If you are a working mom during this pandemic, you certainly have been brutalized by this pandemic. From the lack of childcare to the exodus of women from the workforce, not to mention the astounding and growing imbalance of weight of household chores, the impact of this national crisis for women are mind-blowing. However, due to systemic inequalities affecting Black women, the latter have suffered compounded consequences of this motherhood pandemic within the larger pandemic we’re faced with. Black working moms are struggling at historical rates, and we cannot remain silent…
According to the April 2020 McKinsey “COVID-19: Investing in Black Lives and Livelihoods” report, African-Americans constitute especially vulnerable populations in the face of the pandemic. Black women in particular have to deal with an exacerbated dual burden both on the home and labor front, compounded with quarantine restrictions, school closures, childcare scarcity and household-related stress. This also increases the risks of domestic violence, as it is reported four in ten black women tend to suffer from domestic violence at the hands of an intimate partner, as compared to three in ten white women. Black women are also more prone to suffering from health issues and be affected by high maternal mortality rates, which has only been exacerbated by the pandemic.
While women occupy most of the occupations that have suffered the most from the pandemic, Black women held a disproportionate portion of these jobs. As a result, they also have experienced the most acute unemployment jumps and related gaps. Employment for Black women fell 18.2% for Black women, as compared to 16.7% for white women. In addition, Black and Latina women are most likely to either be the sole breadwinner in their families, or have their partners work outside of the home during the pandemic. Women have lost 1.28 jobs for every job loss by a male, and the recovery is not looking promising either with Black women returning to work 1.5 times slower than their white counterparts. While 71% of white women are reporting having enough income, only 52% of Black women are saying the same.
So how can we help?
Here are 22 organizations helping Black moms and families that can help:
Black Career Women’s Network: This leading national career development platform is dedicated to enhancing the professional growth of Black women;
National Coalition of 100 Black Women: Formed in 1981, this organization advocates for Black women in the areas of education, health and economic empowerment.
Black Women’s Health Imperative: Standing for health equality for all Black women and girls, this is the only national non-profit of its nature.
National Congress of Black Women: This non-profit institution invests in the educational, political and cultural growth of Black women and youth;
National Black Women’s Justice Institute: This organization’s mission is to reduce, through research and capacity building, racial and gender disparities in the U.S. criminal system.
National Council of Negro Women: Started in 1935 by Mary McLeod Bethune, this organization reached nearly 4 million Black women and has more than 30 affiliated Black women’s organizations.
The Black Women’s Agenda: This DC-based non-profit started in 1977 is committed to sharing and educating on social, economic and civil liberties affecting Black women.
National Association of Colored Women’s Club: This association of women of color is dedicated to uplifting women and families through their focus on community service, scholarship, and education.
Black Girls Code: This non-profit organization’s vision is to increase the number of women of color in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
The Loveland Foundation: This foundation provides therapy and other mental health resources For Black girls and women, and is headed by founded Rachel Cargle.
Sister Love: Sister Love’s mission is to “eradicate the adverse impact of HIV, sexual and reproductive health rights, and justice challenges” facing women.
Black Mamas Matter: Black Mamas Matter is a movement to advance black maternal health.
The National Birth Equity Collective: Helping Black children reach their first birthday and reducing the alarming Black maternal mortality rates is the goal of this organization.
Black Women’s Roundtable: This organization works to purse public policies to benefit Black women in areas related to health and wellness, education, economic security and empowerment.
Black Women’s Blueprint: This social justice organization provides access to resources for Black women to advocate against intersectionality issues.
Sista Midwife: Sista Midwife provides a directory of Black midwives and doulas, as research shows Black women using a Black midwife are at lower risk of C-section or preterm birth.
Black Women’s Wellness: Centered on empowering Black women through healing, empowerment and advocacy, this organization is based in Los Angeles.
Girl Trek: Girl Trek is a national health movement for Black women to change their lives through walking .
The Black Feminist Project: This project uses food and reproductive justice programming to empower Black women and girls.
The Black Youth Project 100: The Black Youth Project fights for freedom and justice for all, more specifically for Black women, girls, and the LGBTQ+ community.
National Black Child Development Institute: This institute works with Black children from birth to age 8 to offer them a brighter future through health and wellness education, literacy programs, and college readiness.
