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a study of the lives andexperiences of black andminority ethnic women leaders......same gender, different race

Executive Summary

The study comprised three strands: a detailedonline survey, which solicited opinions from300 women; three discussion forums; andone on one interviews. Over half of theparticipants described themselves as “black”,a third as “Asian” and most of the remainderas “mixed”. The research crystallised thedistinctive talents and knowledge of theseBME women as something that others canlearn from. Their success is interpreted in thecontext of their values, character traits andlife experiences, and the strategies that havehelped them overcome obstacles andnavigate the often resistant power structuresof government or the corporate world.

The Different Women, Different Places studyhas started the process of filling the gap inour understanding of the specificexperiences, needs, competencies andcontributions of BME women leaders. Furtherwork is still required to shed more light in this

area, particularly as regards the situation ofBME women leaders across Europe, and theposition and challenges of young BMEwomen today.

The 8 factors for leadershipsuccessThe women’s leadership qualities were one ofthe key areas explored in the study, whichhas identified eight factors – listed in boldhere – that were crucial to their success.Whilst none of these factors are individuallyunique to Different Women, it is theircombined impact that distinguishes thesewomen.

Firstly, the women have biculturalcompetence, being familiar with both Britishvalues and the norms of their ethnic group.This gives them the ability to manage andlead across cultures, an asset that is highlyvaluable in today’s increasingly globalisedbusiness environment. This cultural breadthand learning, from the challenges andexperiences they have faced because of theirrace and gender, also give them the ability tosee things from multiple perspectives andthus often come up with novel solutions toproblems. The women have a reserve ofcultural capital from experience gainedoutside the workplace through voluntary workor activities with community or religiousorganisations. This stands them in goodstead in terms of building up leadership andmotivational skills.

The women can be termed transform-actional leaders, a term the study hascoined to describe the fact that the womenare both transformational, being able tochallenge the status quo and implementchange within their organisations, andtransactional, regularly delivering resultswithout affecting the overall direction oforganisational travel. Discrimination, whichmany of the women had experienced todifferent degrees, helped them develop

Different Women, Different Places is a groundbreaking report, the first of its kind to focus onsuccessful black and minority ethnic (BME) women in the workplace, whom we have termed“Different Women”. This study presents a new and dynamic perspective on the factors thatguide successful BME women, bringing to light findings of value to HR and diversityprofessionals, government bodies, businesses and organisations, as well as BME womenthemselves.

self-mastery, a sense of assuredness intheir innate talents and a resilience to dealwith challenges and setbacks. The womenalso have power, presence and passion,being able to communicate their views withconviction and enthusiasm, and hold theattention of others.

The study found that these successful womenlargely characterised themselves as having avalues driven leadership approach, beingguided not so much by monetary rewards asthe desire to make a positive contribution totheir organisations and communities. Many of the women felt they derived theirvalues and inner strength in part fromspiritual belief, which they felt was in nosmall way fundamental to their success.

Formative experiencesinfluence leadership successThe formative experiences of the womenwere often cited as providing a positiveimpetus for their later successes. A keyfoundation for success was the highexpectations, positive messages and supportreceived from parents and family. By contrast,some women felt that teachers and careeradvisors tended to communicate downbeatexpectations, and were more of a hindrancethan a help.

The impact of experiencing different culturalnorms while growing up, and for somespending part of their childhood in anenvironment where they were not a visibleminority was a bonus; increasing confidence,ambition and discipline, and embedding astrong sense of identity and purpose.

Exploding stereotypes andmythsDifferent Women challenge stereotypes of andmyths about BME women by visiblydemonstrating that they can lead, performand deliver results at the highest levels, usingtheir race, gender and ethnicity as strengths.They have developed and implementedeffective strategies for achieving careersuccess, overcoming formidable barriers andchallenges along the way. These strategiesderive from their diverse cultural backgroundsand multiple identities, the challenges andstruggles they have faced, and also theirneed and desire to establish and demonstratecredibility.

Discrimination, direct and indirect, presentsclear barriers to the career progression andsuccess of Different Women.The mainobstacles were identified as organisationalculture and style, lack of recognition andinvisibility of the women, limited access togrowth and development opportunities, lackof career planning and advice, and being froma BME group.

In addition, being of the same gender is not aunifying factor. BME women are of the viewthat the image and presence, leadership andcommunication style of white women aremore positively perceived in the workplace.Moreover, in some cases, the relationshipbetween the two groups is characterised byunhealthy competition and a lack of culturalappreciation and understanding.

The women make clear that their diversityrepresents talent in many different shapesand forms. Organisations need to recognisethat their traditional approaches torecruitment and talent management may notsuccessfully identify and nurture BMEprofessionals, and may therefore fail touncover and tap into this rich source ofexperience and capability.

Searching for a level playingfieldOn the thorny issue of what obstacles thewomen had faced in their working lives, itwas notable that organisational culture wasregarded as the most significant barrier. Manyparticipants feel excluded from mainstreamchannels of communication or decisionmaking in their organisations because, asBME women, they just didn’t seem to fit intotheir working environment. The women oftenfelt they had to work that much harder or bethat much better qualified than their peers inorder for their contributions to be recognised.

