
professional development, but they also help the mentee to advance from a psychological and social
perspec7ve (Gamble & Turner, 2015).
18
Khosrovani and Ward (2011) surveyed 187 African Americans employed in various organiza7ons.
The results indicated African American women par7cipants believed that poor training, lack of
mentorships, and the lack of promo7ons were contribu7ng factors to why African American women did
not receive a fair share of opportuni7es. According to the Lean In report (2020), African American
women are less likely to have managers showcase their work, advocate for new opportuni7es for them,
or give them opportuni7es to manage people and projects. African American women are also less likely
to report that their manager helps them navigate organiza7onal poli7cs or balance work and personal
life. According to Khosrovani and Ward (2011), employees who consistently have manager support are
more likely to be promoted and to believe that they have an equal opportunity for advancement.
Wallner (2008) noted that affinity groups, mentoring opportuni7es, and training and development that
focus on effec7ve use of power and influence, build strong rela7onships with supervisors, and
demonstrate commitment to the organiza7on would support leadership advancement for African
American female leaders.
Lack of Training and Development Opportuni-es
A lack of training and development assignments creates issues for African Americans (EEOC,
2012). African Americans are less likely to be offered the chance to act in supervisory posi7ons than
White men (Tracy, 2019). The standards for gran7ng training are not transparent or objec7ve and this
fosters an environment that produces a lack of developmental assignments that are common among
their White counterparts (Tracy, 2019). It is through development assignments, managers onen steer
African Americans into non-management tracks and posi7ons such as staff posi7ons or human
resources, research, or administra7on rather than managerial or high-level posi7ons (Tracy, 2019).
Adequate training and development opportuni7es can lead to higher levels of performance, and
19
therefore higher performance evalua7ons. The Merit Systems Protec7on Board (MSPB) issued a federal
report in 2009 that found that 13.9% of African American federal employees reported that they had
served as ac7ng supervisor at least regularly, whereas 22.3% of White employees reported that they had
served as ac7ng supervisor. This may place African Americans at a disadvantage for promo7ons because
ac7ng supervisory assignments are onen a gateway for supervisory or higher -level posi7ons (Tracy,
2019).
Workplace Prac-ces and Societal Norms
Workplace prac7ces are reinforced by societal norms. Men have frequently set organiza7onal
policies and established corporate norms about the roles of women and men (Beckwith et al., 2016).
Hewle? and Wingfield (2015) observed that when Black women are appointed to execu7ve roles, it is
usually aner the organiza7on experiences poor performance. Women are then blamed for the decline,
which was set in mo7on before they joined the company. Although men are also placed in challenging
situa7ons, women, and especially women of color, are typically without mentors or support networks,
and are onen less able to get the help that they might need when facing challenges (Haslam & Ryan,
2008). Exkano (2013) examined the experiences of African American women in senior-level
administrator posi7ons at colleges and universi7es in the United States and found that African American
women who hold high-level degrees and jobs s7ll encountered discrimina7on based on race, gender,
and social class. Res7fo et al. (2013) presented a research study that iden7fied exis7ng gaps fo r women
based on gender and race. The results indicated that discrimina7on affects women’s ascent to upper
management posi7ons. African American women experienced a higher level of discrimina7on, especially
regarding higher level posi7ons (Res7fo et al., 2013).
20
Williams and Dempsey in their book, What Works for Women at Work (2014), reported that
African American women interviewees described their workplace experiences as “demeaning” or
“disrespec~ul”. This is in contrast with White women par7cipants who while acknowledging experiences
of gender bias, did not report feeling disrespected or demeaned. Black women in academia also
reported “experiences of being invisible, voiceless, isolated, discriminated, undermined, oppressed,
challenged, treated unfairly, and demoted” (Davis & Maldonado, 2015, p. 59). That Black women are at
greater risk for mistreatment in the workplace was further supported by a 2011 study, which examined
survey data from employees about instances of uncivil treatment. African American women reported
experiencing uncivil treatment in the workplace more onen than both their White or male counterparts
(Cor7na et al., 2011). These studies suggest that African American women are being s7gma7zed and
face dual discrimina7on along the axes of sexism and racism. Other examples of racial discrimina7on in
the workplace included limited mentoring and sponsorship opportuni7es, being ignored by colleagues,
and being excluded from work and social mee7ngs. These workplace prac7ces have also reinforced the
glass ceiling.
Glass Ceiling
The U. S. Department of Labor defined the glass ceiling as "those ar7ficial barriers based on
a^tudinal or organiza7onal bias that prevent qualified individuals from advancing upward in their
organiza7on into senior-level posi7ons" (U. S. Department of Labor, 1991). The Federal Glass Ceiling
Commission was created in 1991 to address the issue of inequity in the workplace that was adversely
affec7ng women because an “invisible barrier” was limi7ng the access of this minority group to career
opportuni7es and advancement within organiza7ons. The Commission’s charge was to inves7gate
21
organiza7onal discrimina7on not only against women, but minori7es as a whole and iden7fy
recommenda7ons. An excerpt of Message from the Chair by the Honorable Robert B. Reich indicated:
Discrimina7on – the glass ceiling, in par7cular – remains another deep line of demarca7on
between those who prosper and those len behind. I repeat. It is not only a ma?er of fair play,
but an economic impera7ve that the glass ceiling be sha?ered. It ma?ers to the bo?om line for
businesses and to the future economic stability of America’s families. Independent research has
shown that companies that go the extra mile in hiring and promo7ng minori7es and women are
more profitable. A study of the Standard and Poor's 500 by Covenant Investment Management
found that businesses commi?ed to promo7ng minority and women workers had an average
annualized return on investment of 18.3 percent over a five-year period compared with only 7.9
percent for those with the most sha?er -proof glass ceilings. (U.S. Department of Labor, 1995,
pg. 159)
Meyerson and Fletcher (2000) noted despite gains made by the women’s movement and li7ga7on to
remove overt discrimina7on, significant systemic factors, including the glass ceiling, con7nued to hinder
women reaching the highest levels of organiza7ons. These limi7ng factors, while not necessarily openly
displayed, lay beneath the surface, deeply embedded in corporate culture, work prac7ces and norms;
and were insidious, persistent barriers.
Concrete Ceiling
Like the glass ceiling, the concrete ceiling is a barrier for success. The difference between the
two is that the concrete ceiling is a term specifically made for women of color and other minori7es. A
concrete wall more aptly reflects the barriers that women of color face. While glass is tough, it can be
sha?ered. It also allows visibility to what lies beyond it at the levels above, which can serve as
22
mo7va7on for what to aspire to. Concrete is prac7cally impossible to break through by individual effort
and is impossible to see through. It offers no visible des7na7on other than a seeming dead end. Many
women of color in the corporate workforce desiring senior leadership roles face a seemingly
impenetrable barrier, with no vision of how to get to the next level. The concrete ceiling terminology
and imagery term reflects that the differences in the experiences of White women and women of color
are onen extremely different, and too onen ig nored. Concrete ceiling describes barriers that cannot be
penetrated by African American women and other minori7es; the concrete ceiling cons7tutes a career
limi7ng factor that affects not only the ability to ascend in an organiza7on, but also the ability to
experience interpersonal rela7onships, including shared norms, values, coopera7on, and other typical
aspects of social capital (Davis & Maldonado, 2015).
According to Catalyst, the concrete ceiling is a barrier that is almost unbreakable and adds
addi7onal complexity to upward mobility (2004b). According to a Catalyst survey, Advancing African
American Women in the Workforce: What Managers Need to Know, African American women are only
1.1% of corporate officers in Fortune 500 companies unlike White women or African American men –
African American women report exclusion from informal networks and conflict rela7onships with White
women among the challenges they face (Brown, 2004, p. 46).
In response to these barriers or challenges, African American women have adopted a number of
coping strategies. According to Carr and Pudrovska (2007), coping strategies are cogni7ve and
behavioral strategies or techniques used to manage condi7ons, crises, and demands that are deemed as
distressing.
23
Coping Strategies
Daily exposure to racial microaggressions has both psychological implica7ons and
consequences. In a study examining workplace harassment at five organiza7ons, women of color were
harassed in the workplace significantly more than men of color and White males and females (Berdahl &
Moore, 2006). African American women who serve in corporate leadership roles likely use coping
strategies to address instances of racial microaggressions and their accompanying side effects. Based on
research (Holder et al., 2015), commonly iden7fied coping mechanisms are: (1) formal and informal
networks; (2) self-empowerment techniques; (3) religion/ spirituality; (4) sanity checks; and (5)
armoring.
Informal internal and external networks of individuals usually consist of persons who can both
validate the existence of racial discrimina7on and diminish the adverse impact of the experience to
one’s self-esteem by providing support (Franklin & Boyd-Franklin, 2000). Given the pervasive and
frequently personal nature of racism, emo7ons can become involved, and impar7al, objec7ve
conversa7on may be difficult. Connec7ng and sharing with someone who have had similar experiences
may be helpful. These support networks are comprised of people with whom the Black women feel
safe, trust, look to for encouragement, and celebrate accomplishments. Support networks onen include
mentors/ sponsors, church members, sorority sisters, family and friends, and peers and
colleagues. These circles typically also provide feelings of legi7macy and acceptance.
Another adap7ve behavior demonstrated by African Americans in the workplace in response to
racial microaggressions is self-empowerment. This technique involves resis7ng inherent messages and
rejec7ng stereotype implica7ons (Franklin & Boyd-Franklin, 2000). This strategy helps locate blame or
fault with the microaggressor rather than have the vic7m internalize any nega7ve messages. Having
24
strong emo7onal capacity is likely cri7cal in sustaining a sense of worth and efficacy in the face of
insidious discrimina7on experienced by many Black women in the workplace (Holder et al., 2015).
According to Bacchus (2008) most African American professional women used spirituality as a coping
strategy to deal with work related stress. Religion and spirituality served as primary mechanisms for
buffering the racial microaggressions by facilita7ng understanding and forgiveness and providing a sense
of empowerment.
Sanity checks involve seeking out other African Americans to check percep7ons of racist
incidents and to help validate the instances of racial microaggressions. Sanity checks are also used to
minimize the psychological impact of microaggressions. This strategy serves to bolster protec7ve factors
against racism and is cri7cal in facilita7ng strong resilience and self-esteem and promo7ng healing
(Holder et al., 2015).
Armoring is another adap7ve coping process. It involves learning how to handle cri7cal racial
oppression. “Armor is a form of socializa7on where a girl child learns the cultural a^tudes, preferences,
and socially legi7mate behaviors for two cultural contexts” (Bell & Nkomo, 1998, p. 286). Armor helps
Black girls develop and maintain a sense of worth, dignity, and beauty in a society where Black women
are onen invisible and devalued because of their race and gender. Faulkner (1983) described armoring
as “specific behavioral and cogni7ve skills used by Blacks and other people of color to promote self-
caring during direct encounters with racist experiences and/or racist ideologies” (p. 196). Faulkner
believed that young women of color were taught ways to armor and protect themselves against racism.
Developing a coping strategy for microaggressions may help African American women have
more employment opportuni7es within the workplace (Holder et al., 2015). Research supports that
coping strategies are more effec7ve than passive strategies (Hayward & Krause, 2015; Kulik, 2012).
25
These coping strategies include taking the ini7a7ve to use available resources and seeking help (Holder
et al., 2015).
Conceptual Framework
The theore7cal framework of this study is intersec7onality with elements of Black feminism
theory and gendered racism. Researchers have used these theore7cal frameworks to address the issue
of the underrepresenta7on of African American women in leadership, execu7ve and CEO roles in
corporate America. Intersec7onality is best examined as a theore7cal framework, which assumes a
fundamental role of power rela7ons in the construc7on of thought, experience, and knowledge (Lincoln
& Guba, 1994). Intersec7onality is inextricably linked to an analysis of power. Foucault (1992) stated:
Power is not something that is divided between those who hold it as exclusive property and
those who do not have it and suffer it […] it is never located here or there, it is never in
someone’s hands. Power works and is exercised through a re7cular organiza7on [sic]. In their
meshes individuals not only circulate but are also put in the condi7on of suffering or exercising
it. (p. 39)
Intersec7onality cons7tutes a valid strategy for examining and connec7ng the bases that structure rac e,
sex, and even class construc7ons, with the social, economic, cultural, and poli7cal contexts that create,
reproduce, and reinforce them by analyzing lived experiences of African American women in a corporate
environment. The intersec7onal analysis can be effec7ve in revealing dynamics of privilege and
exclusion derived from the interconnec7ons of different oppressions such as sexism, classism, racism,
among others. Crenshaw in her original analysis rejected the sum of discrimina7on and proposed an
intersec7onal approach that gave account of the unique and common ways in which women and men
experience racism and sexism derived from different axes of oppression. She stated:
26
These exclusion problems cannot be solved by simply including black women in any of the
established analy7cal structures. Because intersec7onal experience is greater than the sum of
racism and sexism, analysis that does not take intersec7onality into account cannot sufficiently
confront the par7cular way in which black women are subordinated. (Crenshaw, 1989, p. 140)
Black women can experience discrimina7on in ways that are both similar and unique from that
experienced by Black men and by White women. Intersec7onality has been applied by scholars, human
rights ac7vists, community organizers, poli7cal figures, and lawyers across the globe (Carbado, 2013).
Addi7onally, scholars have applied intersec7onality to interrogate mul7ple axes of difference— class,
sexual orienta7on, disability, na7onality, and religion (Carbado, 2013). Taken into context, it is not
surprising that intersec7onality is considered by some to be the most important theore7cal contribu7on
made by women’s and related studies (McCall, 2005; Nash, 2008).
According to Hancock (2015), early thoughts around “intersec7onality” even though the term
had not yet been coined can be traced back to a pamphlet published in 1831, which included Maria
Stewart’s passionate cri7cism of racial, economic, and gender components of slavery. The actual term
“intersec7onality” was first coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, a legal scholar and cri7cal race theorist in her
1989 essay, “Demarginalizing the Intersec7on of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Cri7que of
An7discrimina7on Doctrine, Feminist Theory and An7racist Poli7cs . Crenshaw introduced the term as
part of her cri7que of the experiences and challenges that African American women were experiencing
and that they were onen overlooked in both feminist and an7racist discourses (Hancock, 2015).
In the early 1970s, thoughts around Intersec7onality were introduced to academic se^ngs
when it was used to challenge the absence of sociological research specifically examining experiences of
individuals exposed to mul7ple forms of oppression. During the 1980s, Kimberlé Crenshaw’s promo7on
27
of intersec7onality as a replacement for the exis7ng single axis framework dominant in areas such as
an7-discrimina7on law, feminist theory, and an7racism movements created a rise in intersec7onal
scholarship (Hancock, 2015).
Black Feminism Theory
Intersec7onality has its roots in Black feminism (Alexander-Floyd, 2012; May, 2015). In the early
1980s, the Combahee River Collec7ve issued a Black feminist statement grounded in the understanding
that ‘‘the major systems of oppression are interlocking’’ (p. 13). Patricia Hill Collins (2012) in her wri7ngs
on Black feminism referred to intersec7ng oppressions and described how ‘‘U.S. Black women
encounter a dis7nc7ve set of social prac7ces that accompany our par7cular history within a unique
matrix of domina7on characterized by intersec7ng oppressions’’ (p. 23). The marginaliza7on of African
American women has taken varied forms in the workplace and the growth of White feminism was not
a?emp7ng to address the reali7es of women o f color (Mullings, 2014). Black feminism theory sought to
address the sociological aspects of African American women in leadership posi7ons in predominantly
White organiza7ons, who were experiencing the complex challenges of being simultaneously posi7oned
within at least two (2) groups that are typically subjected to subordina7ons (Byrd, 2012). When African
American women are in leadership posi7ons in an organiza7on within the dominant culture, they can be
disempowered, ostracized, and judged according to stereotyped images maintained by social network
systems and prac7ces (Sco? & Byrd, 2012). The marginaliza7on fel t by African American women in
leadership posi7ons has been described as “outsider within status” in Black feminist theory (Bowleg,
2012). Black feminism holds that sexism and racism are inextricably linked together (Lane, 2014) and
that African American women and other women of color con7nue to experience subordina7on and
oppression formed by a matrix of race, gender, and class rooted in legacies of slavery and colonialism
28
(Pa?erson, 2012). Black feminist theory integrates and examines how race and sex connect to the
experiences in African American women’s lives, based upon a premise of shared mutual views and
circumstances (Smith, 2013). Thus, making it an effec7ve lens to u7lize in examining this research.
Gendered Racism
Intersec7onality is also implicit in Essed’s (1991) term, ‘gendered racism,’ which refers to
oppression that stems from membership in mul7ple social categories of gender and race (e.g.,
oppression experienced by Black women) (Else-Quest & Hyde, 2016). Gendered racism takes
intersec7onality a step further. Created by Philomena Essed (1991), a mul7disciplinary scholar, and
further developed by social psychologists, the concept is that stereotypes associated with social
categories like race also reflect common underlying dimensions that are gendered (Essed, 1991; Johnson
et al., 2012). For example, percep7ons that women are less competent and warmer lead to pa?ern s of
women being placed in caretaking job roles (i.e., nurses, childcare, working with people, etc.) and not
promoted into top posi7ons within management.
This par7cularly impacts African Americans, who are onen stereotyped as undependable o r lazy
and presented in the media as incompetent workers, treacherous, aggressive, hos7le, and criminals
(Cornileus, 2013; Embrick and Henricks, 2015; Hall et al., 2012; Mohr and Purdie-Vaughns, 2015; Thomas
et al., 2008; Wingfield, 2007). African American men are onen stereotyped as dangerous, undisciplined,
and compe77ve (Essed, 1991; Galinsky et al., 2013; Wingfield, 2007). African American women as
previously men7oned are onen perceived as emascula7ng, Mammy figures, and promiscuous (Essed,
1991; Fuller, 2004; Thomas et al., 2008). Under this conceptual framework, employers ac7ng on these
prejudices result in African Americans being denied leadership opportuni7es, promo7ons, and being
excluded from social networks (Cornileus, 2013; Hall et al., 2012; Thomas et al., 2008; Wingfield, 2007).
29
African American women report their intelligence is frequently ques7oned and devalued and they
experience disrespect (Cannon, 2016; Wingfield, 2007).
Framework
Crenshaw did not provide a precise defini7on of intersec7onality but applied the term to the
joint considera7on of race and gender by arguing that gender analysis alone or race analysis separately,
typically excluded women of color (Else-Quest & Hyde, 2016). Only by considering race and gender
jointly could the unique experiences and voices of women of color be understood. Sociologists Choo
and Ferree (2010) and psychologist Cole (2009) further provided more discrete defini7ons. Choo and
Ferree (2010) defined intersec7onality as having three (3) dis7nct aspects:
the importance of including the perspec7ves of mul7ply marginalized people, especially women
of color; an analy7c shin from addi7on of mul7ple independent strands of inequality toward a
mul7plica7on and thus transforma7on of their m ain effects into interac7ons; and a focus on
seeing mul7ple ins7tu7ons as overlapping in their co -determina7on of inequali7es. (p. 131)
Ferree (2010) indicated that a perspec7ve is considered intersec7onal:
If it takes mul7ple rela7ons of inequality as the norm, sees them as processes that shape each
other, and considers how they interac7vely define the iden77es and experiences —and thus
analy7c standpoints—of individuals and groups (p. 428).
Cole (2009) defined intersec7onality as ‘‘analy7c approaches that simultaneously consider the meaning
and consequences of mul7ple categories of iden7ty, difference, and disadvantage’’ (p. 170).
These defini7ons differ in some specific aspects but share the following three common assump7ons
about intersec7onality: (1) recogni7on that people are characterized by mul7ple interconnected or
intertwined social categories, for example, gender, race and ethnicity; (2) embedded within each social
30
category is an aspect of inequality and power, and recogni7on of that inequality or power is essen7al for
intersec7onal analysis; and (3) these categories are both proper7es of the individual (i.e., iden7ty) and
impacted by the social context inhabited by those individuals (i.e., social structures, ins7tu7ons, and
interpersonal interac7ons. The social context actually constructs the categories and enforces the power
inequali7es); so, the categories and their significance may be fluid and dynamic. While there is no
agreed upon consensus defini7on of intersec7onality, these common assump7ons provide a
founda7onal characteriza7on of the framework to form the concept map below.
Figure 1
Concept Map
31
This framework helps to highlight the mul7ple forces (social structures, ins7tu7ons, and daily
interac7ons) that are pu^ng pressure on or impac7ng the power and inequality of African American
women especially in corporate leadership roles. Be?er u nderstanding these dynamics will help society
know how to address this problem holis7cally. The lack of African American in senior leadership roles
needs to be addressed by all involved including by white people to eliminate stereotypes and
microaggressive behavior, by African American women to be empowered to achieve their full poten7al,
and by ins7tu7ons to create a more inclusive workplace.
Summary
Although 2021 was a record-breaking year, where for the first 7me, the number of women
running businesses on the Fortune 500 list is a record 41 women and for the first 7me, two African
American women are serving as CEOs of Fortune 500 businesses – Rosalind Brewer of Walgreens Boots
Alliance and Thasunda Brown Ducke? of TIAA, it appears African American women are s7ll onen
excluded from top leadership roles in Corporate America. They are frequently not afforded the
opportunity to gain the necessary experience to effec7vely navigate at the highest ranks nor groomed to
do so. Furthermore, once African American women do make it into leadership posi7ons, they tend to
have rockier tenures and less freedom to lead than their White male counterparts, and they are also
more likely to be tapped as CEOs when a crisis is looming (Cook & Glass, 2013).
32
Chapter Three: Methodology
The purpose of this study is to explore and examine the perspec7ves of female African American
leaders who are serving in upper level and senior level posi7ons and to examine any type of racial and
gender inequity they may have faced. The problem of prac7ce is the under-representa7on of African
American women in senior level leadership roles. This chapter includes a restatement of the three
research ques7ons that are used to guide this study, followed by an overview of the generic qualita7ve
inquiry study design. This chapter also includes descrip7ons of the research se^ng, the researcher, and
the data source, consis7ng of one-to-one, semi-structured interviews via Zoom or Google Meet with
African American women currently serving in leadership roles in Fortune 1000 organiza7ons. This
chapter then proceeds with discussion of the ethical safeguards that are used in this study and of the
limita7ons and delimita7ons of the study’s scope.
Research Ques-ons
The following three research ques7ons will guide this project:
RQ1. What are the lived experiences of African American women serving in leadership posi7ons
in Fortune 1000 companies?
RQ2. What coping strategies do African American women use to deal with experiences of racial
and/or gender microaggressions in the workplace?
RQ3. What are the social, poli7cal, or environmental condi7ons that contribute to making
African American women vulnerable to under-representa7on in corporate leadership roles?
Overview of Methodology
A qualita7ve research method is appropriate for this study as the focus is to inves7gate the
reasons behind the experiences or phenomena and the decision-making process (Maxwell, 2013). A
33
qualita7ve, phenomenological method is best suited to developing an understanding of what the African
American women in this study experience. An assump7on of phenomenological inquiry is that the
meanings a?ributed to a par7cular phenomenon are shared and mutually understood by all the
par7cipants (Ilsney & Krasemann, 2014). My ra7onale for using a qualita7ve phenomenological
approach was that this approach will allow the par7cipants to share their lived experiences and
percep7ons about what it means to be an African American woman working in a leadership role in
corporate America. By using a qualita7ve phenomenology research method and design, I will be able to
examine, describe, and interpret the lived experiences of professional African American women in
corporate leadership roles (Ritchie, 2013). Furthermore, qualita7ve phenomenology allows for the
emergence of themes that confront the structural and norma7ve beliefs about the phenomenon itself.
The qualita7ve phenomenology method will enable me to connect complex issues of race, gender,
opportunity, and organiza7onal processes and procedures.
The Researcher
As a dark, African American female, I am in7mately acquainted with the unique discrimina7on
that Black women face at the intersec7on of race, color, and gender. Although we work in a variety of
jobs and industries at a variety of levels, we are s7ll regularly confronted with mispercep7ons about our
work and iden7ty that have been the founda7on for racial, color, and gender biases for decades. As a
result, Black women frequently face unique challenges, unfair expecta7ons, and biased assump7ons
that differ significantly from percep7ons held about men as well as women from other racial and ethnic
groups. Furthermore, dark African Americans face the added challenges of colorism, which can manifest
intra-racially as well as from other racial groups.
34
Personally, I have experienced discrimina7on in wages, work assignments, and mentorship
opportuni7es. I have learned to look for alternate ways to succeed and gain access; however, I have not
always been successful. Having grown up in an era when the media represented women of my race and
especially darker hue as ugly, uneducated, and/or in subservient roles, I have typically had to ba?le
stereotypes about my capabili7es, leadership abili7es, and communica7on skills. Comb a7ng either
racism, colorism, or sexism regularly produces significant stress and disadvantage. African American
women such as I are frequently placed in the uncomfortable posi7on of ba?ling all three simultaneously
and have been forced to develop coping strategies.
It is my hope that with these experiences, I will demonstrate the appropriate level of sensi7vity
and compassion for the unique journeys and experiences of other African American women and
accurately capture their voices and their experiences. In a phenomenological research study, the
researcher typically ac7vely interacts with his or her par7cipants and uses him or herself as an
instrument that is granted privileged access to the subject’s lived world (Creswell, 2009). This in7macy
and familiarity with the experiences of women of color in the workplace, while affording insights could
also produce biases regarding the experiences of White males, White females, and even Black men.
Data Sources
The overarching purpose of this qualita7ve study is to explore the lived experiences of African
American female leaders in Fortune 1000 organiza7ons. Alston (2012) and Brown (2005) suggested
there has been increasing interest among researchers to understand the experiences of Black women
from their own perspec7ves. Specifically, this study will seek to examine the challenges and barriers
Black women might encounter while seeking career advancement in corpora7ons.
