Black Women’s Career Success: Integrating Intersectionality and Career Success Research

Theoretical Background: Career Success and Intersectionality

Research on career success has drawn from a wide and diverse range of theoretical approaches (Spurk et al., 2019), including the conservation of resources, human capital, identity, social capital, and social cognitive career theory. Consequently, career success has been defined and measured in various ways, such as achieving a CEO position, which is commonly recognized as an objective marker of success. However, career success has also been examined as a subjective perception, such as career satisfaction.

Recent scholarship suggests that it is more accurate to view career success as “a dynamic social construction rather than an objective reality that is historically and culturally specific” (Afiouni & Karam, 2014, p. 549). By adopting a social constructionist view of career success, we contribute to existing careers research by illustrating how an understanding of career success perceptions must consider factors such as national history, current events (e.g., mega-threats), racial and gender norms, and day-to-day workplace interactions (e.g., microaggressions, sexual harassment, etc.) that influence career mobility and individual well-being. Thus, our model of career success is grounded in social constructionism.

Gendered Racialized Career Scripts

According to Barley (1989), career scripts serve as mediators between institutions and individual action, shaping individuals’ behaviors and trajectories within societal structures. Institutions encompass regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive elements and play a pivotal role in conveying norms, behaviors, and relationships deemed legitimate in society (Scott, 2014). Recent research examining academic career scripts provides insight on their content and mediating role between institutions and individual action. Scripts are interpretive schemas that provide people with information about situations and perspectives on associated problems and solutions (Laudel et al., 2019). For example, academics have an organizational career script that reflects the sequence of organizational positions and role expectations associated with career success, such as assistant, associate, and full professor. Moreover, behavioral deviations from scripts are considered inappropriate, yet agentic behavior resisting rigid script guidelines can gradually and with difficulty alter institutions and shift behavioral expectations (Karam et al., 2013). For example, women faculty in the Arab Middle East may reject or conform to mandated gendered roles (e.g., caring for children) that can lead to change in how an individual woman enacts her role in the future and how others define her roles. In this way, women’s agentic behavior can modify the structure – at least for the focal woman. Taken together, scholars suggest that career scripts are comprised of prescribed and agentic elements crafted in the space between institutional mandates and individual agency (Valette & Culié, 2015).

To date, the intersection of race and gender is seldom addressed in research on career scripts. Given that race and gender are deeply embedded in society and shape organizational dynamics (Acker, 1990; Ray, 2019), we anticipate that career scripts are both gendered and racialized. Specifically, informal norms and expectations within the dominant business community often dictate career behaviors in a gendered and racialized manner. An example of these gendered and racialized norms shaping career scripts is the concept of “professionalism,” which typically reflects the attributes and values associated with members of dominant social identity groups, such as Whites and men. On one hand, professionalism signifies that one can meet the standards associated with their profession because of their knowledge and expertise. However, professionalism also frequently means conformity to standards of dress, appearance, dialect, and even possession of names associated with White values and norms (McCluney et al., 2021). Gendered and racialized career scripts emerging from these rules prescribe how successful organizational careers depend on conformity by career actors (Carbado & Gulati, 2013). Thus, racialized and gendered career scripts encourage career actors to closely observe role models experiencing outward markers of career success such as promotion, visible assignments, or high salaries to determine and subsequently engage in the activities that caused them to meet or exceed expectations. Because scripts reflect dominant values and appearance norms, Black women are unlikely to be seen as meeting standards of professionalism or other gendered and racialized norms (Donahoo, 2023; Koval & Rosette, 2021).

The Role of Paradox in Career Scripts

Because career scripts are gendered and racialized, we posit that Black women encounter unique paradoxes stemming from the dynamics of race and gender, which shape the ways they interact with career scripts. We define paradox as contradictions that exist “simultaneously and synergistically over time” (Putnam et al., 2016, p. 75). Paradoxes are sometimes written as a set of statements where neither statement is problematic when viewed separately but, when the statements are taken together, illuminate the contradictory, often absurd, nature of a situation (Smith & Berg, 1987). Paradoxes represent systematic patterns that emerge as people seek to process and respond to social actions and interactions (Putnam et al., 2016). Building on this research, we identify three paradoxes related to intersectional oppression that hold particular relevance for Black women’s career behavior and meaning making: invisibility, interests, and representation. These paradoxes, each comprising contradictions that mutually create and depend on each other, play a crucial role in shaping Black women’s career experiences. Specifically, we explore how these paradoxes serve as both resources and constraints for Black women as they navigate career scripts and institutions. To explain each paradox using Putnam et al.’s framework, we provide two contradictory statements/realities and a discussion of the gendered and racial forces impacting how these realities reflect and impose on each other and have endured over time. In each section, we include examples of the paradox from extant research.

