Minda Harts felt unseen. Her manager had informed her that her white male colleague had been reporting false information about her work. She sat in shock and disbelief as her manager made excuses for him, because he was going through a rough time in his personal life. Minda had believed that she and her colleague had a good working relationship and mutual respect, even though they were competing for the same promotion. Her manager reassured her that she had not believed his false reports and that Minda should stay focused on the assigned project.
Creating Psychological Safety for Black Women at Your Company
Feelings of inclusion, connection, and trust with colleagues and managers are harder to come by for Black women due to the historical and sociocultural context of the U.S. workplace, and more broadly, our country. Research has shown that diverse teams need a foundation of psychological safety — the belief that everyone can pitch risky ideas and challenge the status quo without retaliation or judgment — to excel in the workplace. Additional research, as well as the authors’ professional experience as DEI strategy consultants and personal lived experience, shows that Black women require differentiated solutions to feel psychologically safe at both the interpersonal and organizational levels at work. They offer strategies for both individuals and organizations to do more to increase psychological safety for Black women.