Interviews
35
Interviews will be conducted in a semi-structured format following an interview protocol (Yin,
2009). The research ques7ons are designed to solicit informa7on that leads to a textual and structural
portrait of every day, shared experiences. The ques7ons are designed to look for themes across the
par7cipants’ responses reflec7ng their percep7ons, experiences, and coping mechanisms . The ques7ons
examined their experiences of gender and racial biases, discrimina7on, and stereotypes. The ques7ons
inquire into their access, understanding, and familiarity with systems of training, managerial support,
and mentorship as well as the way they feel their organiza7on supports and values their contribu7on.
Ques7ons inquire about their feelings towards organiza7onal and societal prac7c es and policies and the
organiza7onal culture or contexts that support or hinder their effec7veness in progressing in their
careers. The ques7ons also address their percep7on of the role they see race and gender plays in the
organiza7on both individually and collec7vely to support career progression.
Par0cipants
Par7cipants will be selected through purposeful sampling to ensure the selected par7cipants
“will best help the researcher understand the problem and the research ques7on” (Creswell & Creswell,
2018). The sample size will be 12 - 15 par7cipants. Researchers recommend that sampling size in
qualita7ve research be small and an7cipate ra7onal coverage of the phenomenon be of the study’s
purpose (Pa?on, 2014). So, a maximum of 15 par7cipants is sufficient for this study. Criteria for
selec7on will include that par7cipant are African American leaders within a Fortune 1000 organiza7on,
who iden7fy as female and hold director level posi7ons and above with 5 or more years of service to the
organiza7on. According to Creswell (2014) in a phenomenological study, the par7cipants must have all
experienced the phenomenon being explored and can ar7culate their lived experience. In purposive
sampling, a sample group is selected that is believed to be representa7ve of a given popula7on (Gay,
36
Mills & Airasian, 2009). Therefore, purposive sampling will be u7lized in the process of selec7ng
individuals for the study. African American women who have reached director level roles and above and
have been working with a Fortune 1000 company for 5 years for more should have had experiences and
knowledge about the phenomenon regarding moving up the corporate ladder.
Par7cipants will not be limited by industry. This criterion will ensure par7cipants should have a
large breadth of informa7on to share about their experiences. The professional social media website,
LinkedIn, which is used for networking, will be used to contact and recruit par7cipants. All subscribed
members have access to the LinkedIn open message board and can post to the message board without
obtaining permission. The need for study par7cipants will be posted on the LinkedIn website. When
responding to the request for par7cipants, individual LinkedIn members will have to complete a criteria
ques7onnaire (Appendix B) that verifies whether she meets the criteria for par7cipa7ng in the study.
Each par7cipant who meets the criteria for par7cipa7ng in the study will be followed up with via email
and reiterated the requirements to par7cipate. Each eligible and selected respondent will receive an
informed consent form (Appendix C) for review and will be asked to return, via email, an “I consent”
response to par7cipate in the study.
If not enough par7cipants can be recruited, snowball sampling will be employed. In qualita7ve
research, snowball sampling is a recruitment strategy u7lized when there is difficulty recrui7ng
par7cipants (Ritchie, Lewis & Elam, 2013). In snowball sampling, par7cipants provide the names of other
poten7al par7cipants; for this study, snowball sampling would involve asking par7cipants to provide the
names of other African American women who have experience with the phenomenon, who meet the
criteria and might be interested in par7cipa7ng in the study. Interview subjects from the target audience
37
will receive follow-up communica7on via e-mail outlining the purpose, researcher posi7onality,
confiden7ality guidelines, and par7cipant expecta7ons within the request for the video interview.
Instrumenta0on
The primary instruments in this study will be the interviewer and semi-structured interviews.
Techniques will be u7lized to elicit narra7ves that allow the par7cipants’ voices and stories to unfold
naturally. These techniques will include avoiding asking leading ques7ons and closed or “yes/no” type
ques7ons (Hsiung & Raddon, 2010). Collec7ng field notes will be employed to capture ideas and note
pa?erns and developing themes. Employing field notes to capture nonverbal and other condi7ons or
nuances observed during interac7ons will enable maintaining an awareness of poten7al challenges
during data analysis.
The interview protocol (see Appendix A) will provide general structure while allowing flexibility
as needed for deeper conversa7on. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted to gather
phenomenological data from par7cipants. The interview protocol will employ a laddering technique
(Reynolds & Gutman, 1988) to generate follow-up ques7ons to clarify par7cipant responses and probing
ques7ons to elicit richer responses. The interview ques7ons allow par7 cipants to develop their
responses without constraint and for details to be captured as they emerge (Moustakas, 1994). The
interview protocol for this study (Appendix A) is shaped from the research ques7ons.
Data Collec0on Procedures
The primary source of data for this study will consist of the transcripts generated from semi-
structured interviews conducted with the par7cipants in addi7on to field notes collected during the
interview. The open-ended ques7ons in the interview protocol (Appendix A) will support the theore7cal
framework of the study (Jamshed, 2014). Data will be collected during in-depth semi structured
38
interview sessions with each par7cipant that last between 45 minutes to 1 hour. The researcher will use
Zoom® video conferencing sonware to interview par7cipants in this study. Zoom® operates via webcam,
allowing the researcher and par7cipants to meet face-to-face virtually. This visual element allows the
researcher to record data related to par7cipants’ facial expressions and body language, an important
component of communica7on. Also, Zoom® sonware allows the researcher to conduct the interviews in
private, which may enhance the comfort level of interviewees. With Zoom®, the researcher will be able
to collect and replay video and audio recordings of par7cipant interviews as needed for review. Aner the
interview process, the sessions will be transcribed on the interview protocol (Appendix A). The
par7cipants will be sent copies of their raw data and transcribed analysis for review.
Data Analysis
Recorded interviews will be transcribed by Zoom transcrip7on. Audio recordings will also be
reviewed to observe voice inflec7ons which will be compared to field notes. Any gaps or unclear
statements will be addressed through follow up and member checking processes. Data analysis will be
conducted using the Moustakas (1994) modified van Kaam approach. Thema7c coding methods will be
used to analyze the data and group recurring themes from all par7cipants into clusters for interpreta7on
and comparison (Hycner, 1985). Transcripts will be analyzed individually and examined for significant
details of the par7cipants’ experience. Themes will be iden7fied through both induc7ve and deduc7ve
approaches (Ryan & Bernard, 2010) based on recurring words, phrases, emo7ons, cultural expressions,
or topics of conversa7on (Taylor & Bogdan, 1998). All relevant, non-repe77ve statements will be
recorded. Based on the modified van Kaam approach, experiences will be listed and coded and emerging
themes will be labeled. Statements relevant to the phenomenon under inves7ga7on will be labeled and
sorted, iden7fying experiences, emo7ons, thoughts, other outcomes, or coping strategies. Individual
39
data not captured in thema7c clusters will be analyzed by keywords, phrases, and expressions of beliefs,
emo7on, and experiences to ensure that a holis7c view of each par7cipant is captured. Expressions that
are not deemed relevant to the study will be eliminated. Experiences will be synthesized and reflected
using verba7m examples. The number of occurrences will be observed, percentages noted, and major
themes iden7fied. Par7cipant responses will be presented in the form of quotes, long enough to ensure
that the en7re thought is represented as intended by the par7cipant.
Trustworthiness and Credibility
Lincoln and Guba (1985) proposed the use of four criteria to evaluate the trustworthiness of
qualita7ve research: (1) credibility (internal validity); (2) transferability (external validity); (3)
dependability (reliability); and (4) confirmability (objec7vity).
Credibility
In qualita7ve research, to ensure validity suggests the findings should correspond to the
viewpoints of both the par7cipants and the researcher (Thompson & Pascal, 2012; Creswell, 2012).
Validity indicates that an accurate account of the findings has been checked, and suggests the method
used is reliable and has been used by numerous researchers (Creswell, 2012). The following strategies
will be used to confirm internal validity and reliability of this study: (1) bracke7ng; (2) researcher’s
posi7on; and (3) peer review.
Bracke0ng
The bracke7ng technique will be used to document all personal experiences, prejudices, biases,
and posi7ons that may impact any interpreta7ons of the data before and during the interview process,
as well as throughout the data analysis process (Creswell, 2012) and will be stored in journals.
Researcher’s Posi0on
40
Researcher’s posi7on will include personal self-reflec7on on worldview, biases, theore7cal
orienta7on, and assump7ons that may affect the study (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). These reflec7ons will
be kept in a password protected file on a personal computer. It will include explaining my posi7onality
including biases, disposi7ons, and assump7ons regarding the research.
Peer review
Peer review will be employed by asking colleagues to scan some of my wri7ngs to assess
whether the findings are plausible based on the data. This will also include discussions with colleagues
regarding the congruence of findings and tenta7ve interpreta7ons (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Transferability or External Validity
Establishing the credibility of the data will entail documen7ng detailed descrip7ons of the
significant themes to generate results that are descrip7ve, realis7c, and transferable. Comments from
par7cipants will be included in the final interpreta7on of their lived experiences. Purposeful sampling
selected only par7cipants that had experience with the phenomenon and met the criteria of this study.
The research ques7ons will guide this study and provide textural and structural descrip7ons of the
phenomenon. The open-ended research ques7ons focus specifically on the beliefs, events, and ac7ons
observed or asked about within the study and the contexts in which they occur (Maxwell, 2013).
Audit Trail
According to Crabtree (2008), dependability consists of clear descrip7ons of the complete
research procedures, with all records associated with the study available for further review. An audit
trail should consist of the raw data, including all the documents and wri?en notes (Lincoln & Guba,
2013). The audit trail in this study will include informa7on about the development of themes,
categories, findings, and conclusions. The audit trail will also include the final report revealing
41
connec7ons to available literature and the incorpora7on of the African American women's interac7ons
and explana7ons of their lived experiences. Documented notes and memos will also be available for
peer review when needed.
Confirmability
Confirmability corresponds to the level to which others can verify established findings (Woods &
Graber, 2016). In this study, confirmability will be established by documen7ng the procedures used to
confirm the data during the phases of both data collec7on and data analysis. Confirmability is designed
to ensure a neutral stance, autonomy from researcher’s bias, and to address any specific exis7ng
foreseeable biases (Miles, Huberman, & Saldana, 2013). Confirmability will ensure that conclusions are
dependent on the responses of the par7cipants.
Ethics
According to Creswell (2012), the ethical treatment of research par7cipants requires that the
privacy and confiden7ality of par7cipants remain a priority throughout the study and is cri7cal to the
study’s success. Par7cipa7on in this study will be voluntary and par7cipants will be permi?ed to
withdraw from the study at any 7me without penalty. Par7cipant data collected in this study would be
held in strict confidence, and par7cipants’ iden7ty and informa7on sha red will remain anonymous and
protected throughout. No compensa7on will be offered for par7cipa7on and all par7cipants will sign
forms acknowledging informed consent and confiden7ality requirements prior to par7cipa7on in the
study. Each interview will be conducted independently with no interac7on between par7cipants.
Confiden7ality is the primary obliga7on in qualita7ve research and ethical qualita7ve research
protects par7cipants from adverse consequences, primarily through confiden7ality agreements (Pollock,
2012). Data associated with each par7cipant will be iden7fied by an assigned confiden7al pseudonym
42
and maintained by the researcher. Results and any other data may be published for scien7fic purposes
but will not include any iden7fiable references. Records will be kept private and stored in an electronic
password secured database accessible only by the researcher. There will be minimal risks to par7cipants
(physical, psychological, or otherwise). Interview ques7ons may require par7cipants to recall and discuss
experiences that may be unpleasant, and par7cipants will be advised that they may find this experience
to be minimally psychologically distressing. If par7cipants exhibit visible signs of discomfort during the
interview process, the interview will either pause or completely stop (Calloway, 2009).
Summary
This qualita7ve study used a narra7ve inquiry and gathered informa7on from African American
women serving in upper-level leadership posi7ons in Fortune 1000 organiza7ons. The researcher used a
purposeful sampling method to select 12 women represen7ng a range of ages, educa7on, and industry
backgrounds. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed using thema7c coding
strategies. The researcher established credibility through bracke7ng, researcher’s posi7on, and peer
review (Creswell, 2013). Risks to par7cipants were mi7gated through explaining all aspects of the study
on the consent form and reminding them prior to the interview that they could withdraw from the study
at any 7me, for any reason, without penalty.
43
Chapter Four: Findings
The goal of this study was to explore the perspec7ves of female African American leaders
serving in leadership posi7ons and to examine any racial and gender inequity they may have faced. This
phenomenological study u7lized the qualita7ve methodology of narra7ve inquiry and a thema7c
analysis approach. It was guided by the following research ques7ons:
1. What are the lived experiences of African American women serving in leadership posi7ons in
Fortune 1000 companies?
2. What coping strategies do they use to deal with experiences of racial and/or gender
microaggressions in the workplace?
3. What are the social, poli7cal, or environmental condi7ons that contribute to making African
American women vulnerable to under-representa7on in corporate leadership roles?
This chapter is divided into three sec7ons. The first sec7on provides the profile and descrip7on
of the par7cipants. Sec7on 2 presents a summary and Sec7on 3 describes the key thema7c findings.
Par-cipant Pr ofiles
The 12 women in this study have a?ained leadership roles in corporate organiza7ons in a variety
of industries, including four working in financial services, three working in technology, two working in
banking, and one each working in human resources, media, and engineering.