Gendered Racialized Career Shocks

In addition to career scripts, shocks can occur during one’s life and career that stimulate career success meaning making and influence the individual’s career choices and behaviors. Akkermans et al., (2021, p. 454) defined a “career shock” as “a disruptive and extraordinary event that is, at least to some degree, caused by factors outside the focal individual’s control and triggers a deliberate thought process about one’s career.” For instance, the COVID-19 pandemic has been discussed as a career shock that spurred “the Great Resignation,” the mass voluntary quitting by employees of all races at historic rates during 2021–2023 (Akkermans et al., 2020). Career shock events may be singular or repetitive events that are predictable or unpredictable, short or long in duration, and positive or negative in valence (Siebert et al., 2013). Shocks trigger individuals to deliberate about their careers, disrupting the status quo (i.e., one’s normal thinking and actions) to consider the meaning of the event relative to one’s job or career progress (Lee et al., 1996). Akkermans et al. (2018) further suggest that career shocks may reduce or enhance employee personal resources and/or emotional reactions impacting how and to what extent employees engage in various behavioral coping strategies in response to the shock. We extend the existing definition of career shocks to include racial and gender dynamics that are clearly seen when we examine the career experiences of Black women. We offer three broad examples below to illustrate.

Repertoire of Identity-Aligned Behavioral Responses to Career Scripts and Shocks

Studies examining the behavior of minoritized people groups such as racial minorities and immigrants have long discussed repertoires of coping strategies. These strategies are defined as problem-focused or emotion-focused efforts to deal with environmental threats or stress-inducing situations (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Forms of coping include self-directed behaviors such as altering how one thinks about a situation or activities directed toward the environment such as asserting oneself, seeking support, or suppressing culturally aligned ways of speaking or dressing (McCluney et al., 2021). Similarly, we posit that Black women adopt a repertoire of identity-aligned behavioral responses to gendered racialized career scripts and career shocks. Behavioral repertoires encompass the orientations and self-presentation strategies utilized by Black women to enact gendered racialized scripts and respond to career shocks in alignment with their gendered racial identity. Over time, these behaviors can influence institutions such as professions. Like other kinds of repertoires (Rucks-Ahidiana, 2022), career response repertoires are shaped through a variety of influences including observations, advice, media, interactions with family, social networks, religious leaders, educational institutions, as well as from both successful and unsuccessful experiences navigating workspaces. We posit that Black women construct a repertoire of behaviors because no single strategy is always effective or ineffective in influencing career success perceptions.

Based on existing research, we expect Black women’s behavioral repertoire to include five categories of responses: authentic self-expression, shifting or codeswitching, active resistance, threat reduction/mitigation, and reinvention. There may be other categories, but we focus on these because research demonstrates their connections to scripts, paradoxes, or contextual threats.

Authentic self-expression is described as the ability to bring one’s whole self to work. Authentic self-expression is a response to the paradoxes of invisibility and representation. For example, in a recent qualitative study of Black women executives, the majority (80%) discussed how “benign intersectional invisibility” - described as a condition where gender and race seem to cancel the impact of the other - gave them the freedom to be themselves (Smith et al., 2019) including representing their communities. These women discuss coming to terms with their differences from White men and women and choosing to be known rather than shrinking from vulnerability. Authentic self-expression may include engaging in displays of anger or being authoritative despite the angry Black woman stereotype because this behavior is consistent with identity and appropriate for the situation. One example of authentic self-expression may be related to how Black women style their hair. A recent study (Dawson et al., 2019) found that for some Black women, wearing chemically straightened hair is conforming and shameful while others see it as the price of admission to a professional career. Authentic self-expression is the result of reflection on who one is and aligning one’s internal sense of self with external behavior (Cha et al., 2019).

