schatzi hawthorne mccarthy, mp, mapa owner/manager – schatzi’s design gallery & day spa, llc...
TRANSCRIPT
Schatzi Hawthorne McCarthy, MP, MAPA
Owner/Manager – Schatzi’s Design Gallery & Day Spa, LLC
Director of Research – Family Health Ministries
Lecturer – Wake Technical Community College Natural Hair Care Program
THRIVING IN CORPORATE AMERICA AS OUR AUTHENTIC SELVES
COURSE OBJECTIVES
• To identify the key corporate challenges that Black women are facing.
• To highlight the clashes in culture that make these challenges all the more difficult to overcome.
• To outline an action plan to foster and illicit positive outcomes to negative situations.
• The Phoenix Rising.
STATUS OF BLACK FEMALE ACHIEVEMENT: EDUCATION
STATUS OF BLACK FEMALE ACHIEVEMENT:COMPENSATION
WHERE WE ARE
“When I was a kid, my goodness, corporate America was a bunch of stolid white guys in gray suits trying to be serious, and now it's stolid white guys in gray suits trying to be funny.”
Emo Phillips
• Integrity
• Cash, Borrowing and Resource Management
• Increased Selection and Competition
• Marketing and Customer Loyalty
• Uncertainty
• Regulation
• Problem Solving and Risk Management
• Finding the Right Staff
KEY CHALLENGES: FACING CORPORATIONS
• Not enough jobs
• Long-term unemployment
• Retirement anxiety
• Crummy jobs
• Bad bosses
• Decline of unions
KEY CHALLENGES: FACING AMERICAN WORKERS
KEY CHALLENGES: FACING WOMEN
• “…want the ability to flourish, excel, reach for meaning and purpose, be empowered and empower others, and earn well.” Yet despite wanting these key ideals, “Women start their careers hungry to attain a powerful job, but lose their appetite as they age. Even for women without children, and those who are breadwinners, power loses its luster for the 35-to-50 age group.”
KEY CHALLENGES: FACING BLACK WOMEN…
• “Black women are more likely than their white female counterparts to understand the benefits of a powerful position and are more likely to strive for the top jobs. They are more likely to perceive a powerful position as the means to achieving their professional goals and are confident that they can succeed in the role. Yet, despite their wanting a top job and honing their qualifications to earn it, black women are more likely to feel stalled in their careers and languish in middle management.”
• Black women’s contributions go unrecognized
• “26% of black women feel their talents aren’t recognized by their superiors, compared to 17% of white women.”
• According to a Harvard Business Review report, “almost 50% of qualified black women report being overlooked for promotion.”
KEY CHALLENGES: FACING BLACK WOMEN…
• Black women lack sponsors.
• “Shockingly, a mere 11% of women of color win the support and sponsorship of senior leaders in their companies, the report found. Black women also are more likely than white women to say they feel stalled (44% vs. 30%).”
• “Senior leaders tend to sponsor people whom they trust — often people who look like themselves.”
KEY CHALLENGES: FACING BLACK WOMEN…
• Black women are likely to “put their heads down.”
• According to the Center for American Progress Fact Sheet on “The Women’s Leadership Gap,” only about 5% of managerial and professional positions are held by African-American women.
KEY CHALLENGES: FACING BLACK WOMEN
WHY ARE WE HERE
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
Albert Einstein
• White Female Framework: “Be nice and don’t hurt anyone’s feelings.”• The genteel smile which
seems phony
CULTURAL DYNAMICS THAT CREATE A CLASH…
• Black Female Framework: “Be strong and self-reliant.”• The direct, forthright
manner of speech
• How the cultural dynamic translates to hair:
• “White women notice each other’s hair as a way to show interest and a sign that one is acting in a caring way about someone.”
• “Black women are generally wary of comments on their hair made by a white woman, unless you happen to be a close friend. Otherwise, casual observations are taboo.”
CULTURAL DYNAMICS THAT CREATE A CLASH…
• White Female Framework: “Cry…when they feel their words have been ignored or dismissed.”• A substitute for confrontation or
anger
CULTURAL DYNAMICS THAT CREATE A CLASH…
• Black Female Framework: “Don’t let them see you cry.”• Anger is a more appropriate
response than crying, as the latter is seen as weak and manipulative.
WHAT TO DO
…when you realize that holding qualifications, competence and cultural orientation equal, there is still no fair, rational explanation for unfair treatment.
WHAT TO DO
“The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself.”
Mark Cain
“Environment modifies life but does not govern life. The soul is stronger than its surroundings.”
William James
ACTION PLAN FOR CHANGE…
• Be clear in your communication but understand that cultural orientation defines how we behave and how we are perceived.• Read: “Cultural Tribalism, White Men/White Women and
Cultural Diversity at Work”• Read: “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz
(Summary on Super Soul Sundays Facebook Archive)
• Find your comfort zone.
ACTION PLAN FOR CHANGE…
• Define where you want to be within your organization and within your career over the next few years. Be as realistic as possible.
• Define the formal, informal and personal constraints to your progress. • If you perceive there is no future in your job, you’re probably
right. Put action steps in place to move on.• If you need to re-tool to be more competitive or to shift
direction, do it.
ACTION PLAN FOR CHANGE
• Overcome fear. Be bold and have faith in your vision and in your destiny.• Start your own businesses.
• Measure spiritual success as equally or more significant than financial success.
ACTION PLAN FOR CHANGE
• Always be willing to forgive:
“Forgiveness is the act of admitting we are like other people.”
Christina Baldwin
CONCLUSION
“You have the need and the right to spend part of your life caring for your soul. It is not easy. You have to resist the demands of the work-oriented, often defensive, element in your psyche that measures life only in terms of output -- how much you produce -- not in terms of the quality of your life experiences. To be a soulful person means to go against all the pervasive, prove-yourself values of our culture and instead treasure what is unique and internal and valuable in yourself and your own personal evolution.”
Jean Shinoda Bolen