Five of the women had three years of experience in their leadership role, two had four years,
two had five years, one had eight years, one had 12 years, and the last one had 15 years. Several of the
par7cipants indicated they had been promoted into a leadership role as a part of their organiza7on’s
ini7a7ves to promote people of color following the George Floyd murder.
Seven of the women are between the ages of 40 – 49, four are ages 50 – 59, and one is 60 – 69
years old. Eight of the women in the study are currently married, and the remainder are single and have
never been married. Seven women have children. All the women have college degrees, including two
44
with doctorate degrees, seven with master’s degrees, and the remaining three have bachelor’s degrees.
Eight of the women reside in the Southeast, two live on the West Coast, and two live in the Midwest
region of the United States. All par7cipants were given a pseudonym. Table 1 shows the complete
demographic profile of all par7cipants.
Table 1
Pseudonym
Age
Group
Marital
Status
Children
Highest
Educa7onal
Level
Length of
Time in
Leadership
Role
(in years)
Industry Regions
Althea 60 - 69 Married 4 Masters 5 HR Southeast
Cicely 50 - 59 Married 1 Masters 8 Media Southeast
Harriet 40 - 49 Married 0 Doctorate 3 Technology West Coast
Ida 50 - 59 Married 1 Bachelors 5 Banking Southeast
Kamala 40 - 49 Single 2 Bachelors 3 Technology Southeast
Katherine 40 - 49 Married 2 Doctorate 3 Engineering West Coast
Maya 50 - 59 Married 0 Masters 12 Financial Services Southeast
Michelle 50 - 59 Married 0 Masters 3 Banking Southeast
Phillis 40 - 49 Single 1 Masters 3 Technology Southeast
Rosa 40 - 49 Single 0 Masters 4 Financial Services Midwest
Ruby 40 - 49 Single 0 Masters 4 Financial Services Midwest
Viola 40 - 49 Married 2 Bachelors 15 Financial Services Southeast
Discussion of Findings
Overall, the findings align with the conceptual framework of this study, which links the concept
of intersec7onality with elements of Black feminism theory and gendered racism. The first research
45
ques7on sought to understand the lived experiences of African American women leaders in the
workplace. Thema7c categories emerging from the study, included: (1) nega7ve stereotypes, (2)
discrimina7on, (3) derogatory and degrading comments, (4) exclusion, (5) lack of transparency and (6)
pressure to perform/need to legi7mize posi7on and (7) lack of voice. The analysis of the results shows
that African American women experience discrimina7on in the form of racial bias, gender bias, and as an
outcome of their dual minori7zed iden77es. The research findings were consistent with prevailing
literature on the concept of intersec7onality and indicate that African American women experience
discrimina7on in the workplace not only due to race and gender, but also the intersec7on of being both
African American and female. In this study, gendered racism was reflected in the themes of racial and
gender stereotypes, the lack of professional development opportuni7es for African American women,
and the lack of access compared to White males and females.
As supported by par7cipant accounts and as iden7fied by Cor7na et al. (2011), current
discrimina7on is onen more subtle in nature and therefore more difficult to prove. The leaders in this
study shared mul7ple experiences of both subtle and overt acts of discrimina7on, with subtle acts being
more common. The findings of this study suggests that these experiences onen lead to mistrust,
discouragement, increased stress, and hypervigilance, as well as retribu7on if they were acknowledged.
Therefore, incidents of discrimina7on and microaggressions were onen unreported.
Current findings suggest that African American women are also subjected to historical
stereotypes that place them in tradi7onal or subservient roles. For example, mul7ple par7cipants were
assumed to be difficult or lack the intelligence and exposure to competently perform their roles. These
findings are consistent with previous research associa7ng stereotypes of African American women with
domes7c labor and inferiority (Woods-Giscombé, 2010). This study confirms that African American
women leaders onen endure the addi7onal challenge of having to prove themselves, resul7ng in feeling
a need to over-perform to be seen as equal to their White counterparts.
46
The findings of this study on coping mechanisms (RQ 2) align with those of previous studies on
African American women (Lewis et al., 2013) and include being authen7c, relying on one’s faith, and
engaging support systems with other African American women. The benefits of mentoring in the
workplace were especially important and research par7cipants made the case that it is necessary to
have a variety of different mentors and allies in the workplace to buffer against the common barriers
they experienced. Par7cipants indicated they find it necessary to engage with White male leaders to
advocate for African American women to access informal networks and gain informa7on that would
otherwise be inaccessible. Same- race and/or gender mentors are onen able to relate to their
experiences and offer valida7on as well as strategies for dealing with discriminatory experiences.
While mentoring and internal and external support systems were deemed valuable by all the
study par7cipants, Haslam and Ryan (2008) have iden7fied the lack of mentors and support as a primary
factor hindering African American women from successfully a?aining leadership roles. The research
par7cipants expressed that they feel obligated to serve as mentors and examples for other African
American women. Access to mentors and social networks, and rela7onships with other African American
women, are directly aligned with Black Feminism Theory, which seeks to acknowledge the dis7nct
experiences with both racism and sexism that are unique to Black women. When African American
women advocate black feminism, they recognize how race and gender are both impacted by socially
constructed systems of power.
Findings on social, poli7cal, or environmental condi7ons that contribute to making African
American women vulnerable to under-representa7on (RQ3) related to nega7ve experiences of
discrimina7on, again the lack of mentors, and unspoken organiza7onal norms and prac7ces. Lack of
access to influen7al networks, which provide insights on organiza7onal informal and usually unwri?en
rules, norms, and values was iden7fied as well.
47
Key Findings
Based on the stories and lived experiences presented by the 12 par7cipants, I organized my
par7cipants' narra7ves around three key categories: (1) Challenges that African American women in
leadership posi7ons are up against; (2) Key experiences of African American women; and (3) Coping
mechanisms African American women u7lize to deal with racism and microaggressions.
Challenges
Challenges cons7tute career-limi7ng factors that affect not only the ability to ascend in an
organiza7on but also the ability to co-exist. These include factors that contribute to or are considered a
part of the concrete ceiling, which Catalyst (2004) defines as a barrier that is almost unbreakable and
adds addi7onal complexity to upward mobility. The key challenges that the research par7cipants
iden7fied were nega7ve stereotypes and discriminatory prac7ces. Further details are discussed below.
Nega0ve Stereotypes
All of the par7cipants expressed frustra7ons about being nega7vely judged before they were
given professional opportuni7es. They specifically cited several well-known nega7ve stereotypes or
s7gmas a?ached to African American women, such as being too strong, non -proficient, overbearing, and
having a difficult personality. These characteris7cs could be considered a threat to organiza7ons and
prevent an African American woman from being employed, accepted, or promoted. Such images tend to
persist among groups who exercise power because they subjugate not only African American women to
stereotypical iden7fiers but also are instrumental in maintaining intersec7ng oppressions (Özbilgin et al.,
2010).
During the interviews, par7cipants were asked to provide examples of stereotypes they have
encountered during their careers. Par7cipants had varying experiences of stereotypes, but three that
were referenced repeatedly were: “Angry Black Woman”, intellectual inferiority, and coming from
impoverished backgrounds.
48
As noted in Chapter 2, the term “Angry Black Woman” has been used to describe African
American women as aggressive, illogical, hos7le, and ignorant (Ashley, 2014). Furthermore, when
African American women display asser7veness, decision-making, and boldness, these characteris7cs are
onen mistaken as manifesta7ons of the angry Black woman (Lewis & Neville, 2015). Par7cipants shared
experiences of the “Angry Black Woman” stereotype. Maya described this stereotype in the following
way:
I would say that something like, you know, being loud and boisterous or not being able to
control emo7ons would be the biggest thing because I think those are things that can hinder you
from advancing. You know, a manager has this percep7on that when put into a heated situa7on,
your reac7on is not going to be, you know, irra7onal … I found out about that not because I was
irra7onal, but because I was ra7onal. They're like what I, you know, I can't believe it.
And according to Althea, the “Angry Black Woman” serves as a nega7ve label:
We can be labeled as having an a^tude of emo7onal by me; if you speak up or if you have a
strong opinion about something, they tend to put these labels on us, or merely being a woman
that this is what's going on with us, and why we react in the way that they're ac7ng, it doesn't
count as someone has been totally rude to you or disrespect, but you're put in a category
that...You're too emo7onal, too sensi7ve.
Further, Cicely described it as,
I think the angry Black woman syndrome, I don't like that one I had... At my last one, I had a
White woman say to me, she's always angry, she's always mad referring to a Black woman, and
it just... It bothered me, but I didn't respond 'cause [I’m] mature now, so I understand, I can't
respond.
Each of these experiences recounts instances of African American women being characterized as loud
and angry. This is not a new prac7ce. Historically, this image is deeply rooted in American culture and
49
dates back to slavery in the United States, when Black women were the dehumanized (Motro et al.,
2022). This pervasive stereotype onen characterizes Black women as aggressive, hos7le, overbearing,
unreasonable, bi?er, and ill -tempered. This stereotype has permeated books, films, and popular
television shows. Popular media examples include the character Florence in The Jeffersons in the ’70s,
Sheneneh from Mar7n Lawrence’s ’90s sitcom, and Tyler Perry’s character Madea from his stage plays
and movies in the 2000s. All of this has contributed to the angry Black women trope feeling familiar in
both pop culture and organiza7ons. Research demonstrates that organiza7ons onen assume Black
women are more likely to be belligerent, conten7ous, and angry, which is an assump7on not as quickly
a?ributed to other groups. So, when Black women express anger at work, their leadership skills and
poten7al are called into ques7on (Motro et al., 2022). People are o)en more likely to a0ribute the
anger of African American women to their personali:es or internal characteris:cs rather than as
jus:fiable reac:ons to discriminatory external factors.
This o)en results in circumstances like Cicely descr ibed, where she felt she could not respond
and express Black women’s frustra:on at not feeling heard or situa:ons like Maya recounted, where it is
assumed that she will respond in anger and aggression even though she has not exhibited these
behaviors in the workplace. This interpreta:on of Black women being inherently angry and aggressive
o)en has nega:ve consequences for Black women, ul:mately leading to lower performance evalua:ons
and a poorer assessment of leadership capabili:es. When Black women are in leadership roles, the
tradi:onal characteris:cs associated with leaders are o)en in conflict with stereotypical expecta:ons of
African American women.
Another stereotype that African American women encounter that is debilita:ng to their caree rs
is the percep:on that they are intellectually inferior. According to Katherine, “I think the biggest
stereotype that [I] have encountered is not knowing, not being smart enough because I would say things
and teammates would ignore it or would go to someone else or who is more knowledgeable.”
50
Katherine’s example speaks to how Black women are o)en passed up on their contribu:ons to
discussions without reason. Although her colleagues may have passed on her comments, not knowing
the reason why made her feel that it is because she is intellectually inferior. Addi:onally, Black women's
communica:on style is o)en stereotyped as blunt, which is consistent with a Eurocentric view of
masculine communica:on as direct and controlling ( Olasunkanmi-Alimi et al., 2022).
Lastly, five of the par:cipants also shared instances of assump:ons about their poor upbringing.
Harriet shared,
He was a VP at the :me. Said to me, you know, we're si]ng down and he's trying to get to know
me and we’re just, you know, one of those very light conversa:ons. And he said something to
me. ‘So tell me about your background’ and I started to tell him about my background, and he
said something to the effect of, ‘Oh, but you can be vulnerable with me and tell me about the
hard way you grew up.’ And my parents live in Malibu. I mean, you know… I was stumped
because I was like, do I tell him my parents live in Malibu, or do I, you know l like, what do I say?
I was a ballerina growing up.
Harriet’s example illustrates a type of benevolent racism, where her boss, in a way to appear as if he
was on her side, was, in fact, exhibi:ng racism by assuming t hat she was poor. And Harriet was unable
to refute his assump:ons because she did not want to offend him, thus solely bearing the offense.
These stereotypes of African American women contrast sharply with the stereotypes of pure,
delicate, and highly regarded White women. Specifically, characteriza:ons of all African American
women as angry, not smart, and poor are believed to linger from insidious beliefs held about Black
women during slavery (Woods-Giscombé, 2010). Furthermore, these stereotypes of Black women,
which are also rampant in popular culture and media depic:ons, are the opposite of expecta:ons of
effec:ve leaders (Woods -Giscombé & Black, 2010). When asked about their experiences at work, Black
51
women s:ll report feeling they were “expected to fail” (Rose0e & Livingston, 2012) or that success was
a product of luck or charity (Thomas et al., 2011).
Four research par:cipants reported occurrences of colleagues appearing surprised by their
intelligence and ar:cula:on. Katherine shared,
It's perceived that you can do it and it's a hidden barrier that people have against you without
them even realizing it. So, it's subconscious. I wouldn't call it microaggression. A subconscious
bias where, oh, she can't possibly do that, or she can't possibly do that because she's [an]
African American female.
This seems to indicate that posi:ve stereotypes can be equally damaging. This may be
a0ributable to the stress effect of the “Superwoman” or “Strong Black woman” stereotype, which
insinuates that Black women have supernatural strength that enables them to endure hardship (Woods-
Giscombé & Black, 2010).
