The Dual Role of Women In Corporate America  

MELODY FOGARTY

The most acutely affected group of people in corporate leadership are black women. We can agree, as confirmed by Forbes (October 21, 2022) "Black Women Leaders Are More Ambitious but Less Supported At Work, McKinsey And Lean In Study Finds," [that their] findings reveal a disturbingly consistent trend among the more than 40,000 employees surveyed. Specifically,

 ⦁ 20% of Black women leaders experienced “having someone say or imply that you’re not qualified” compared to 12% for all women and 6% for all men.

⦁ 38% of Black women leaders experienced “being mistaken for someone at a lower level” compared to 26% for all women and 13% for all men.

⦁ 55% of Black women leaders experienced “having your judgement questioned” compared to 39% for all women and 28% for all men.   

Frustratingly, Black women also ranked dead last in their experience of manager support—managers showing interest in their career, checking in on their well-being and promoting inclusion—as compared to other identities including men, all women, LGBTQ women, women with disabilities, white women, Asian women, and Latinas. Similarly, Black women ranked near last in experiencing sponsorship and allyship as well as psychological safety."

Yet, African American women lead 70% of their households in either the capacity of primary income provider or decision maker or both. The stress to be successful in corporate America is high and higher the more you climb up the ladder of leadership.  The stress comes from the dual role of women in leadership.

Women have two main roles in leadership transformational thought leadership and acting as role model. As a result, women spend a large part of their time coaching and inspiring their teams. They tend to use contingent reward behavior, trust others, and bring fresh perspectives to the table while overcoming the low expectations of their supervisors/managers. The funny, not funny, skills that are most important in business like time management, crisis management, communication, organization, collaboration, supervising, problem solving, conflict resolution, multitasking, negotiation are honed as a mother. However, mothers have challenges in the succession planning process because of their familial obligations. 



How do you navigate the dual role of women in corporate leadership? It is successfully negotiated with flexibility, nimbleness, and strategy. You must have the capacity to make hard decisions, execute uncomfortable plans, and deliver unpleasant information. You will be punished for doing it well either in the succession planning process or by your children's accusation of absenteeism and/or lack of emotional availability.

Your greatest strengths are strategy, focus, inclusion, significance, winning others over (woo), and inclusion. Then, master the arts of delegation, networking, emotional management, emotional intelligence, and influence. Use strategy, much like you would in chess, to navigate the environment for the currency of growth including recognition, opportunities, exits, allies, and frenemies. 

The more successful you are in corporate, the more hats you will be asked to wear. Focus on your targets and goals, whining off time draining activities with no significance. Use delegation to develop your team. Outsource routine activities to gain time. Include as many people as possible in your cause as agents of change, early adopters, evangelists, and cheerleaders. Use woos to network and manage the politics of the organization.

At home, many of the tactics and concepts listed above can be employed. The end goal is to lead the family towards success, gain time to focus on more pleasurable pursuits and secure inner peace. Just as women must balance their power with masculine need to be seen as the leader, often she finds a similar situation at home as male spouse want to be seen as the head of the household. I am in no way suggesting, women should take a back seat. 

Time saving will provide room for more emotional availability and support. Emotional availability leads to emotional management and emotional intelligence. Thus, allowing women, especially Black women to better navigate their dual roles in corporate leadership.