Black Women In The Workplace Essay

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“Since [their] brutal arrival on these shores through the transatlantic slave trade, Black women have understood and experienced constant and continual oppression in the U.S. context and around the globe” (Dillard. 2016). African-American women have always experienced inequalities in life, especially in the workplace. This double-marginalization caused great difficulty to join the workplace - Black women were greeted with discrimination, prejudice and racism. Psychological harm scarred these women, causing them to conform to the workplace norms - this involves changing speech, looks, and actions. This is done by stepping out of any cultural and ancestral ways in order to survive the White dominant workplace. Intersectionality theories suggest that women of color detect and react to prejudices differently - the strategy of shifting identities is used. A lack of psychological resources are in place to limit this accommodation, and aid the already-existing scars. Reason being, the lack of research conducted that focuses on the …show more content…

“Black women, among individuals from other underrepresented groups, develop coping strategies, such as identity shifting” (Dickens & Chavez, 2017). Identity shifting is the process of changing oneself to be accepted by others, this involves changing one’s speech, actions or appearance - this is a result of Black women working in predominantly White environments. Similar to the functionalism process of assimilation. Carter-Sowell, and Zimmerman discuss the damaging effects of identity shifting, including the scarring of psychological and emotional health of Black women who partake in this method (2015). Henry mentions that identity shifting is necessary for Black women to do, she describes the White dominant men in the workforce as “gatekeepers” whose job is to assure Black women are not apart of the workplace based off prejudices and

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