Nega:ve stereotypes of African American women may further remove them from the
ideal leader prototype. When seen through the filter of stereotypes, African American women are less
likely to be viewed as a good fit for leadership roles. These nega:ve a0ribu:ons have a s:gma:zing
effect. According to Steele et al., (2002), being linked to stereotypes may also lead to stereotype threat,
the threat of being viewed through a nega:ve stereotype, which can result in nega:ve performance
outcomes.
Discrimina0on
All of the par:cipants also recounted instances of experiencing discrimina:on. For the purposes
of this research, I u:lize the Ins:tute fo r Democra:c Renewal and Project Change An: -Racism Ini:a:ve’s
(2000) defini:on of discrimina:on, which is “the unequal treatment of members of various groups based
on race, gender, social class, sexual orienta:on, physical ability, religion and other categories” (2000).
Despite organiza:onal ini:a:ves to reduce experiences of racism and sexism, acts of discrimina:on
52
persist and con:nue to produce nega:ve effects (Jones, et al ., Peddie, Gilrane, King, & Gray, 2013). The
pervasiveness of discriminatory treatment may be a0ributed to less common overt acts and not enough
awareness of subtle forms of discrimina:on (Shih, Young, & Bucher, 2013). Jones et al. (2013) proposed
that the ambiguous nature of subtle discrimina:on may have more significant outcomes than overt
forms because it is more difficult to iden:fy. Targets may actually have difficulty a0ribu:ng behaviors to
bias, leaving limited op:ons for remedy. Also, the repe::ve nature of subtle microaggressions may
intensify their effects on recipients (Jones et al., 2013). Research par:cipants’ experiences of
discrimina:on included derogatory comments or microaggressions, exclusionary prac:ces, and
favori:sm toward White male colleagu es. Many of these prac:ces were subtle in nature and some
par:cipants expressed difficulty in discerning the exact prejudicial nature of the ac:ons.
Derogatory Comments and Prac-ces. The par:cipants’ responses support that African
American women are s:ll experiencing derogatory comments and prac:ces in the workplace and
especially in leadership roles. For example, Viola shared an experience of a verbal microaggression
regarding her word choice,
In a mee:ng once where I was talking about what we nee ded to do to approach [what] we were
talking [about], I said we're going to need to bifurcate these two things. And I had another
senior leader, a white man, say to me, ‘bifurcate, that's a big word. Can you spell it?’
Viola’s example also illustrates the stereotype that African American women are not smart, as
men:oned in the previous sec:on. And while the above examples of stereotypes o)en are masked in
roundabout ways, the derogatory comment by Viola’s senior leader in a mee:ng is an overt illustra: on
of how power is exerted to oppress African American women.
Ruby noted, “There always appeared to be an unwri0en dual standard. And so that was
something that I definitely vividly remember having to push past along with prejudices,
microaggressions, and biases. And it was difficult”. The “dual standard” or set of unspoken rules unfairly
53
applied to Black women at work described by Ruby o)en manifests in people ques:oning African
American women’s ability to do exemplary work based solely on their race or the expecta:on of twice
as many educa:onal experiences or creden:als from African Americans than everyone else. Par:cipants
also described how many of their White coworkers found aggression or asser:veness in African
American women to be overwhelming. Cicely shared,
I remember I was in a mee:ng one :me and there was a board mee:ng and execu:ves were
there and they were throwing out numbers, and so the same white male that I was explaining to
you, he was in that mee:ng and he was giving out wro ng numbers, and then he's looking at me,
so I could write them down and slide them to him 'cause that was the way we did that. And so
this par:cular day, I just decided I wasn't wri:ng anything down. I wasn't sliding the numbers.
And they kept going, and the numbers were so skewed... And so I just blurted out the correct
numbers, and so somebody was trying to pull them up on the screen, and get into the
document. And I said, These are the numbers, and I ran the numbers down. I wish I had had
be0er traini ng on how to handle that. I didn't know, I just blurted it out because it was driving
me up the wall, he was s:ll talking about 15 minutes on wrong numbers... I would have done
that be0er than just blur:ng it out and making everybody look foolish includ ing the CEO, 'cause
he was hot a)erwards that I made him look for it.
Cicely’s experience of asser:ng that she wasn’t going to make a white male look good in his role
based on her exper:se was seen as unprofessional by those in her organiza:on. They we re
uncomfortable with her blur:ng out the informa:on rather than discretely passing informa:on to a
White male colleague so he could appear knowledgeable. She further expressed how she operates
differently in her career now as a result of the backlash of this incident. This example further illustrates
that African American women who behave “aggressively or asser:vely” are treated differently than men
who act in the same manner.
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Exclusionary Prac-ces. In prior research, African American women reported exclusion from
informal networks as well as prominent opportuni:es (Beckwith, et al., 2016). Exclusion describes
experiences of being dismissed or ignored while speaking or being denied necessary informa:on, access,
or support to effec:vely perform job func:ons. Half of the research par:cipants confirmed this in their
experiences. For example, Althea simply stated, “I feel that I'm not included.” Harriet also shared
experiences of being excluded from mee:ngs,
There's this ini:a:ve that I was working on. I'm not working on now and all the mee:ngs that
were surrounding that ini:a:ve, I wasn't invited to. I had to hear it from one of my coworkers
and she would direct me, but it was my project or my program… There's no Black women in that
mee: ng whatsoever. And so, then I started wondering, what are they talking about that they
don't have us included?
In the current corporate environment, mentors, networks, and social connec:ons play a significant role
in advancement. Research indicates that African American women are ambi:ous and actually more
likely to indicate they want to advance in their organiza:ons than their White female counterparts but
are less likely to find mentors who will assist (Wingfield, 2021).
Sociologist Tsedale Melaku, in her book, “You Don't Look Like a Lawyer: Black Women and
Systemic Gendered Racism” (2019), a0ributes this to White male execu:ves’ unfamiliarity and
discomfort with African American women. According to Melaku’s research, execu:ves who rarely
interact with Black people in their personal or professional circles may be uncomfortable interac:ng
with them as colleagues. She also noted that this lack of mentoring is a consequence of inten:onal
exclusion when leaders make it a point not to include Black women in teams, as mentees, or on
important projects. Whether inten:onal exclusion like Harriet recounted or discomfort from lack of
familiarity, these pa0erns and prac:ces hinder Black women’s mobility in organiza:ons and their ability
to secure leadership roles.
55
Of the par:cipants interviewed, half also offered accounts of being overlooked for an
opportunity or promo:on. Katherine recounted instances of being denied opportuni:es due to her race
and gender,
The cons are that you're judged first by your appearance and not your capability. I've been to
many interviews where I know I've been capable of doing a job. I know that I had the
background experience acquired and then I didn't get the opportunity.
Although in many cases being more than qualified, par:cipants reported being denied career
opportuni:es and internal promo:ons. Harrie0 noted that she has usually had to leave an organiza:on
to get an advancement in her role. Most of the par:cipants men:oned lack of access to key leaders and
exclusion from networks, especially social type events. The American Bar Associa:on’s Commission on
Women in the Profession found that African American women are o)en excluded from their
organiza:on’s internal networks, seldom receive challenging assignments, and are infrequently offered
opportuni:es for client contact. Furthermore, 66% of Black women had been excluded from both formal
and informal networking opportuni:es, but only 6 % of White women had (Gans Epner, 2006). This type
of exclusion from networks limits access to organiza:onal informa:on, knowledge, and important
decision makers. At least 75% of the par:cipants described the experience of being both the only
woman in the room and the only Black person and in some cases being the only person of color.
According to Lean In’s 2020 The State of Black Women in Corporate America report, being an ‘Only’
affects 20% of all women and twice that for African American women where they feel uniquely alone
and have the added pressure of represen:ng a whole group. Persons experiencing this ‘Only’
phenomenon express experiencing more microaggressions, and more :mes their decisions are being
ques:oned in the workplace (Lean In, 2020). All of this results in African American women struggling
harder to access and advance in corporate organiza:ons, with underrepresenta:on and wage dispari:es
being an outcome.
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White Male Favori-sm. Workplace inequity is o)en sustained since in most instances, White
men establish organiza:onal policies, norms, and prac:ces from their own personal and professional
experiences, and the interests and needs of women are o)en neg lected (Essed, 2001). Harriet shared
about instances of her recommenda:ons not being received un:l they were echoed by a White male,
I'll be in a room or in a boardroom because I report to the board mul:ple :mes and in the
boardroom and I will say, ‘why don't we do this?’ And this is some idea that relates to the
conversa:on that we're talking about. And it's like everyone kind of looks and they just think
about it, you know that type of response. And then within 5 to 10 minutes, a male will say the
exact same thing, maybe slightly different and I just think, What did I do wrong? ‘Oh, that's such
a good idea. Oh, my gosh. Yes, we're going in that direc:on.’ And I look around. I mean, I know
I'm expressive because I'm on Zoom and you can see my face, but I'm actually looking around
the room going did I say something? Cause isn't that exactly what I just said and it happens
everywhere I go. I'm in a room with a bunch of males and I started wondering, Is it that I don't
speak male? You know, they have a different language or what is it about my conversa:on? Or is
it just that I'm a female in the room with a bunch of males and they don't want to hear it from
me?
Ruby also noted examples of different standards or expecta:ons for African American women than their
White, male counterparts,
I hear the frustra:on and it feels like they [Black women] are being given feedback that's very
harsh and cruel, and they feel that their peers, White males or even White females, are not
experiencing the level or the degree of cri:cality that they are experiencing. Their workloads are
different. They [Black women] may be managing teams that are not adequately staffed. So, it
almost feels like they are put at a disadvantage but are expected to over excel. Whereas for
57
their counterparts, the road is a li0le bit smoother, not as stressful or filled with a bunch of
bumps in the road.
Katherine also noted experiences of favori:sm toward White males in promo:onal prac:ces,
When I was an individual contributor going from an individual contributor to a manager, it takes
around six years for the majority popula:on. For the minority popula:on such as myself, it takes
at least 10 years before you even get to a management posi:on and this isn't always the case…I
know if it was a minority they have to prove their work before they get the job, whereas when
you're majority popula:on, you get the job and then you then you prove your work. So that's a
big discrepancy between the majority and the minori:es such as myself.
These experiences by research par:cipants appear to demonstrate the impact of White Supremacy
Culture and/or white privilege. American grassroots organizer-scholars Tema Okun and Keith Jones,
define white supremacy culture as “ a series of characteris:cs that ins: tu:onalize whiteness and
westernness as both normal and superior to other ethnic, racial, and regional iden::es and customs”
(Okun, 2021). In the workplace, white supremacy culture privileges being White, both explicitly and
implicitly, and discriminates against non-White and non-Western standards of professionalism related to
speech, dress code, and work style. The characteris:cs of white supremacy culture are damaging
because they are used as standards and behavioral norms without being specifically named or chosen by
the group. They promote white supremacy thinking and can show up in the a]tudes and behaviors of
both people of color and white people. One of the primary aspects of White privilege is having greater
access to power and resources than people of color do. This type of discrimina:on o)en leads to African
American women facing greater scru:ny from managers and peers, which can result in poor
performance reviews, lower wages, and even job loss.
All the par:cipants noted that White m ales received more promo:ons and advancement
opportuni:es than any other group in their organiza:ons and as Katherine noted White males are also
58
frequently promoted faster. Par:cipants also recounted instances of being passed over for job
opportuni:es , advancements, and high-profile assignments in favor of White males or even White
females. This was a0ributed to the culture of their organiza:ons – one where White men were expected
to succeed and were provided the tools and opportuni:es to do so, b ut Black women had to prove their
capabili:es and overcome nega:ve experiences.
Key Nega-ve Experiences
Par:cipants noted ongoing nega:ve experiences of Black women in their organiza:on, including
a lack of transparency to accurately acknowledge dispari:es, pressure to overperform to prove their skill
level, and feelings of oppression or not having a voice in the organiza:on.
Lack of Transparency
Par:cipants noted ongoing nega:ve experiences of Black women in their organiza:on, including
a lack of transparency to accurately acknowledge the challenges. Harriet indicated her organiza:on
refuses to release human resources demographic data to hide the experiences of African American
women,
In our organiza:on, it is a known thing that there's data collected on the staff. But HR will not
share the data, the demographics of how many people are hired and fired or promoted because
Black women are the most discriminated against in our organiza:on. It's Black women that hav e
the most trouble.
Par:cipants also shared encountering the impact of unwri0en rules, prac:ces, and expecta:ons. Ruby
shared,
But no one puts that in wri:ng, not at all. She didn't get a promo:on because she had natural
hair. So how are we going to address that? Because that's not... They can't write that. That
wouldn't be wri0en. I don't know. I was ini:ally star:ng to think about that microaggression
path, which is like you come in, you're beloved, and then that changes some percep:on. Then
59
it's like, Oh, they're not mee:ng the standard, or you start hearing certain catchphrases or buzz
phrases, and then the next thing you know, you're on a PIP and you didn't do anything, and it
feels like you're just blindsided.
