Women make up 70 percent of the global healthcare workforce but hold only 25 percent of senior roles, according to a study by the World Health Organization, “Delivered by women, led by men.” This stark gender discrepancy also intersects with other factors such as race, and compounds the disadvantage faced by women of color working in healthcare.
Women of color face numerous challenges when it comes to career advancement. According to a recent study, it is harder for them to win advancement to senior roles, and throughout their careers, they suffer wage disparity, discrimination, higher expectations to be deemed adequate, and the absence of support networks.
When BIPOC women do achieve leadership roles, they are often confronted by other challenges that their white and male counterparts do not encounter. These difficulties, such as wage disparity and entrenched inequality, may not be understood by other senior executives. They can lead to burnout and resignations, with your teams losing valuable leaders. And when BIPOC leaders leave, this can also have a knock-on effect throughout your teams. Other BIPOC employees may wonder whether they will have the chance to truly advance their career in your treatment center, leading to more resignations, increased staff turnover, and reduced diversity among your staff.
When it comes to addiction treatment centers, despite being able to bring new perspectives to the role and create trust-based connections with patients — particularly BIPOC patients who can often feel disengaged by white-dominated leadership in the field — BIPOC women can be underestimated and overlooked. They frequently also face greater expectations and responsibilities than their white, male counterparts.
Here are a few pitfalls to know when promoting BIPOC women into leadership positions, so you can avoid loading them with the extra work and stress that comes with unequal expectations, and support BIPOC women, enabling them to thrive.
Different leadership expectations
The ninth Women in the Workplace report looked at the specific biases and barriers faced by minoritized groups of women. In partnership with LeanIn, a women’s empowerment organization, a survey was conducted by interviewing 27,000 employees and 270 senior HR leaders. It revealed that women’s representation in C-suite positions is higher than ever, yet women of color are still underrepresented in senior management roles.
It complements a 2021 Harvard Business Review article, in which the authors argue that women of color are still experiencing systemic inequalities in the workplace due to organizational failures.
A Harvard study looked at how failure is not an option for Black women, as they experience more negative leader perceptions than other groups. Referred to as “double jeopardy,” the study highlights that men are perceived as better leaders than women, while white individuals are perceived as better leaders than their Black counterparts, putting Black women at a double disadvantage.
A further study compiled by Lean In also found that 49 percent of Black women feel that their race or ethnicity will make it harder for them to get a raise or promotion, compared to just three percent of white women and 11 percent of women overall. Yet when Black women do advance, their accomplishments are often attributed to elements outside their control, such as affirmative action or help from others.
The study noted additional challenges, including:
- Black women are less likely to be promoted to manager.
- Black women receive less support from their managers.
- Black women are less likely to interact with senior leaders.
- Black women experience a wider range of microaggressions.
African Americans are overrepresented among drug abusers in the US – warranting a need to invest in BIPOC leaders to help address this issue by bringing their own lived experience to the table. However, inequalities limit the number of women who make it into leadership positions and can undermine them and put undue pressure on them when they do achieve these roles, when compared to their counterparts. The stakes are higher for BIPOC women leaders, and they need additional support, as well as training for colleagues to recognize their own biases and privilege.
To support Black women in the workplace, organizations need to focus on the unique barriers that prevent them from reaching their full potential. Race and ethnicity should not be factors when earning a raise or promotion. It’s important to create pathways for support, whether that is a mentorship program or one-on-one feedback sessions.
Lack of representation
Women lead just 20 percent of hospitals and four percent of healthcare companies in the US, according to research firm Korn Ferry. For women of color in the US, the situation is even worse, with only five percent holding C-suite positions. Women of color remain significantly underrepresented in senior corporate roles. A lack of representation, among other factors, is considered a root cause.
When HR Dive interviewed more than 100 HR leaders at corporate companies, the top reason they gave for the comparatively low number of Black women in leadership roles was a lack of diverse leadership talent in the pipeline. They added that BIPOC and gender-minorities groups experience slower rates of promotion compared to their peers and suffer from a ‘worse perception of leadership potential.’
A 2021 report by global consultancy firm Gartner corroborated the lack of representation. A survey was conducted among 3,500 employees across 24 industries and found that people of color and gender-minoritized groups consistently face bias, such as evaluation criteria bias, preventing them from attaining C-suite status.
Additional challenges faced by BIPOC women in leadership roles
The LeanIn study cited above also highlighted that managers are less likely to advocate for Black women. The report strongly suggests that only seven percent of the participating companies set representation targets for gender and race, which could be a factor when explaining the disparity. Without specific goals, progress is delayed, and with fewer BIPOC women in leadership roles, it is difficult to advocate effectively for change.
To further the challenges, if BIPOC employees don’t see examples of people like them being entrusted with important roles, it can lead to a sense of disenfranchisement and affect staff turnover.
The Invisible Labor
As a woman of color, higher expectations and a feeling of representing your entire race can pile on additional pressure and increase workload. The Harvard Business Review report mentioned above found that BIPOC leaders work extra hours without additional incentive or recognition to overcome perceived bias.
The Lean In study also revealed that 54 percent of Black women frequently feel like “Onlys,” meaning they are the only or one of the few Black individuals present in a given situation. This can cause them to be on edge and feel pressure to excel.
The Harvard Business Review also outlines the responsibility of mentoring and ‘paying it forward’ that women of color can experience. This “invisible labor” is also referred to as a “cultural taxation.” While it is a noble goal for BIPOC leaders to lift others up with them, it is one that brings additional responsibilities that other leaders are not expected to take on.
For women leaders in the mental health and addiction treatment sector, the invisible labor concept can be even more dominant due to specific pressures based on the delicate nature of their work. Long hours and staff shortages can result in greater pressure to perform on a level that is already high. In particular, the lack of mental health professionals who are women of color can put pressure on the ones in place to provide additional support to others coming up, which is oftentimes overlooked as a job responsibility.
How to help female BIPOC leaders
Change is needed at the top to advocate for minoritized groups in the workplace by redefining core values based on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) policies. This is also the case for the hiring process to make it more inclusive. Here are a few ways to bring about change.
- Examine the existing representation of minoritized groups currently holding senior management roles and consider redefining the standards of professionalism you expect to ensure they are founded on competence and skill.
- Generate awareness of how unconscious bias can result in acts of discrimination in the form of microaggressions, while encouraging leaders and employees to identify their own unconscious biases.
- Identify senior leaders as sponsors to regularly facilitate opportunities for inclusions, as well as upward advancements.
In the American Journal of Public Health, Black, Latinx and Indigenous leaders in addiction treatment centers outlined further steps to be taken, such as:
Investing in educational pipeline gaps to support BIPOC trainees.
- Specific funding, protected time and mentors to work with BIPOC students and trainees who are pursuing innovative work.
- Promote treatment approaches that are informed by social justice and lived experience.
- Creating a network of BIPOC leaders through funding grants and fellowships.
- Adopting a community-engaged approach to treatment by decolonizing the current health interventions.
Through meaningful changes, we can work towards creating a more equitable workplace. To achieve this, there needs to be a shift in the overall tolerance level towards diversity and inclusion by consistently encouraging employees to have open and honest discussions throughout all levels of an organization.
As a leader looking to support BIPOC women in the workplace, it is critical to support ongoing and open communication. This is even more important in the healthcare industry due to high levels of disparity among leadership. When DIEB programs are successfully implemented, females in leadership roles across the racial divide can continue to flourish, paving the way for future generations.
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