Black working moms are in crisis, and we ought to help. If you would like to add any organization or statistics to this list, please email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com.
Authenticity has become quite the buzzword lately. So much revolves around being more authentic, showing up as your “real” self, being more “real”…All you have to do is pop open any social media platform, from Instagram to Facebook, to come face-to-face with some deep, or deeply funny, quote or meme about being more authentic and less “fake”…Needless to say, if you struggle with uncertainty or doubts about your authentic self, this is bound to make you slightly uncomfortable. Even worse, if you happen to be a Black working woman dealing with the double-bind of authenticity in and outside of the workplace, it’s bound to make you stir in place, and possibly tighten your chest a bit. Being “real” is all good and well most of the time, but can you really be “real” at work as a Black professional woman?
I distinctively remember my very first week at my very first “real” job, as a freshly minted new graduate with fresh new credentials, new shoes and a new Ann Taylor blouse (I couldn’t afford the whole suit just yet). While all the new freshly minted recruits introduced themselves, sharing personal stories about their families, dogs and where they were from, I was racking my brain trying to figure out what I would and would not share. I was one of a few Black women in the room. I was born in a beautiful place that happened to be across the Atlantic Ocean. And my name not exactly Jane or John. I was different. And I didn’t know whether I could really be real at work…
If you’re reading this and nodding your head because you went through a similar experience, then you know how challenging being authentic in the workplace can be. Despite it being touted as the ultimate thing to be, it doesn’t come easy for many minorities, especially for Black women at work.
According to the 2020 Mc Kinsey Women in the Workplace report, women of color, especially Black women, have been consistently underrepresented in senior management for the sixth year in a row for reasons other than attrition alone. They also face more challenges as they make their way up the corporate ladder, lagging behind for reasons such as lack of support and access to senior leadership, as well as other factors. After Xerox’s ex-CEO Ursula Burns’ exit, Rosalind Brewer is now the only Black woman currently heading a Fortune 500 company in the United States, after taking on the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) on March 15, 2021. Even still, Brewer is only the third Black woman to serve as CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
Authentic leadership theory argues when organizational leaders are aware of and act upon their true beliefs, values and strengths, while helping others do the same, they also contribute to higher well-being levels and increased employee performance. While authenticity is hailed as a significant business advantage, contributing to employee well-beingthrough increased job satisfaction, decreased work stress, and stress symptoms, and spurring innovation and creativity,its benefits still largely elude Black women at work. As a matter of fact, sociological research demonstrates tensions between what authenticity truly means in terms of the true self, and social constructions of black authenticity, leading to a “hybridized black authenticity”. As such, Black women are faced with having to juggle multiple ideals of authenticity, struggling with combining “raceless’ and race-specific expectations. Quite the juggle, if you ask me…
So can you really be real at work as a Black woman? It’s a loaded question, and one that begs further exploration at both the personal and organizational level. Above all, what is crucial here is to understand that authenticity for Black women at work is not just a matter of showing up as you are, or even bringing your whole self to work. It’s a matter of walking the tightrope of a hybrid concept and understanding of authenticity that requires us to constantly toggle between what it means to be oneself, and what it means to be a Black woman. Or at least what society has constructed in both scenarios…
Can you really be real as a Black woman at work? Let us know your insights and share your stories in the comments or by emailing us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
“Who am I professionally?” I remember asking myself this question the very first time I attended a networking event and had to answer the question: “So, what do you do?” I also remember asking myself this same question at every critical turn of my life and career, when the need to define or re-define a new professional as a working woman would become an urgent quest. More recently, the question has popped up in the midst of a global pandemic that has blurred the line between work and home, health and disease, and safety and the lack thereof.
This is a question you may have asked yourself throughout your career, or have been faced with through interactions with and inquiries from others. Most importantly, this is a call you may have had to answer at decisive moments in your life and work and as you grow and evolve closer to your purpose. As a working woman and/or a working mom, you may struggle with this continuously during the current pandemic we all find ourselves in.