Harriet also indicated,
It's more of an unspoken way that they deal with Black people personally. When we come in, it's
like, oh, here's our star. We're beloved. But one small error, it could be a look. It could be
someone doesn't like you. It could just be percep:on related. It doesn 't even have to be
concrete. I had this happen to me, my first client, when I came back to {my organiza:on], they
didn't like me. They didn't feel I was competent enough for a job, even though I had never said
nothing. They made it their point to constantly put me on the spot and in:midate me.
When asked what laws or policies they would change in their organiza:ons, par:cipants noted that the
problems typically were not in the actual organiza:onal policies but rather in how things operated
unofficially. As Ruby and Harriet noted, it was o)en unspoken norms that were most damaging. These
are organiza:onal prac:ces that are not wri0en down but are o)en acutely felt by African American
women as they a0empt to navigate in corporate organiza:ons. Fur thermore, the lack of mentors or
sponsors exacerbates this impact because, as noted earlier, unlike White male employees, Black women
o)en do not have someone familiar with the organiza:onal norms to help them to navigate. As the
research par:cipants no ted, they o)en found out how the organiza:on operated via nega:ve
experiences and feedback that further contributed to hindering their careers. As Harriet noted, it is
challenging to operate in an environment that withholds data to prevent having to address the
challenges that Black women are facing in their organiza:on. Other research par:cipants also noted that
the issues facing African American women are not discussed, let alone addressed. This contributed to all
of the par:cipants no:ng that they feel they have to outperform their White colleagues to be taken
seriously in their organiza:ons.
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Constant Need to Legi0mize Posi0on
Par:cipants noted that although there has been some success for African American women
achieving upper and senior- level leadership roles in Fortune 1000 companies, White men con:nue to
control and dominate upper and senior- level corporate leadership roles. Overall, all par:cipants felt
that the corporate culture is frequently s:ll that of racism and discrimina:on. Pr essure to over-perform
was iden:fied as an outcome. Par:cipants referenced personal requisites for advanced cer:fica:ons,
educa:on, and ongoing knowledge and skills enhancement, beyond that of their peers to decrease the
chances of being disqualified from opportuni:es based on discrimina:on.
Katherine noted, “One of the things that I know African American females do is they
overcompensate because people don't think they're smart enough. So they overcompensate on the
opposite end, where they have more knowledge than everyone else”.
Ida also noted,
I feel like I have. To constantly do more. To prove myself for others to see me. I feel I'm always
feeling like I have to do more. So that I can be and I'm like how much you know. Some:mes I get
to the point. It's like, how much more do I have to do? To be recognized. And yeah, so I feel like
I’m where I am it's always extra. That has to go forth in everything that I do. And I'm like you get
to a place where some:mes you just try to prove yourself or trying to prove yourself and. It's
like, you know, do I keep doing that or, you know, do I just give up?.
According to Katherine,
Yes, I think it's a lot harder. We have to prove more. We have to do more. I feel like we have to
go way above and beyond our. Someone who is of another race, a Caucasian that we have to go
further or go way above and beyond to be recognized.
Althea indicated,
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I have to be sharp. I have to be a step ahead, I have to go above and beyond. I can't be average.
Average is not acceptable for Black females, so you can't be average. When I say average, I
mean if you have a White counterpart, say their average... You can't be average. You have to be
above average. I have to be above average, I can't do what they do. I have to do more than they
do.
DeSante (2013) explained that there is a general philosophy that suggests “Blacks must work twice as
hard as Whites to get half as far” (p. 342). Cole and Omari (2003) have also stated that the cost of
upward mobility has a higher taxa:on for African Americans than for White people, and the extra
pressure can result in burnout, exhaus:on, and emo:onal and psychological trauma to the extent that
African American people are unable to enjoy the success of their efforts. Brown and Segrist (2016) assert
that the uphill ba0le to prove their worth can lead to some African Americans lowering their career
aspira:ons. Two of the research par:cipants indicated they no longer desire a senior-level role due to
the stress they have encountered to get to their current roles.
Oppression/Lack of Voice
Seven par:cipants shared stories of instances of oppression and having to be guarded or
feelings of opera:ng in a hos:le or oppressive environment.
Ruby stated,
As I've been progressing through my career here, I've no:ced that for me, there's a higher
standard. There's a requirement that my senior leadership want to see in me that I don't see in
my white female counterparts or my white male counterparts. The things that are highlighted as
development areas for me, they're not highlighted for my peers. That's one difference is that the
expecta:on, although there is a framework that says at each level this is our expecta:on, it's
very clear that your evalua:ons are s:ll subjec:ve.
Rosa also shared experiences of feeling she has to be hypervigilant or on guard at all :mes,
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I have to constantly be cau:ous like there is like a bit of hypervigilance that we have to operate
within, in many cases. The more and more senior I become, the more I recognize the privilege
that others have to not have to have that hypervigilance. I will also say it is very apparent in
many organiza:ons, not all, but it's very apparent that we do have to work twice as hard to g et
half as much.
According to Zukerman et al. (2023), in their research on Post-Trauma:c Stress Disorder (PTSD),
exposure to trauma-related events is o)en followed by hypersensi:vity to trauma -related s:muli. This
hypervigilance or state of heightened watchfulness and awareness that Rosa referenced is a result of
prior ac:ons that have been linked to adverse psychosocial outcomes (Smith et al., 2019). In addi:on to
feeling the need for hypervigilance, par:cipants shared mul:ple examples of feeling u ndermined or
devalued at work and described how, to advance in their organiza:ons, African American women had to
endure intense scru:ny. Par:cipants indicated the con:nual scru:ny also resul:ng in feelings of
constantly having to jus:fy their presen ce in leadership roles and their very existence in the organiza:on
because there’s an underlying belief that either they were not ready or they were not enough. These
intersec:ng factors highlight many of the common challenges African women encounter and they
underscore that organiza:onal policies designed to address gender disparity in the workplace cannot
ignore the ways the issues women face in the workplace are also shaped by race.
Coping Mechanisms
The results from this study indicate African American women use emo:on and problem -focused
coping responses to manage stress (e.g., racism and sexism). Holder et al. (2015) studied experiences of
racial microaggressions in the workplace and the coping strategies of Black women managers,
recoun:ng the struggles that Black women face. Black women feel compelled to shi) their iden: :es to
mi:gate the nega:ve outcomes associated with discrimina:on. Three coping techniques that were
63
highlighted by research par:cipants were maintaining personal authen:city, cul:va:ng networks and
mentors, and crea:ng personal support systems.
Authen0city
According to a 2019 study completed by the Pew Research Center, African American and La:nx
individuals are more likely than their White counterparts to some:mes feel the need to change the way
they express themselves when around people with different racial and ethnic backgrounds. This
phenomenon some:mes referred to as “code -switching” is par:cularly seen in those under 50 (Dunn,
2020, May 30). Research par:cipants expressed concerns about finding a balance between being true to
themselves and managing impressions of Black people and Black women in par:cular to receive
desirable outcomes including perceived professionalism by mirroring the acceptable norms, a0ributes,
and behaviors, of White colleagues. Maya indicated,
I just think that I try to make it a point to be the example and to be the brand that I want people
to think of when they think of not just me, but African American women, you know, generally
speaking.
Harriet noted,
One being authen:c to who you are. And but you've really got to know who you are. To having
confidence and knowing what you bring to the table and being able to ar:culate that on a
regular basis and not le]ng the male club in:midate you so I know who I am.
Par:cipants also noted the social and psychologica l costs of feeling the responsibility of having to
represent all African Americans in general and all African American women in par:cular. The research
par:cipants acknowledged the pressure of maintaining an image of strength, especially in response to
stress and discrimina:on. Although they did not expressly refer to the term “Strong Black Womanhood”
(SBW), par:cipants referenced feelings of pressure to demonstrate this cultural and mul:dimensional
construct, where African American women internalize being strong to overcome oppression (e.g.,
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racism, sexism). Strong Black Womanhood or SBW schema combines both cogni:ve responses and
stress-coping behaviors, like emo:onal suppression, self -reliance, and focusing on caring for others
(Watson-Singleton, 2017). Ten of the par:cipants acknowledged this need to appear strong and
composed or poised at all :mes in the workplace.
Networking and Mentors
In the literature, having access to mentors and social networks were iden:fied as a necessity,
but also a noted challenge for many African American women (Beckwith, et al., 2016). In this study,
access to networks and mentors was recognized among the par:cipants as an important resource for
career advancement. Twelve par:cipants referred to mentoring as a sig nificant factor for African
American women’s leadership experience. According to Beckwith, et al. (2016) and Hamilton (2004), the
deficiency in social networks for African American women can cause frustra:on, produce low self -
esteem, and implicate the lack of interconnec:vity between self -esteem and upward mobility. Further
conclusions revealed social rela:onships through mentorship, sponsorships, and role model
rela:onships with dominant colleagues were vital (Rosser -Mims, 2010; Caldwell & Watkins, 2007). The
par:cipants believed that rela:onships with dominant colleagues or senior leaders could
be the catalyst to opening doors of professional opportuni:es; however, access to them
was convoluted with barriers. Ruby noted the importance of connec:ng with other African American
women networks,
But it is very important that I build connec:ons with people who look like me. One way I've
done that is just by joining our Black inclusion network and actually being an ac:ve par:cipant
and one of the people in the leadership role for that. So, it helps me to connect with women at
all levels, entry level partners and above and stuff like that.
Although the par:cipants generally supported the need for networks and mentors, they noted
difficul:es because they did not fit into the organiza:onal culture, due to stereotypes. Many feel they
65
receive less support from their managers and are less likely to have supervisors who promote their work
contribu:ons, help them navigate organiza:onal poli:cs, or socialize with them outside of work.
Resul:ng in them o)en being le) out of the informal networks that propel most high -poten:al
employees forward in their careers. They o)en lack the kind of meaningful mentorship and sponsorship
that is cri:cal for promo:on. This may not always be a conscious decision on the part of supervisors.
Many execu:ves apply the same rules when looking for employees to sponsor that they use when
seeking out new friends. They search for people who look like, think like, and act like them, with similar
life experiences. While this unconscious bias is human nature, it typically reinforces exis:ng gender and
racial biases. White Americans have, on average, 91 =mes as many white friends as black friends (Cox et
al., 2016).
Support Systems
Most of the African American women in this study believed that rela:onships with other Black
women were suppor:ve, posi:ve, and characterized by mentorship. Although these rela:onships were
mutually suppor:ve, the Black women did not specifically iden:fy the rela:onship as a resource for
career advancement. Rather, the data suggested these Black women developed a network amongst
themselves, based on cultural iden:ty. According to Harriet,
To be able to have Black friends at work? It's where I can actually talk about some of the
experiences I'm having and some of them are, you know, having that type of conversa:on, it's
definitely very valuable and I like it.
Maya noted that she regularly seeks opportuni:es to connect with other African American women in
the workplace,
I do it all the :me. I mean, it's not just a specific situa:on. I mean, as long as it's someone that
you know that I know that I can trust, depending upon the topic, the topic may ma0er. But
yeah, I do that. I do that all the :me .
66
This study appears to affirm that rela:onships amo ng Black women are important in the development of
Black female leadership. Black female networks, both formal and informal, are compelling and cri:cal
within the Black community (Rosser-Mims, 2010).
Impact of George Floyd’s Murder
Although not an interview ques:on, eight of the research par:cipants addressed the incident of
George Floyd’s murder in 2020 as having an impact upon diversity ini:a:ves, role opportuni:es, and
changes in workplace policies and approaches. According to Harriet,
Is there some combina:on like I believe I’m in my current role because of the events of George
Floyd and you know, the heightened awareness of disparity and inequality towards Black people
in general and also towards females. I do believe that's why I got this job. They wanted to show
that they're hiring people of color, and specifically Black women of color. I do believe the
posi:on I have right now is simply because they were trying to hire black females, you know .
Ruby indicated in response to George Floyd’s murder, a decision that was biased against her was
acknowledged, although it was not actually rec:fied. Ruby said,
A couple of years ago, I wanted to transfer to a different group. They said this is the way that we
typically do it. You go look for a tour, just reach out, make some connec:ons. If you find a tour,
you can do it. The person who told me had done it before. They were a manager, almost senior
manager, but they were a White woman. I followed the roadmap, and that roadmap led to
being told, ‘She can't transfer. She can't do a tour.’ But I didn't have an explana:on why I
couldn't do a tour. I followed what they told me to do, and I couldn't do it. Later on when
everything flared up with... What was the guy that was murdered by the police back in George
Floyd? George Floyd. Yeah. Once everything flared up with that, this woman reaches out and
she's very apologe:c and she says, I'm so sorry about you not being able to transfer. And looking
67
back, I see that there was a bias there. But she never said who the bias came from. All I know
was that I couldn't make the move.
