In honor of Women’s History Month, this March we will be highlighting Our Separate Ways: Black and White Women and the Struggle for Professional Identity. The authors, Ella L.J Edmondson Bell and Stella M. Nkomo are accomplished professors in the fields of Management Sciences and Human Resources, respectively. In their book, Bell and Nkomo take a look at the ways that black and white women navigate the corporate ladder. They interview professional women and share their stories.
Bell and Nkomo begin by stating that this book may be “especially painful for black women, who face hurdles in the journey to the top and who … may find corporate America a lonely, hollow, haunted place, but it may also be painful for white women, who may learn that their black ‘sisters’ are more like stepsisters.” The comparison to black women in the workplace to “step sisters,” next to white women, represents the underlying feelings of otherness that underrepresented minorities feel, particularly black women, in the workplace.
As hinted by the authors, that reality can be sad and difficult to grapple with. Now that we know some of the struggles of black women in corporate settings, what is to be done? The authors suggest that a good starting point would be to shed stereotypes and to “bind together in new, dynamic relationships, to experience each other fully, and to revel in each other’s vibrancy, vulnerability and vision.”
During this women’s history month, I encourage you to pick up the book from the CEC library, and continue to work towards making women feel seen and heard.