As crucial as it is to develop our personal identities, defining our professional ones play a central role in our careers. Prior research defines professional identity as “one’s professional self-concept based on attributes, beliefs, values, motives and experiences” (H., 1999). The Institute for Advancement of the American Legal System defines one’s professional identity as “how to bring your personal values into your profession so that you don’t lose your sense of self.” However, research also shows that while professional roles can provide their holders with a sense of privilege and even prestige, stigmatized individuals such as working women during the COVID-19 pandemic, may not benefit from this privilege. This makes it crucial for working women to define new, more compelling professional identities in light of the unique times and challenges we’re currently facing.
Here are 3 steps to develop a new professional identity as a working woman during and after the pandemic:
Leverage your skills, not your weaknesses
Traditional professional identities may have had many, if not most of us, majoring in minors as we focused on our weaknesses more than we did ourskills. However, faced with the scarcity imposed by a global health crisis of epic proportions, it becomes more important than ever to gain time, efficiency and impact by focusing on our strengths.
Assess your skills: What are your strong areas? What do you excel at? What comes to you naturally? What skills have you acquired over time? Assessing your strengths is the first step towards re-building a professional identity that zooms in on what you’re good at, as opposed to your average skills or even your weak areas.
Package your skills: How can you package your skills into a product or service worth selling? Whether it is a product or service for your business, or a set of skills providing you with a competitive advantage as an employee, packaging what you are good at is at the center of your new, most effective professional identity.
Put yourself out there!
Gone are the days when working women were relegated to the back of the room, working in silence and utter oblivion. What these unique times have shown us, is that in times of challenges, women create change! From women heads of states who have successfully confronted the pandemic in their countries, to women rising up to make history in politics and various industries, we’ve seen progress happen through female leadership in times of crisis.
Let go of the fear to be excellent: Excellence can be scary for working women, who have long been discouraged to take the lead in their fields. A new, reinvented professional identity also involves coming out of the professional shadows to unapologetically show your excellence.
Build your tribe: Professional impact is not achieved alone. It takes a village to create impactful change, growth and progress. Part of working women’s re-invented professional identities entails the creation of positive, fruitful networks of excellence.
Re-imagine your lifestyle!
Live on purpose: Your professional identity is not an entity separate from your personal identity. Your life is a whole. As such, all its various parts are inter-dependent. As you operate in excellence at work, you also have to commit to living on purpose in all other areas of your life.
Use your time purposely: Time is your most precious commodity. As a working woman and mom, you know all too well how many demands weigh on your time. Hence why it is crucial to re-imagine a life and identity where time is used in an impactful way.
How will you re-invent your professional identity as a working woman?
In 2020, we all learned to survive in the face of a global health pandemic, an economic crisis and the unfortunate losses of so many of the advances accomplished in diversity and gender equity. Now in 2021, we learn to reinvent ourselves and strive, what with all the lessons, insights and feedback we keep receiving from this season of challenge and learning.
As working women and moms especially, we’ve experienced the brunt of this crisis, both at work and on the home front. Faced with the necessity of working remotely, the unfortunate loss of jobs, and the need to homeschool children and shoulder the majority of household responsibilities, we’ve had to find ways to reinvent the way we think about and do things. Our entire concept of what constitutes normalcy has been turned upside down, leaving us to re-create the foundation of our work and lives.
Whether we’re working from home or re-entering the workplace physically, or looking for a new job or career, this year is truly the year where we reinvent the way we work and live. As we make a plan for it, here are 3 steps to keep in mind:
Overhaul your mindset: In any plan, your mindset comes first. How you think, how you view yourself and the world affects everything you do. I’ve learnt you can have everything, but if your mindset is not up to par, you won’t be able to sustain or enjoy much.
Make a plan to have a mental and spiritual daily practice in place. It may be praying, meditating or just spending some time alone daily. For me, it’s prayer and having a few minutes to myself daily (even if I have to lock myself in the bathroom or spend a few extra minutes in the car J)
Establish a journaling habit. Remember how we talked on Day 1 about identifying your predominant beliefs and steering away from negative ones? Documenting my thought patterns and mindset has helped me continue to gain the clarity I need to identify the mind blocks standing in my way.
Plan to seek the help you need. It may be therapy, or identifying like-minded people around you.
Plan to adjust your lifestyle: Reinventing yourself is also reinventing your habits and the way you live. It doesn’t need to be drastic, but a little change every day goes a long way.