The murder of George Floyd under the knee of a white police officer led to a movement for racial jus:ce
that included protests and marches around the US and pledges from large corpora: ons to improve
diversity in hiring and to address the marginaliza:on of people of color in the workplace. Some research
par:cipants noted improvement in being a ble to discuss racial issues in the workplace and two noted
ini:a:ves had been launched in their organiza:ons to improve racial dispari:es. However, five of the
research par:cipants noted that they felt their organiza:ons were beginning to “back peda l” or shy
away from their prior commitments in the wake of the Floyd murder. In 2022 at the two-year
anniversary of the Floyd murder, USA Today did an analysis of hundreds of large companies and found
that White women are 4.5 :mes more likely than African American women to hold a leadership
posi:on, based on the latest reports of employee demographics at 287 of the na:on's 500 biggest
companies provided by data firm DiversIQ. They also found that White men are almost 8 :mes as likely
as Black women to be an execu:ve and even Black men are twice as likely as Black women to hold
corporate leadership roles (Fraser & Guynn, 2022, May 25). Although DEI roles increased significantly (
55%) in 2020 following demands for racial equity and jus:ce a)er Floyd’s murder (Maurer, 2022, August
17) , instead of crea:ng sustainable opportuni:es and an equitable work culture for Black employees,
recent reports are indica:ng DEI professionals are now losing their jobs. The a0ri:on rate for DEI roles
was 33% at the end of 2022, compared to 21% for non-DEI roles. Amazon, Applebees, and Twi0er have
had DEI layoffs since July 2022 and another survey showed that Black employees represent only 3.8% of
chief diversity officers overall, with white people making up 76.1% of the roles (Maurer, 2022, August
17). This data seems to indicate the pledge to impact change a)er George Floyd was not followed by
genuine effort as the research par:cipants have also indicated.
68
Summary
The purpose of this qualita:ve study is to explore and examine the perspec:ves of African
American female leaders and to examine any types of racial and gender inequi:es they may have faced
in their roles. The study used interview ques:ons to explore f actors contribu:ng to the
underrepresenta:on of African American women in senior-level leadership posi:ons in corporate
America. The study’s research ques:ons were constructed to examine, explore, and inves:gate the
possible challenges that African Americans face in the realm of advancing to upper and senior execu:ve
leadership posi:ons in Fortune 1000 companies. Three main findings emerged: (1) Challenges that
African American women in leadership posi:ons are up against; (2) Key experiences of Afri can American
women; and (3) Coping mechanisms African American women u:lize.
It was also apparent that although professional development opportuni:es were made
available for the en:re organiza:on within the par:cipant’s respec:ve organiza:ons, there was no
special focus or no:on of necessity to develop African American women through leadership tools
focused on women, specifically African American women. Responses to the interview ques:ons
described par:cipants’ methods for succeeding in dominant c ulture organiza:ons. Consistent answers
to interview ques:ons were able to form a basis for a conclusive analysis of the experiences.
Although there has been some success for African Americans achieving upper and senior-level
leadership roles in Fortune 1000 companies, White men con:nue to control and dominate upper and
senior-level leadership posi:ons in Corporate America. Overall, all par:cipants felt that the culture in
Corporate America is one where racism and discrimina:on con:nue to play a maj or role. Pearson (2011)
stated that racism and discrimina:on con:nue to impact diversity and equal opportunity in Corporate
America even though civil rights liber:es and unions have had great success in overcoming barriers such
as racism and discrimina: on. Chapter 5 presents the analysis of the results, conclusions, and
implica:ons for future research.
69
Chapter Five: Recommenda-ons
This qualita:ve study was proposed to explore the stories chronicling the leadership journeys of
African American women. There were 12 par:cipants represen:ng Fortune 1000 organiza:ons. The
research ques:ons were designed to examine the challenges and barriers they might encounter in their
organiza:onal senior leadership role. The target popula:on for this study was women who iden:fied as
African American and held current leadership posi:ons as middle or top -level leaders. Intersec:onality,
grounded in both Black feminism and gendered racism, served as the theore:cal framework for this
narra:ve inquiry. Based on the responses from the African American female leaders, three key areas
emerged to answer the following research ques:ons: (1) What are the lived experiences of African
American women serving in leadership posi:ons in Fortune 1000 companies? (2) What coping strategies
do they use to deal with experiences of racial and/or gender microaggressions in the workplace? And (3)
What are the social, poli:cal, or environmental condi:ons that contribute to making African American
women vulnerable to under-representa:on in corporate leadership roles? The key areas that emerged
were: (a) Challenges that African American women in leadership posi:on s are up against; (b) Key
experiences of African American women; and (c) Coping mechanisms African American women u:lize to
maintain their resiliency.
The findings of this study directly relate to the experiences of African American female leaders
in tradi:onally male - dominated cultures. This study aimed to capture the unique lived experiences and
stories of par:cipants and document successes, barriers, and challenges. The goal of the findings is to
provide guidance for African American women already in leadership roles and to iden:fy barriers that
prevent them from moving to the next level. Another goal is to poten:ally provide insights for African
American women who may need guidance on a career path which could poten:ally lead to a senior
leadership role. A final goal was to poten:ally provide a roadmap for corporate organiza:ons to
70
consider to effec:vely implement diversity and inclusion ini:a:ves into their cultural norms and policy
prac:ces.
Recommenda-ons for Prac-ce
The findings of this study help to explain the problem of underrepresenta:on of African
American women in leadership roles. Recommenda:ons to address this problem of prac:ce should
account for the need for increased organiza:onal support, focus on iden:fying and decrea sing
discrimina:on against s:gma:zed groups and bring greater awareness to both overt and subtle
discrimina:on. Efforts should focus on training and ini:a:ves that address the dual bias of race and
gender, the lack of access to networks, and the absence of mentoring.
Recommenda-on 1: Provide Training and Materials on African American Women as Leaders
The dual bias of race and gender influences how African American women are viewed as
leaders. Culturally, there have been assigned specific behaviors expected of organiza:onal leaders,
which are frequently in conflict with stereotypical behaviors assigned to African American women. As
noted by the research par:cipants, e xis:ng corporate organiza:onal diversity efforts usually focus on
either gender or race. But very few focus on both gender and racial discrimina:on. So, Black women and
other women of color, facing the unique challenges from the combina:on of sexism and racism, are
o)en overlooked. Organiza:ons should commit to addressing the specifi c barriers that are holding Black
women back.
It is cri:cal for leadership and educa:onal programs to be created to represent women and
underrepresented groups, such as African American women (Rosser-Mims, 2010). Coder and Spiller
(2013) support that the lack of representa:on of women in execu:ve posi:ons may be partly a0ributed
to learning materials and content that students receive while studying management and leadership
development. It is recommended that organiza:ons be inten:onal about selec :ng leadership training
materials and ensure that literature concerning African American women in leadership is integrated into
71
leadership development programs and opportuni:es. Training for leaders should address and recognize
systemic sexism and racism. Training for leaders should also address the importance of understanding
White privilege and taking proac:ve steps to eliminate bias and be an:racist and emphasize concrete
ways that White employees can prac:ce allyship, including speaking out against discrimina:on and
advoca:ng for opportuni:es for marginalized colleagues especially African American women.
More peer-reviewed ar:cles should be wri0en to address the ongoing gendered bias of African
American women in leadership. African American women bring a unique perspec:ve to leadership , and
without more researchers inten:onally exploring leadership paradigms that reflect the full spectrum of
leaders, it is limi:ng for African American women and other marginalized groups. More rese arch also
needs to be done that includes leadership theories that are explicitly an: -racist, an: -sexist, and
intersec:onal. For future researchers, it will be important to explore ways in which applied leadership
can inform the leadership prac:ces of A frican American women and make connec:ons with majority
leaders who want to hire, support, and cul:vate Black women as leaders in the workplace.
Recommenda-on 2: Provide Access to Informal and Formal Social Networks for African American
Women
As indicated by research par:cipants, African American Women are o)en excluded from
informal social networks commonly available to male execu:ves. The inability to access informal social
networks populated largely by White males can limit access to organiza:ona l informa:on, knowledge,
and important leaders or decision makers. Access, and crea:on of formal and informal networks within
organiza:ons reinforce opportuni:es for women to build rela:onships and advocate professional
development (Catalyst, 2006). Organiza:ons should consider hiring and promo:ng African American
women in cohorts or provide opportuni:es for Black women to work together on project
teams. Crea:ng formal networks through employee resource groups specifically for Black women can
also help provide support and reduce feelings of isola:on.
72
Organiza:ons need to examine cultural norms and prac:ces that might disadvantage African
American women. Research par:cipants shared that unwri0en prac:ces were o)en the most damaging
and greatest hindrances. Organiza:ons should consider if work events are held in spaces and at :mes
that are welcoming, convenient, and inclusive. They also need to ensure that Black women are included
in key mee:ngs as well as spontaneous informal or social gath erings. It is important to ensure that
African American women have a voice in establishing and shaping organiza:onal prac:ces and norms, as
opposed to being subjected to environments that are limi:ng and/or make it difficult for them to be
heard or to par:cipate.
Also, African American women should subscribe to more informal networks to experience
opportuni:es for greater socializa:on, recogni:on, and access to advancement (Catalyst, 2006; Kiamba,
2008). It is recommended that African American women execu:ves be given opportuni:es to share their
knowledge and experiences through mentorship and other networking rela:onships to help other
African American women seeking advancement. African American women should develop a strong
network that includes coaches and mentors whose goal is to help maximize their personal and
professional poten:al. This also creates opportuni:es for valuable performance feedback. Without
feedback, organiza:on leaders leave room for African American women to feel ignored an d to stunt
their professional growth and development.
Recommenda-on 3: Create Formal Mentoring Programs for African American Women
The research findings indicate that structured mentoring programs for women of color,
especially African American women, influence career advancement. Mentors can provide guidance and
advice that they would not receive otherwise. Haslam and Ryan (2008) iden:fied lack of mentors and
support as a primary factor hindering Black women from being able to a0ain and maintain leadership
roles. African Americans lack adequate mentoring and networking opportuni:es for higher-level and
management posi:ons (EEOC, 2019). It is recommended that organiza:ons gain an understanding and
73
awareness of the difficul:es facing Black women in te rms of gaining sponsor/mentor rela:onships and
u:lizing networking to its full advantage. Corporate leaders can implement processes that recognize
quality work among promising employees and ac:vely ini:ate formal mentor and sponsor rela:onships.
Mentorship o)en provides space for two -way dialogue, a key step for learning, as well as
valuable opportuni:es to develop and grow their careers (Struggles, 2018). Building reconcilia:on and
understanding are addi:onal benefits when it comes to elimina :ng systemic challenges (Struggles,
2018). Mentorship also provides opportunity to connect, expand networks, and build rela:onships, all of
which are important precondi:ons for sponsorship (Struggles, 2018), where influen:al leaders use their
social capital to advocate opportuni:es for diverse talent. Cornell University’s School of Industrial and
Labor Rela:ons found that mentoring programs increased diverse representa:on at the management
level by 9% to 24% (compared to -2% to 18% with other diversity ini:a:ves). The same study noted that
mentoring programs also significantly improved promo:on and reten:on rates for both women and
minori:es —15% to 38% as compared to non-mentored employee groups (Struggles, 2018).
Based on the findings of the study, the researcher recommends three op:ons to provide greater
opportuni:es for mentoring by and networking with senior leaders by African American female
employees. The first op:on is to launch a one -to-one mentorship program possibly via online mentoring
pla~orms. The second op:on is to offer a leadership development program for African American female
associates who have been iden:fied as “high poten:al” during the Talent Planning process. The third
op:on is a new hire mentoring program for African American female new hires. The goal of a mentoring
program for African American women should be to support the con:nued development of Black women
in leadership roles. The program should allow par:cipants to personaliz e their experience by iden:fying
the top leadership areas of focus specific to their development needs and allow par:cipants to work on
a variety of leadership skills to increase their leadership capabili:es. Par:cipants should have regular
and consistent access to mentors through for regularly scheduled sessions. Research study par:cipants
74
expressed that their mentoring rela:onships were o)en inconsistent or based on temporary needs as
opposed to long0term development goals.
Recognizing the significant role of senior leadership in the development of African American
female execu:ves may require organiza:onal educa:on/training about diversity among senior
leadership. Another possible educa:on and training strategy is for senior leaders to u:lize execu:ve
coaches to facilitate discussions between African American female execu:ves and other senior
execu:ves. This dialogue would encourage valuing each other's experiences by building trust and
gaining an understanding of the barriers faced by African American women aspiring to be execu:ves.
Limita-ons and Delimita-ons
Simon (2011) suggested that delimita:ons are in the researcher’s control. One of the
delimita:ons of this research study is the focus of the research problem, the lack of African
American women in senior-level posi:ons in Corporate America. This area of research was chosen to
gain insight into the percep:on of African American women regarding the barriers they are experiencing
while compe:ng for and maintaining their perspec:ve leadership roles. For the leaders to par:cipate in
the study, they had to (a) be in or have been in an upper-level posi:on, (b) be open to sharing their
perspec:ves regarding the research topic, and (c) be willing to par:cipate in the intervi ew openly and
honestly. The objec:ve of this study was to provide specific informa:on about the experiences and
percep:ons of the par:cipants.
While phenomenological findings are not intended to be generalized to the larger popula:on,
the sample size of 12-15 may have limited the study. Furthermore, this study is limited by the shortage
of Black women in mid to upper-level managerial roles in Fortune 1000 companies. The lack of African
American women in these roles leads to a limited perspec:ve conce rning their underrepresenta:on.
