Micro aggression: Through The Lens of African Women
“With the intersection of their marginalised identities of race and gender, Black women are particularly vulnerable to negative stereotypes that create barriers to career advancement[1]”. Aisha Holder, Ph.D.,a Psychologist at Columbia University.
Dr Holder’s words capture the uncomfortable reality for African women who have found themselves questioning why they didn’t get that promotion after recurrent setbacks or why they were accused of being aggressive when simply asserting their opinions. It is these ‘subtle prejudices’, sometimes intangible and often difficult to describe, that were recently the subject of discussion among the members of Grace, our safe space for African women who believe in transformation through sharing and solution-finding.
While experiences are undoubtedly personal and unique, patterns which form in the collective are more difficult to ignore. Here are three:
Challenges to authority. The Fortune 500 list has only two African-American, female CEOs: Thasunda Duckett of TIAA and Roz Brewer of Walgreens. And prior to that, Ursula Burns, former CEO of Xerox, became the first African-American female CEO of a Fortune 500 company in 2009: the list of America’s leading companies was first created in 1955. In the UK, the picture is just as bleak: of the 100 largest companies, indexed on the Financial Times Stock Exchange, none of the CEOs, chairpersons nor chief financial officers are of African descent at all, let alone female. In Africa, the picture is marginally better regionally – an estimated 5% of CEO positions are female[2]yet when dissected further, we see more progress. In Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, 9.3% of CEOs and 18% of board directors in Nigerian Stock Exchange listed companies are women[3]. But once these formidable women have broken through the concrete - rather than the glass- ceiling, inspiring confidence in a wider cross-section of stakeholders can be another hurdle. Some women have described that this can look like repeatedly ignored emails, a lack of responsiveness to requests for support or deliverables or even the bypassing of female line managers for approvals.
Accusations of aggression. Burns once said, “I didn’t learn to be quiet when I had an opinion”. Yet so often, speaking up for oneself, calling it out if something is going wrong or being an advocate for change can be misconstrued as being aggressive or even worse, bullying. This can have the negative effect of causing disengagement, disillusionment or even lead to quitting a job[4].
Barriers to entry. Attitudes which amplify racial or gender difference negatively, whether directly or indirectly, are barriers which serve to exclude. This could be attitudes around black hair and the mischaracterisation of certain hairstyles or an unconscious (and conscious) bias towards concepts of beauty which don’t fit a particular mould. Author and career development specialist Minda Harts describes a conversation with a recruiter who admitted that she would rather hire an African woman who had ponytail than one who had an afro, because the former was “clean cut[5]”.
Conclusion – Work to be done
A more diverse and inclusive workplace makes for greater harmony and studies have shown that it leads to more healthy bottom line[6].
But with the figures as stark as they are, it is clear that the journey has only just begun. There is a great opportunity to delve behind the figures to understand why the world is in its infancy when it comes to redressing the imbalance and to consider what solutions are available both individually and collectively.
For instance, in our meeting, participants discussed individual strategies of mindfulness, spirituality and confidence-building; the importance of educating the next generation around the dinner table and at the workplace, the need for robust complaints procedures and more inclusive work socials.
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[1]https://www.fordham.edu/info/26103/gse_centennial_lecture_series/9424/racial_microaggression_experiences_and_coping_strategies_of_black_women_in_corporate_leadership
[2]https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Featured%20Insights/Women%20matter/Women%20matter%20Africa/Women%20Matter%20Africa%20August%202016.ashx
[3]www.songhaiadvisory.com
[4]https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2019/05/31/overcoming-the-angry-black-woman-stereotype/?sh=a12871fce455
[5]https://kissyat.medium.com/look-inside-look-up-celebrating-african-women-on-international-womens-day-f44bf1822eb6
[6]https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Featured%20Insights/Women%20matter/Women%20matter%20Africa/Women%20Matter%20Africa%20August%202016.ashx