The Leader's Edge™ Research 2005

Making Connections, Working Together

There is a lack of understanding by each group about the issues of the other.
Black women encounter many of the same issues with white women as white women do with white men, giving them two levels of hurdles to overcome.
There are trust issues between Black Women and White women.

Key Issues for Women of African Descent

Women of African Descent believe they are held to a different standard in the workplace than white women, who they see has having advantages and opportunities not available to them.
Race is a more important issue in the workplace than gender for Black women and many women of African descent do not understand why white women say they don’t “see race.”
It appears that many Black women are less comfortable, and are perceived as frequently less equipped to deal with the corporate culture than are white women.

Key Issue for Caucasian Women

A number of White women believe that Black women have similar, though not exactly the same, opportunities for advancement and visibility as do White women.

Many Caucasian women appear to be uncomfortable with the issue of race and see differences as more a result of individual styles/personalities.

White women perceive women of African descent as unwilling to show vulnerability and see them as overly forceful in defending their positions or appear to be too timid.

The Group’s Solutions for Bridging the Gap

In Your Corporation:

Create blended opportunities both personally and professionally
Step out of your comfort zone creating open dialogues about racial and cultural issues with co-workers.
Establish support networks. Participate and encourage regular discussions or meetings about race and diversity with individuals of both races throughout the company as well as with new hires
Proactively bring women of another race into your networks--dinners, luncheons, etc.
Take the time to get to know other women instead of just focusing on getting the job done.
Take the initiative to influence senior men and male colleagues.
Think of every decision as an opportunity to support someone (black or white)
Encourage your organization to have a diversity program.

In Your Life:

Seek opportunities to socialize with people of other races. Once a month, invite someone of another race to lunch.
Challenge embedded assumptions and stereotypes.
Create group forums to impart information.
Intentionally seek diversity in teams/projects.
Make the commitment to have an authentic conversation and have a basis for the conversation. Be aware & explicit about the invitation to the conversation & respect boundaries.
Build networks outside your organization to obtain new perspectives, options and ideas. (For example, have meetings with the group you met at the event to share experiences). Extend your relationships beyond work.
Bring this information back to your community. Talk about this with your family and young women friends.
Tap into the nurturing side of women. Attempt to understand the time factors women face due to family time demands.

Education:

Mentoring:

Companies should start small programs mentoring. Distinguish between programs on a volunteer basis vs. mandatory programs.
Seek out women of another race as a mentor as well as men. You can have more than one mentor!!
Recognize people who may be attempting to mentor you.

Accountability:

Open up a dialogue and assume the barriers are not there.
Take the initiative to make a woman of another race comfortable with you.
Recognize our own assumptions.
Acknowledge the importance of emotional connections.
Address issues of women of color in women’s leadership network activities.
White women need to be sensitive to the issues and dynamics of black women and not automatically jump in with comments, solutions, and conclusions.
Participate in multi-cultural activities and groups (e.g. Zontra)
Suggest a diversity candidate to your corporation; offer to network with your contacts to identify candidates.
Learn to understand some things about history in the community.
Allow yourself to be “clumsy”. Just be genuine.
Don’t be defensive.
Don’t minimize people’s experiences
Approach it as a “winner among winners” approach.

Stimulate Trust:

Encourage a safe environment to stimulate trust within dialogue.
Take the risk of opening up personally, this makes for a deeper relationship.
Share personal vulnerability to foster trust- friendship protocol. Share your experiences with other women regardless of race because many have had similar experiences and can help one another face “obstacles”. This will help create bonds with co-workers.
Focus to support each other
Ask questions seeking honest answers and be open to the responses you get.
Exhibit candor, honestly in interactions. Be prepared to give and receive information directly. Be direct but tactful.
Don’t automatically provide answers. Listen first, and then think before responding.
Take risks to get to know others.
Capitalize on the use of relationship skills natural to women.
Ask for invitations- let people know you are interested.
Show warmth to those you encounter.

Raise Awareness:

Open dialogue about race without judgment. Use words like “white women” or “African American women.”
Communicate in order to distinguish between perception and reality.
Include diversity metrics in top executive comp. Approach diversity both #’s & experience.
Be open about observance (e.g. participation in Leaders Edge.)
Acknowledge differences in generations of women and how issues of race might be easier or more difficult for some.
Gain an understanding of what makes us different and try to bridge that gap.
Focus on how we can work effectively together to build the lower base to build the numbers of women directors and executives.

Grass Roots Efforts

Actively share information that can help people in being more successful. Mentoring happens between peers.
Seek out individuals who may not have access to the resources you do.
Encourage cross-diversity dialogues to take place at an administration or grass roots level.

Please take the time to review our other research: