Abstract
Although much progress has been made in race relations in the United States, discrimination still persists in the workplace. As a result, Black women, among individuals from other underrepresented groups, develop coping strategies, such as identity shifting, to diminish the negative consequences of discrimination. We used the phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory to examine shifting racial, gender, and class identities among early career (recent college graduates) U.S. Black women working in predominantly White environments. Drawing on ten semi-structured interviews with college-educated Black women, data were analyzed with an interpretative phenomenological analysis. The results revealed two major themes: (a) benefits of identity shifting and (b) the costs of identity shifting, the latter with five subthemes: (a) managing interpersonal rejection: frozen effect, (b) assimilation to the dominant culture and inauthenticity, (c) confronting and dismantling stereotypes, (d) model Black citizen, and (c) mixed feelings toward identity shifting. The findings indicate that Black women vacillate between the benefits and costs of identity shifting, altering their dialect and behavior to meet social norms. Our study’s implications suggest the necessity of a multicultural approach by employers to affirm their workers’ social identities, strengthen employee relationships, and lessen the need for shifting identities.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ajayi, L. (2016). Insecure Season 1 Episode 3: Racist as F**k. Retrieved from http://www.hbo.com/insecure/episodes/1/3-racist-as-f-k/article/3-luvvie-recap.html.
Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens throughthe twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066X.55.5.469.
Becknell, C. E. (1987). Blacks in the workforce: A Black manager’s perspective. Albuquerque, NM: Horizon Communications.
Bell, E. L. (1990). The bicultural life experience of career-oriented Black women. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 11(6), 459–477. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030110607.
Bell, E., & Nkomo, S. (2001). Our separate ways: Black and White women and the struggles for professional identity. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Bell, E., Meyerson, D., Nkomo, S., & Scully, M. (2003). Interpreting silence and voice in the workplace: A conversation about tempered radicalism among Black and White women researchers. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 39(4), 381–414. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021886303260502.
Brannon, T. N., Markus, H. R., & Taylor, V. J. (2015). “Two souls, two thoughts,” two self schemas: Double consciousness can have positive academic consequences for African Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 10(4), 586–609. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038992.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American Psychologist, 32(7), 513–531. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.32.7.513.
Bryant, R. M., Coker, A. D., Durodoye, B. A., McCollum, V. J., Pack-Brown, S. P., Constantine, M. G., & O’Bryant, B. J. (2005). Having our say: African American women, diversity, and counseling. Journal of Counseling and Development, 83, 313–319. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6678.2005.tb00349.x.
Campbell, J. D., Assanand, S., & Paula, A. D. (2003). The structure of the self-concept and its relation to psychological adjustment. Journal of Personality, 71(1), 115–140. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6494.t01-1-00002.
Carter-Sowell, A. R., Dickens, D., Miller, G. H., & Zimmerman, C. A. (2016). Present but not accounted for: Examining how intersectional identities create a double bind for and affect leadership of women of color in educational settings. In J. Ballenger, B. Polnick & B. Irby (Eds.), Girls and women of color in STEM: Navigating the double bind. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Catalyst. (2004). Advancing African-American women in the workplace: What managers need to know. Catalyst. Retrieved from http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/advancing-african-american-women-workplace-what-managers-need-know.
Clair, J. A., Beatty, J. E., & MacLean, T. L. (2005). Out of sight but not out of mind: Managing invisible social identities in the workplace. Academy of Management Review, 30(1), 78–95. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.2005.15281431.
Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039.
Creswell, J. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thomas Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Dutton, J. E., Roberts, L. M., & Bednar, J. (2010). Pathways for positive identity construction at work: Four types of positive identity and the building of social resources. Academy of Management Review, 35(2), 265–293. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.2010.48463334.
Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Evanston, IL: Row Peterson.
Franklin, A. J. (1999). Invisibility syndrome and racial identity development in psychotherapy and counseling African American men. The Counseling Psychologist, 27(6), 761–793. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000099276002.
Gardner, W. L., Avolio, B. J., Luthans, F., May, D. R., & Walumbwa, F. (2005). “Can you see the real me?” A self-based model of authentic leader and follower development. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 343–372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.03.003.
Gordon, C., & Gergen, K. J. (1968). The self in social interaction: I. classic & contemporary perspectives. Oxford, England: John Wiley.
Harris, T. M. (2007). Black feminist thought and cultural contracts: Understanding the intersection and negotiation of racial, gendered, and professional identities in the academy. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2007(110), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.274.
Hogg, M. A., & Terry, D. I. (2000). Social identity and self-categorization processes in organizational contexts. Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 121–140. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.2000.2791606.
Jack, D. C., & Dill, D. (1992). The Silencing the Self Scale: Schemas of intimacy associated with depression in women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 16(1), 97–106. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1992.tb00242.x.
Jackson, R. L. (2002). Cultural contracts theory: Toward an understanding of identity negotiation. Communication Quarterly, 50(3–4), 359–367. https://doi.org/10.1080/01463370209385672.
Jackson, R. L. (2010). Exploring African American identity negotiation in the academy: Toward a transformative vision of African American communication scholarship. Howard Journal of Communications, 13(1), 43–57. https://doi.org/10.1080/106461702753555030.
Jones, C., & Shorter-Gooden, K. (2004). Shifting: The doubles lives of Black women. New York: Harper Perennial.
Kenny, M. E., & Sirin, S. R. (2006). Parental attachment, self-worth, and depressive symptoms among emerging adults. Journal of Counseling & Development, 84(1), 61–71. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6678.2006.tb00380.x.
Kim, Y. Y. (2001). Becoming intercultural: An integrative theory of communication and cross cultural adaptation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
King, D. K. (1988). Multiple jeopardy, multiple consciousness: The context of a Black feminist ideology. Signs, 14(1), 42–72. https://doi.org/10.1086/494491.
King, T. C., & Ferguson, S. A. (2001). Charting ourselves: Leadership development with Black professional women. National Women’s Studies Association Journal, 13(2), 123–141. https://doi.org/10.2979/NWS.2001.13.2.123.
McDowell, J. (2008). Head Black woman in charge: An investigation of Black female athletic directors’ negotiation of their gender, race, and class identities (Unpublished dissertation). Retrieved from http://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/bitstream/handle/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2762/MCDOWELL-DISSERTATION.pdf?sequence=1.
Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Mitchell, A. (1998). What the blues is all about: Black women overcoming stress and depression. New York: Berkley.
Murphy, K. A., Blustein, D. L., Bohlig, A. J., & Platt, M. G. (2010). The college-to-career transition: An exploration of emerging adulthood. Journal of Counseling & Development, 88(2), 174–181. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6678.2010.tb00006.x.
O’Brien, K. R., McAbee, S. T., Hebl, M. R., & Rodgers, J. R. (2016). The impact of interpersonal discrimination and stress on health and performance for early career STEM academicians. Frontiers in Psychology, 7(615), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00615.
Ogbu, J. U. (2004). Collective identity and the burden of “acting White” in Black history, community, and education. The Urban Review, 36(1), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:URRE.0000042734.83194.f6.
Parker, P. S. (2002). Negotiating identity in raced and gendered workplace interactions: The use of strategic communication by African American women senior executives within dominant culture organizations. Communication Quarterly, 50(3–4), 251–268. https://doi.org/10.1080/01463370209385663.
Patton, L. D. (2009). My sister's keeper: A qualitative examination of mentoring experiences among African American women in graduate and professional schools. The Journal of Higher Education, 80(5), 510–537. https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.0.0062.
Pollak, K. I., & Niemann, Y. F. (1998). Black and white tokens in academia: A difference of chronic versus acute distinctiveness. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28, 954–972. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1998.tb01662.x.
Primeau, L. A. (2003). Reflections on self in qualitative research: Stories of family. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 57(1), 9–16. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.57.1.9.