The low numbers of African American women in leadership posi:ons also meant that each poten:al
75
par:cipant was vital to the success of the study. As such, it was challenging to iden:fy par:cipants and
the researcher had to rely upon snowball sampling.
The second limita:on was the robustness of the data. Richness of the data was con:ngent on
par:cipants’ abili:es to reflect on their pasts and effec:vely communicate their lived experiences. Self -
reported data, such as that iden:fied through interviews, may be limited by errors of a0ribu:on or
exaggera:on. The study asked par:cipants to report experiences of perceived racial and gender
discrimina:on, which cannot be validated.
The third limita:on to this study was the capacity of the researcher to bracket all her personal
biases to ensure the validity of the data. The techniques u:lized included elimina:on of personal
preferences through reflec:vity; followed by bracke:ng p ersonal biases to ensure the conclusions
reflect as closely as possible what the par:cipants meant. Despite the implementa:on of several
controls, the researcher’s acknowledged bias may also limit the quality of data interpreta:on. Further,
the qualita: ve nature of the study limits findings to the small sample studied.
The fourth limita:on was the sample size. The sample consists of African American women in
mid to upper-level managerial roles. The unique experiences of the 12 par:cipants may not repr esent all
experiences of Black women in these roles in corporate America. Because of the small sample size of this
study, the findings were limited as well as the limited :meframe for this project.
Recommenda-ons for Future Research
There are two sugges:ons for future research. First, it is suggested that research be conducted
to highlight the impact or consequences of long-term intersec:onal discrimina:on in the workplace
upon African American women. Since this study was largely affected by the Black Lives Ma0er
movement following the murder of George Floyd and other murders of Black people, it was not able to
capture what it looks like for these African American women in leadership roles when there is no
heightened a0en:on upon them. By offering a be0er understanding of the experiences and outcomes
76
of repeated discrimina:on, such as being denied promo:ons or opportuni:es, researchers may be able
to link the stress of these experiences to instances of psychological and/or physical responses such as
withdrawal.
Secondly, it is suggested that this current research be replicated with a larger sample size to
compare and contrast African American female leaders across industries to explore differences in their
experiences. The goal would be to examine if their experiences converge in some industries and diverge
in others and to analyze broader trends.
Conclusion
This qualita:ve study examined the underrepresenta:on of African American women in
corporate leadership roles by iden:fying organiza: onal barriers, including intersec:onal racial and
gender discrimina:on. The research showed that African American female leaders frequently encounter
stereotypes and degrading comments :ed to their iden::es as being both Black and female.
Furthermore, they endure the double standards of higher expecta:ons and being assigned menial work
despite the level of their leadership posi:ons. The research also showed that African American women
leaders use coping strategies, such as speaking up and over-performance, to manage the nega:ve
effects of perceived discrimina:on. Lastly, the research also demonstrated the need for African
American female role models and mentors at the execu:ve level and for organiza:ons to revise their
diversity programs to create posi:ve societal change (Bryant & Garnham, 2014; Tarmy, 2012).
Although this study highlights that there is s:ll significant progress to be made to address the
racial and gender inequi:es African American women face in corporate roles, it also demons trates the
perseverance and diligence that Black women demonstrate daily as they con:nue to fight for a seat at
the table of corporate leadership not only for themselves, but also for the younger genera:ons of Black
girls coming behind them. Despite the challenges faced by the research par:cipants, none of them saw
herself as a vic:m or as defeated. They each faced the opposi:on of racism and sexism as ba0les they
77
need to fight for not only their personal victories but also for other Black women. All the research
par:cipants expressed that they ac:vely seek and maintain rela:onships with other Black women and
look for opportuni:es to mentor others who may be more junior in their careers .
78
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Appendix A
Par:cipant Criteria Ques:onnaire
Title of Study: African American Women in Leadership Roles
Principal Inves-gator (PI): Hope Eady
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Esther Kim
Funder: University of Southern California, Rossier College of Educa:on
Par-cipant Criteria
1. I iden:fy my race as African American/Black. ● Yes
● No
2. I iden:fy as female. ● Yes
● No
3. I currently work for a Fortune 1000 company. ● Yes
● No
4. I hold a manager level or above posi:on with that
company.
● Yes
● No
5. I have been in this level of role for over three (3) years. ● Yes
● No
Print Name of Par:cipant
Signature of Par:cipant Date
Month/Day/Year
91
Appendix B
Informed Consent for African American Women in Leadership Roles
PART ONE: INFORMATION SHEET
Title of Study: African American Women in Leadership Roles
Principal Inves-gator (PI): Hope Eady
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Esther Kim
Funder: University of Southern California, Rossier College of Educa:on
Introduc-on
You are being invited to take part in this research study as a part of the requirements for at doctoral
program at the University of Southern California. This study is being conducted by Hope Eady, a doctoral
candidate at the Rossier College of Educa:on.
Purpose
I am conduc:ng a study on the problem of racism and sexism as majo r contributors to the
underrepresenta:on of African American women in leadership roles. African American women are
faced with both racial and gender-based discrimina:on. This intersec:onality of social iden::es also
creates a unique lived experience, which should be examined through the lens of understanding the
cumula:ve effects. I am par:cularly interested in understanding how this intersec:on of iden::es
compounds the impact that race and gender discrimina:on might have independently.
Study Procedures
If you take part in the study, you will be asked to par:cipate in an interview session las:ng
approximately one (1) hour. You will be asked ques:ons about your past experiences.
Benefits
As a par:cipant in this research study, there may not be any direct benefit for you; however,
informa:on from this study may benefit other people now or in the future.
Risks
92
We will do our best to protect the informa:on we collect from you during this study . We will not
collect any informa:on that will iden:fy you to further protect your confiden:ality and avoid any
poten:al risk for an accidental breach of confiden:ality.
Costs
There will be no costs to you for par:cipa:on in this research study.
Compensa-on
You will not be paid for taking part in this study.
Confiden-ality
All informa:on collected about you during this study will be stored without any iden:fiers
(anonymous).No one will be able to match you to your answers.
Voluntary Par-cipa-on/Withdrawal
We are asking you to share with us some very personal and confiden:al informa:on, and you may
feel uncomfortable talking about some of the topics. You do not have to answer any ques:on if you
don't wish to do so. Taking part in this study is voluntary. You are free to not answer any ques:ons
or withdraw at any :me. You may choose not to take part in this study, or if you decide to take part,
you can change your mind later and withdraw from the study.
Ques-ons
If you have any ques:ons about this study now or in the future, you may cont act me (Hope Eady) at
the following phone number [678-392-9781].
Please print this informa:on sheet for your records before con:nuing.
PART TWO: CERTIFICATE OF CONSENT
I have read the foregoing informa:on, or it has been read to me. I have had the oppor tunity to ask
ques:ons about it and any ques:ons that I have asked, have been answered to my sa:sfac:on. I
consent voluntarily to be a par:cipant in this study.
93
Print Name of Par:cipant
Signature of Par:cipant Date
Month/Day/Year
94
Appendix C
I. Introduc-on:
Thank you for agreeing to par:cipate in my study. I appreciate the :me that you have set aside to
answer my ques:ons. As I men:oned, the interview should take about an hour, does that s:ll work for
you?
[Before we get started, I want to remind you about this study, the overview for which was provided to
you in the Study Informa:on Sheet and answer any ques:ons you might have about par:cipa:ng in this
interview. I am a student at USC and am conduc:ng a study on African American women in leadership
roles in Fortune 1000 organiza:ons. I am par:cularly interested in understanding the impact of
experiences of both racism and sexism. I am talking to mul:ple Af rican American female leaders to learn
more about this. I am also going to interview them to gain further informa:on from their perspec:ves.
I want to assure you that I am strictly wearing the hat of researcher today. What this means is that the
nature of my ques:ons is not evalua:ve. My goal is to understand your perspec:ve.
As stated in the Study Informa:on Sheet I provided to you previously, this interview is confiden-al .
What that means is that your name will not be shared with anyone outside of the research team. The
data for this study will be compiled into a report and while I do plan on using some of what you say as
direct quotes, none of this data will be directly a0ributed to you. I will use a pseudonym to protect your
confiden:ality and will de-iden-fy any of the data I gather from you. I am happy to provide you with a
copy of my final paper if you are interested.
As stated in the Study Informa:on Sheet, I will keep the data in a password protected computer and all
data will be destroyed a)er 3 years.]
95
Might you have any ques-ons about the study before we get started? I will be recording our Zoom
session today so that I can accurately capture what you share with me. The recording is solely for my
purposes to best capture your perspec:ves and will not be shared with anyone outside the research
team. May I have your permission to record our conversa:on?
II. Segng the Stage:
I’d like to start by asking you some background ques0ons about you.
1. First, tell me about your background in working with corporate organiza:ons.
a. How did you become interested in working with corporate organiza:ons?
b. How long have you worked in the field?
c. What roles or posi:ons have you held?
2. What is your current role?
a. Tell me about your role in the organiza:on.
III. Heart of the Interview:
I’d like to ask you about your experiences.
1. What is your percep:on of your leaders hip experience as an African American woman in
corporate organiza:ons? (RQ1)
2. How, if at all, has your gender impacted your career experiences? (RQ1)
a. If so, how did you respond when you became aware of the discrimina:on?
b. What did you do to help you cope?
3. How, if at all, has your race impacted your career experiences? (RQ1)
a. If so, how did you respond when you became aware of the discrimina:on?
b. What did you do to help you cope?
4. Describe any differences or similari:es in the journey to leadership based on one’s race?
(RQ1)
96
5. Describe any differences or similari:es in the journey to leadership based on one’s gender?
(RQ1)
6. What progressive posi:ons or work skills do you see as cri:cally important in developing
African American women for leadership roles? (RQ2)
7. What training, if any, does your organiza:on offer to help African American women who want
senior posi:ons? (RQ3)
8. Please provide an example of stereotypes you have encountered during your career, if any.
(RQ1)
a. Did you address that instance? How was the instance handled?
9. How, if at all, has being an African American woman in your posi:on affected the way you
perform your job? (RQ1)
a. Do you believe employees respond to you differently because of your ethnicity or
gender?
b. Why or why not?
c. If so, how is the response different?
d. Give an example of when this occurred.
10. How, if at all, have diversity ini:a:ves assisted your career progression? (RQ3)
11. What are the knowledge/skills/abili:es necessary for African American women to succeed in
leadership posi:ons?
a. Are these different from or the same as for men or Whites? (RQ3)
12. What policies or prac:ces need to be stopped, revoked, or rescinded to remedy the under -
representa:on of African American women? (RQ3)
13. Have you experienced barriers to advancing into leadership? If so, what were they? (RQ1)
14. What advice do you have for African American women interested in senior leadership
posi:ons? (RQ2)
15. How important to you, if at all, is it that you develop close rela:onships with other African
American women / people of color in your organiza:on? (RQ2/3)
16. In what situa:ons would you turn to an African American person internally for support? (RQ2)
17. How, if at all, do white people or men in your organiza:on support you? (Either emo:onally
or task-related?) (RQ3)
97
18. Do you have a professional coach or mentor?
a. Tell me a li0le more about these rela:onships (i.e., How o)en are you i n contact?
How have these rela:onships changed over :me?) (RQ3)
IV. Closing Ques-on:
What other insight would you like to share about our conversa:on about African American women
serving in leadership roles in corporate organiza:ons today that I might not have covered?
V. Closing Comments:
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me today! I really appreciate your :me and
willingness to share. Everything that you have shared is helpful for my study. If I find myself with a
follow-up ques:on, may I contact you, and if so, is email ok? Again, thank you for par:cipa:ng in my
study.
Abstract (if available)
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Eady, Hope Yolanda
(author)
Core Title
The underrepresentation of African American women in corporate leadership roles
School
Rossier School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education
Degree Program
Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)
Degree Conferral Date
2023-08
Publication Date
09/01/2023
Defense Date
07/31/2023
Publisher
Los Angeles, California
(original),
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
African American women,black feminism theory,concrete ceiling,corporate leadership,engendered racism,Fortune 1000 companies,glass ceiling,intersectionality,OAI-PMH Harvest,phenomenological study,racism,sexism,underrepresentation
Format
theses
(aat)
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Kim, Esther (
committee chair
), Phillips, Jennifer (
committee member
), Stephens, Lenese (
committee member
)
Creator Email
heady@usc.edu,hopeeady@gmail.com
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC113302909
Unique identifier
UC113302909
Identifier
etd-EadyHopeYo-12298.pdf (filename)
Legacy Identifier
etd-EadyHopeYo-12298
Document Type
Dissertation
Format
theses (aat)
Rights
Eady, Hope Yolanda
Internet Media Type
application/pdf
Type
texts
Source
20230901-usctheses-batch-1089
(batch),
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Access Conditions
The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright.
Repository Name
University of Southern California Digital Library
Repository Location
USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA
Repository Email
cisadmin@lib.usc.edu
Tags
black feminism theory
concrete ceiling
corporate leadership
engendered racism
Fortune 1000 companies
glass ceiling
intersectionality
phenomenological study
racism
sexism
underrepresentation