Intersectional Insights From First and/or Only Black Women Leaders in Large Corporations

• In Event: The Intersectionality of Gender and Inclusion: The Experiences of Women in Leadership

Short Description

The Lean In.org (2020) report summarized the situation in corporations as "women leaders have it worse than men, women of color have a worse experience than White women, and Black women have the worst experience of all" (p. 3). Does the experience of Black women differ from that of their Black male and White female peers? Intersectionality as a conceptual theory argues the experience of a Black woman is different from the combination of a Black man and that of a White woman (Collins, 1996; Crenshaw, 1989). Black women are Black and women. I liken it to the combination of the colors red and blue. It is no longer red and blue; it is distinctively purple. The same can be said of Black women, they are not the simple addition of being Black and being a woman. The summation of the parts and their experiences are distinctly different, like the vibrant purple that emerges from the combination of red and blue. My research conducted in 2022 with 20 Black women who achieved executive levels in 29 Fortune 1000 corporations investigated the experiences identified as the most impactful on their career advancement journeys. The significance of that study and the focus of this conference proposal is to increase the understanding of the experiences that fuel the long-standing problem of insufficient career advancement of corporate Black women to executive-level positions.

Key Takeaway 1: Career advancement of Black women to the CEO position in large corporations achieved a milestone in 2009 with the appointment of Ursula Burns to CEO at the Xerox corporation. Recent results are disappointing, and only three additional Black women have been appointed CEO of a Fortune 1000 corporation since 2009.

Key Takeaway 2: The experience of being the first and,or the only Black person, Black woman, or woman has a significant impact on the career advancement experience and requires intentional actions by the women and their leadership to support their coping, meaning-making, and career advancement.

Key Takeaway 3: The low level of awareness and lack of open discussion about the uniqueness of the leadership experience of Black women by leadership in general and diversity,equity,and inclusion professionals as aopposed to the experience of all Black or all women leaders has serious implications and must be addressed.

Streams and Specialties: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging - DEIB for a Thriving Future

Participant

• Pamela Viscione, Leadership & Change Consulting, LLC CEO & President of Leadership & Change Consulting, LLC
  Presenter