Purdie-Vaughns, V., & Eibach, R. P. (2008). Intersectional invisibility: The distinctive advantages and disadvantages of multiple subordinate-group identities. Sex Roles, 59(5–6), 377–391. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-008-9424-4.
Quattrone, G. A., & Jones, E. E. (1980). The perception of variability within in-groups and out-groups: Implications for the law of small numbers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38(1), 141–152. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.38.1.141.
Reynolds-Dobbs, W., Thomas, K., & Harrison, M. (2008). From mammy to superwoman: Images that hinder Black women’s career development. Journal of Career Development, 35(2), 129–150. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845308325645.
Sanchez-Hucles, J. V., & Davis, D. D. (2010). Women and women of color in leadership: Complexity, identity, and intersectionality. American Psychologist, 65(3), 171–181. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017459.
Scott, K. (2013). Communication strategies across cultural borders: Dispelling stereotypes, performing competence, and redefining Black womanhood. Women’s Studies in Communication, 36, 312–329. https://doi.org/10.1080/07491409.2013.831005.
Sekaquaptewa, D., Waldman, A., & Thompson, M. (2007). Solo status and self-construal: Being distinctive influences racial self-construal and performance apprehension in African American women. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 13(4), 321–327. https://doi.org/10.1037/1099-9809.13.4.321.
Shih, M., Young, M. J., & Bucher, A. (2013). Working to reduce the effects of discrimination: Identity management strategies in organizations. American Psychologist, 68, 145–157. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032250.
Smith, J. A., & Osborn, M. (2003). Interpretative phenomenological analysis. In J. A. Smith (Ed.), Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods (pp. 53-80). London: Sage Publications.
Spencer, M. B. (1995). Old issues and new theorizing about African American youth: A phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory. In R. L. Taylor (Ed.), Black youth: Perspectives on their status in the United States (pp. 37–69). Westport, CT: Praeger.
Spencer, M. B., Dupree, D., & Hartmann, T. (1997). A phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory (PVEST): A self-organization perspective in context. Development and Psychopathology, 9(4), 817–833. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579497001454.
Stevens, F. G., Plaut, V. C., & Sanchez-Burks, J. (2008). Unlocking the benefits of diversity: All-inclusive multiculturalism and positive organizational change. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 44(1), 116–133. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021886308314460.
Thomas, G. D., & Hollenshead, C. (2001). Resisting from the margins: The coping strategies of Black women and other women of color faculty members at a research university. Journal of Negro Education, 70(3), 166–175. https://doi.org/10.2307/3211208.
Thomas, A. J., & King, C. T. (2007). Gendered racial socialization of African American mothers and daughters. The Family Journal, 15(2), 137–142. https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480706297853.
Thomas, A. J., Witherspoon, K. M., & Speight, S. L. (2004). Toward the development of the Stereotypic Roles for Black Women Scale. Journal of Black Psychology, 30(3), 426–442. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798404266061.
Thomas, K. M., Johnson-Bailey, J., Phelps, R. E., Tran, N. M., & Johnson, L. (2013). Women of color at midcareer: Going from pet to threat. In L. Comas-Diaz & B. Green (Eds.), The psychological health of women of color: Intersections, challenges, and opportunities (pp. 275–286). New York: Guilford Press.
Ting-Toomey, S. (2005). The matrix of face: An updated face-negotiation theory. In W. B. Gudykunsy (Ed.), Theorizing about intercultural communication (pp. 71–92). Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Publications.
West, C. M. (1995). Mammy, sapphire, and Jezebel: Historical images of Black women and their implications for psychotherapy. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 32(3), 458–466. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-3204.32.3.458.
Young, I. M. (1990). Five faces of oppression. In G. L. Henderson & M. Waterstone (Eds.), Geographic thought: A praxis perspective (pp. 39–65). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Electronic supplementary material
ESM 1
(DOCX 22 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dickens, D.D., Chavez, E.L. Navigating the Workplace: The Costs and Benefits of Shifting Identities at Work among Early Career U.S. Black Women. Sex Roles 78, 760–774 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0844-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0844-x