Prioritize the tasks aligned with your strengths. Remember the strengths assessment we did on Day 2? The tasks you do that are aligned with your strengths and bring you the most energy should have a place on your daily schedule, and ideally be prioritized if you can. I understand it may not be 100% possible at first, but starting to work on it starts opening doors of possibilities and attracting the right opportunities to you.
Create more time: Transformation requires time. Plan to create more time in your schedule by waking up earlier for instance. On Day 2, you identified some activities not aligned with your strengths, which can be HUGE time-stealers. By eliminating some of these, you can also create MORE time for yourself.
Plan to reconsider your network: Who you attach yourself to will help or hinder your reinvention process. Take a look at your contacts: are the last 5 people you called or texted aligned with your new, ideal vision of your life and desires you described on Day 3? If not, you may need to re-work your network.
Recharge your career: The work you do is not separate from your life, contrary to public opinion. Work should be meaningful, fulfilling and purposeful, for it to have a positive and healthy impact on you.
Take a look at the careers aligned with your desires and strengths you may have listed on Day 3. Which ones can you plan to transition to?
If transitioning to a new career is not on your radar, which activities that are part of your current job can you prioritize or steer towards?
Make networking a priority: Prioritize meeting new people who are more aligned with your new vision of the career.
Are you creating your Career Reinvention Plan in 2021?
If you have ever wondered what you can do in your career to pave the way for other women, aside from being there as a working woman yourself, you are not alone. As working women, many, if not most of us, are keenly aware of the challenges we face in the workplace, from lack of gender equity to the glass ceiling and pay gap. As we strive to overcome these challenges and ascend to higher levels, we also aspire to give back by sharing what we’ve learnt along the way and hold the door open for our fellow working women coming alongside and behind us.
Yet, the question often arises as to how exactly, other than through our own examples, we can open doors for other women at work.
We all have different ways of working and relating to others. As such, we may serve our fellow working women in different ways, none better than the other, all effective at unlocking the gates of success for all. In my own career, I’ve had the privilege of benefiting from the experience, wisdom and extraordinary compassion of other women who have shepherded me along my path, each in their own way. I have learnt from them that there are many ways of paying it forward to other women, and turning open the hard locks sealing closed so many of the career doors standing in their way.
Here are 7 ways to open doors for other women at work:
Invite other women into your network
Do you see a woman around you who has great potential? Does one of the women in your department, company, or institution do exceptional work? There may be an opportunity for you to get to know her better, and possibly tell your friends about her, share her story, and help her obtain bigger and better opportunities.
Serve as a mentor
Mentoring is one of the most powerful ways to overcome gender inequity, especially for women who are still ascending to the top of their careers. These are the women who desperately need to learn from other women who have been there before them, and have successfully passed the same or similar tests they are facing. Mentoring these women can not only take them to the next level, but also reveal new and overlooked talent.
Champion other mentors by being a sponsor
While a mentor can come from a different company or industry, a sponsor tends to be more internal and act more proactively to endorse and provide opportunities for an individual. Sponsoring other women is particularly powerful as it allows for increased opportunities for females as well as more female leadership.
Create a community
Too often, women do not feel welcome in their organizations, and/or at higher levels of influence. Opening spheres of influence, and formerly closed doors to female leadership, has the potential of fostering stronger communities of belonging. By doing this, diversity and inclusion can become larger than inanimate policies and procedures, but real human communities.
Be a change agent
So often, as working women, we may experience a sense of guilt as we work on our own careers. We may feel that our efforts are too focused on us, and are not contributing to elevating other women. However, every time we reach a milestone, every time we sit at the table, enter the room or voice our opinion, we’re registering yet another win for other women. Just by being in the room, we are change agents, thus creating the opportunity for others to do the same and even better.
Share your story
Women’s stories are powerful. They are the fabric of our society, the rhythm of our communities and the voices of our people. However, too often, they get muted and silenced by fear, conformism, and lack of focus.
Sharing our stories as working women is yet another way of hurling the door of opportunity open for so many women, eagerly waiting to see their own stories validated, believed and reinforced.
Believe women
Last but not least, listen to the women around you. Believe their stories and testimonies, and allow them to have a voice where they may not have been authorized to do so before. This may mean welcoming another woman to the table, advocating for another woman, or sharing another woman’s business or resources.
How will you be opening doors for other women at work?