Faced with discrimination, often in quitesubtle and insidious forms, the womendeveloped various coping strategies, such asidentifying allies in the workplace or choosingto be exceptionally reasonable in order toimprove dealings with colleagues.Nevertheless, two fifths of surveyrespondents said that they were preparing toleave their current employer, either in thehope of finding a more inclusive workingenvironment or to set up their ownbusinesses.

Acting on the research findingsWhile it is often said that women come up against a glass ceilingpreventing them from rising through the ranks, for BME women that ceilingcould be said to be “a glass ceiling reinforced by concrete”, reflecting thegreater difficulty for them to make it into the top echelons of organisations,especially without compromising who they are.

To ensure that the talents and values of BME women are fully appreciatedin the workplace, the report recommends that certain actions beundertaken by three key audiences – broadly speaking, government andpolicymakers, employers and their HR/diversity managers, and the womenthemselves. Full details are contained in the research report.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission should seize theopportunity presented in its combined new structure and extendedremit to ensure that their collective experience and indepth knowledgeof the various diversity strands is effectively integrated and used toaddress the needs of BME women and other multiple identity groups.

The Ministers for Women should establish a strategic forum whereBME women, business and community leaders can engage and shapethe issues impacting their local communities, to access and consult abroader cadre of successful black and Asian women leaders.

Policymakers in the Education Sector should ensure that teachersand career advisors introduce BME girls to the full gamut of career andemployment opportunities available to them, where appropriate utilisingthe Different Women as role models.

Diversity Practitioners should move towards a more integratedapproach to diversity, implementing strategies, policies and actions thathave as their focus the challenges faced by BME women and othermultiple identity groups, together with the added value that they offer toemployers and organisations.

Recommendations for Employers include:

conducting a cultural capital audit to identify and leverage the extentand nature of community leadership undertaken by BME women.

reshaping their approach to talent management with more inclusiveidentification, development and promotion of BME women.

acknowledging, valuing and integrating the difference that BMEwomen bring as positive and significant contributors to organisationalsuccess, by publicising the achievements and contributions of BMEwomen through internal communication vehicles.

designing bespoke learning and development programmes tailored tomeet the specific needs of BME women leaders.

extending the cultural competence of managers, senior executivesand other key employee groups engaging with BME women, using asa development tool the eight factors for leadership success identifiedby this study.

Black and Minority Ethnic Women wishing to further extend theirleadership capabilities would do well to take stock of what makes themunique and seek ways to leverage these factors to best effect inperforming in their leadership roles.

The report authors acknowledge the generous support of thesponsoring organisations and also the Advisory Panel. Inparticular we are indebted to the late Patrick McLaurin of BoozAllen Hamilton for his faith and vision in helping us to realise ourdream of undertaking this piece of work and who sadly didn’tsee it completed.

We are grateful to our sponsors, who have contributed withfunds or in kind support, and without whom this study wouldnot have been possible: Booz Allen Hamilton, Credit Suisse, UKResource Centre for Women in SET, Learning and Skills Council,and the British Computer Society, Brown-Forman and Pearson.

We also appreciate the collaboration and support we receivedfrom the Commission for Racial Equality, Equal OpportunitiesCommission, Fawcett Society, and the League of Black Women.

The study team received advice and expert input from membersof our Advisory Panel. We wish to express our gratitude to:Margaret Adams (UK Resource Centre for Women in SET),Jonathan Bamber (CRE), Marcelo Cardoso, (BP), The latePatrick McLaurin (Booz Allen Hamilton), Yashica Olden (CreditSuisse), Vimmi Singh (Dynamic Asian Women’s Network) andRuth van Dyke (London South Bank University).

Central to the work has been the contributions from thedistinguished women who have taken an active and enthusiasticpart in the many elements of the study and given us an insightinto their lives to enable us to share it with government bodies,business and organisations, as well as the wider community ofblack and minority ethnic women in leadership.

We would also like to thank the Different Women, DifferentPlaces project team: Funkazi Koroye Crooks, Yvonne BignallDorothea Hodge and Denise Simon as well as Yashica Oldenand staff at Credit Suisse for their kind help and support.

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ISBN 978-0-9557685-1-4

Carol Campayne & Caroline Harper JantuahThe Diversity Practice Ltd

Jan PetersKatalytik Ltd

Different Women, Different Placesresearch report is available from:

The Diversity Practice LtdRoyal Crest House22-26 Upper Malgrave RoadCheam, SurreySM2 7AZ

020 8408 7172

www.differentwomen.com

ISBN 978-0-9557685-1-4

Copyright 2007 ©

Published by The Diversity Practice in Association with Katalytik Ltd

Edited by Richard Lim and Paul Campayne

Design and Layout by Mono design LtdArtwork for DWDP logo – Quatropy Design.com

Contact DetailsThe Diversity PracticeRoyal Crest House22 - 26 Upper Mulgrave RoadCheam, SurreySM2 7AZ

tel: +44 (0)845 094 2326email: results@differentwomen.com

Registered offices of: Diversity Practice Ltd, Hillview, 22 The Drive, Coulsdon, CR5 2BLandKatalytik Ltd, 10 Bridge Street, Christchurch, Dorset BH23 1EF

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