As we enter Black History Month, we’re presented with an opportunity to reflect on the realities of accomplished leaders who continue to face systemic barriers and to highlight some of the Black scholars shining a light on racial inequality across business and society.

Black women in the workforce face distinct hurdles that require collective attention and action to dismantle. Many of us will be familiar with economic racial disparities, among them a pay gap where Black women earn only 63.7 cents for every dollar made by a white man. Despite persistent obstacles, including a lack of mentorship and feedback, a dearth of role models, and discrimination in hiring and promotion, we consistently see Black women excel in their chosen fields and rise to leadership positions.

Multiple studies show that Black women in leadership positions are held to different and higher standards than white women and leaders of other racial identities. Black women leaders also often lack the support that white peers have access to. At the same time, organizations often look to Black women to lead at times of great change, scrutiny, or tumult. It’s no wonder that many feel they are held to impossible standards without the benefit of tools and resources that more privileged groups can lean on. This “Glass Cliff Effect,” in which organizations are eager to center Black women in leadership, but often reluctant to give them full-throated public support or challenge cultures that undermine them, reinforces pernicious messages about who really belongs in top jobs.

It has long been known that Black women have to work many times harder for a fraction of the recognition. What factors and forces contribute to this uneven playing field?

  • In “The Plight of the Black Academic,” Professor Adia Wingfield, President of the American Sociological Association, describes the excess mental and emotional labor performed by Black faculty, particularly Black women faculty, whose authority and credibility are often questioned inside and outside the classroom.
    • Professor Wingfield points to findings that indicate when Black faculty members conduct research on topics related to race, they are seen as less serious or insignificant academic contributors.
  • RGE Executive Fellow Deepa Purushothaman writes for Fortune about the “inclusion delusion,” wherein society under-recognizes the contributions of Black women (and other women of color), while expecting them to demonstrate gratitude for opportunities. Purushothaman calls out this pattern for contributing to the missed promotions, career stagnation, and short tenures that tax the well-being of Black women at work.

When considering Black women who have made it to the top of their respective fields, what barriers persist that prevent them from thriving in their positions?

  • What insights can we learn from these leaders to chip away at these barriers?
  • How can white and non-Black colleagues reflect on biases that might hinder their own development as agents of equality?
  • How Career Barriers Impact Black Women

Obstacles crop up in a variety of ways. A body of research has explored how Black women are asked to leave parts of their identity at the door when entering white-dominated workplaces and expected to prioritize the comfort of their non-Black colleagues over their own. When Black women feel compelled to spend inordinate time and energy managing and curating their behaviors to fit an unwelcoming status quo, their talents and abilities go underutilized—diminishing their own careers and the organizations losing out on their full contributions.

Success Strategies From Black Women in Leadership

What can we learn from Black women about how these barriers can be overcome? Navigating the intersection of gendered and racial biases requires a set of attributes that Black women leaders learn to develop. Understanding these attributes, and recognizing that many are traits that enhance leadership, may help us shift the conventional image of a leader.

  • In a study of Black women in senior executive roles, Professors Laura Morgan Roberts and David Thomas, together with HBS Professors Robin Ely and Anthony Mayo, found that Black women in leadership positions exhibited three key traits: emotional intelligence, authenticity, and agility. They cultivated compassion to read others’ emotional responses in the workplace, and strengthened their sense of identity to remain both genuine and resilient.
  • In Harvard Business Review, interviews with 59 Black women executives reveal that becoming acutely aware of their strengths helped them embrace visibility in their organizations, take the right risks, and eventually become mentors to junior members of their workplace.
  • At RGE’s 2018 research symposium, Alexis Smith Washington presented findings on Black women sometimes turning ‘glass cliff’ moments to their advantage, taking on crisis leadership as a calculated risk with potential upsides.


Approaching Allyship Effectively

Many non-Black allies are aware of the challenges their Black peers face in the workplace, but find it complicated to know how to be an effective ally. The good news is that there are steps that anyone can take to support Black women around them and help transform workplace cultures to truly value and recognize their talents.

  • HBS Racial Equity Fellow and Wharton professor Stephanie Creary presents a framework for allyship called LEAP:
    • L - Looking, Listening, Learning, and Locating Oneself
    • E - Engaging in Discussions
    • A - Asking Probing Questions
    • P - Providing Support

  • There are varying degrees to which one can embody the LEAP framework, but the most effective is what Professor Creary calls Radical Behavior. This requires us to de-center our own experiences to make space for those who have been overlooked.
  • It means:
    • Self-reflecting without caveats, guilt, or defensiveness
    • Collaborating with peers, especially Black women, to challenge harmful practices; and finally,
    • Using existing systemic privilege to advocate for long-term change.