Help me document and preserve Black women's stories of the unique struggles and triumphs that make up their professional careers.

Black women’s labor participation rates have generally outpaced those of Black men and women of other races as well. And yet, Black women are only paid on average, 63 cents for every dollar a white male earns for performing similar work (NPFWF, 2018). Black women are vulnerable to gender- and race-based discrimination in the workplace, in ways that are not well-documented nor understood (Ferguson & King, 1996).

Black women are often left alone to attempt to navigate these behaviors while holding onto jobs that are likely underpaying them vis a vis their white male counterparts (NPFWF, 2018). When addressed inadequately or not at all, these discriminatory experiences can lead to labor exits en masse, which Black women appear to be doing in the wake of companies pushing employees back into offices in 2022 and now 2023 as well.

This study will focus on whether and how Black women have been able to identify potential discriminatory race- or gender-based mistreatment, any mitigation steps taken to address said behavior (i.e reporting to a manager, HR, or other regulatory body), and if not, identify the barriers, both practical and personality-driven, that prevented these women from taking action. Subsequent work would build on the results to develop training programs to prepare (primarily) Black women for American corporate life.

Your contribution will be used as follows:

$2,500 - 10 Interviews with Black women documenting their career paths on video. Includes a monetary incentive for their participation.

$10,000 - 900 surveys incorporating experiences and coping strategies from the interviews and assessing the frequency of use and perceived success as well as any additional tactics not uncovered during the interviews.

$2,500 - additional advanced analytical support to ensure the accuracy and validity of the results.

Thank you for supporting my work! I look forward to sharing the results with you.