Shifting or code-switching has been identified as a subterfuge that Black women engage in to placate others by hiding their authentic selves (Jones & Shorter-Gooden, 2003; McCluney et al., 2021). Code-switching includes behaviors related to work success that meet White cultural standards such as adopting a “White sounding voice” (McCluney et al., 2021). Identity shifting is a common strategy used by Black women. Indeed, in their survey of Black women, Jones and Shorter-Gooden (2003) found that most survey respondents (58%) reported identity shifting to gain acceptance by Whites. However, shifting is not confined to interactions with White colleagues but may also be enacted in interactions with Black men and women due to bicultural stress, a psychological tension Black women experience when “they are compelled to suppress or diminish one part of their identity in order to exist in either of the cultural contexts where they work or live” (Bell & Nkomo, 2001, p. 13). We propose shifting may be a response to the paradoxes of interests and representation as Black women seek to advance the interests of multiple stakeholders and represent multiple communities well. Black women’s codeswitching entails understanding the “social requirements, values, and behavior patterns” (Bell, 1990, p. 462) of the various groups they belong to. For instance, when engaging with a women’s employee resource group (ERG), composed of primarily white women, a Black woman may find herself shifting into “white voice” or talking about organizational or national issues and events that highlight gender but are colorblind. In a Black ERG, she may shift the conversation to talking about issues and events that highlight Blackness but downplay gender. Importantly, shifting stands in contrast to authentic self-expression because one pole of paradox demands codeswitching while another permits a degree of self-expression.

Active resistance is defined as tactics, spurred by anger, to call out and correct behavior perceived as wrong or unjust (Bhattacharyya & Berdahl, 2023). We extend the idea of active resistance to include certain agentic visibility tactics described by Smith et al. (2019) such as taking on high-visibility risky assignments, accepting risky jobs, and making bold statements. Both sets of tactics are responses to the invisibility paradox and involve women making demands that injustice, unfair treatment, and the women themselves be recognized. Black women may also resist when things in the context, such as mega-threats, demand greater attention (Leigh & Melwani, 2019). Examples of active resistance include challenging others, demanding acknowledgement of problematic situations, and other acts of positive deviance such as pro-group voice (Leigh & Melwani, 2019) to improve organizational conditions for Black women, Black people, or women of all races. Similarly, agentic visibility challenges people to see Black women as credible and persons of conviction by making bold statements (Smith et al., 2019).

Threat reduction involves suppressing a stigmatized identity and seeking to blend in (Smith et al., 2019). We distinguish threat-reducing behavior from codeswitching. While both are designed to make white or black people more comfortable with the focal person, they are different kinds of responses to invisibility or other career script content. Code switching is an attempt to be noticed as an ideal employee that meets white cultural standards. In contrast, we describe threat reduction as behavior designed to blend in and downplay what makes one different or stellar. This is akin to McCluney and Rabelo’s (2019) definition of invisibility with high belonging and low distinctiveness. Thus, it might include the use of strategic invisibility (Smith et al., 2019) such as going under the radar or doing the work that others don’t want to do (such as office housework). Additionally, Black women may behave in stereotypical or non-stereotypical ways to appease coworkers and managers (Dickens et al., 2019). An example would be ignoring discrimination out of fear that by addressing it one would fulfill the angry Black woman trope.

Reinvention is described as a process of changing roles or organizations to achieve greater alignment between personal values, skills, or work environments (Smith et al., 2019). Reinvention might include role changes, pursuing entrepreneurial dreams, or working with nonprofit organizations. For example, in research from the African American Women’s Voice project (Jones & Shorter-Gooden, 2003), one woman discussed leaving the practice of law and a prestigious law firm to become a professor. As a professor, there was more acceptance of her hair, dress, and speech patterns. She experienced a greater degree of belonging as a result of this change. Another woman described leaving banking to open a daycare and after-school center for single mothers. Indeed, Black women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs (Smith, CNBC, 2024). Finally, Tomlinson et al. (2013) found a similar pattern where Black women reinvented themselves but within the field of law. For example, one woman opened a law firm and founded the “first black-owned firm in the City,” creating a practice committed to diversity and equity (Tomlinson et al., 2013, p. 261). Importantly, Black women relate experiences of being plateaued (Smith et al., 2019), not belonging, or feeling that they are letting people down (Jones & Shorter-Gooden, 2003). Thus, behavioral response repertoires appear related to individually held perceptions of career success. In our next section, we will discuss the implications of behaviors for career success perceptions.

Implications of Behavioral Repertoires for Career Success Perceptions

Recent research has suggested greater emphasis on objective career outcomes due to their methodological value for making quantitative comparisons across people (Seibert et al., 2024). However, we challenge this focus by emphasizing the value of studying career success perceptions, aligning with critiques that view career success as socially constructed rather than objectively defined (Dries et al., 2008). A social constructivist worldview contends individuals construct meaning through their experiences which are negotiated socially and historically (Creswell, 2009). Thus, we do not seek to define success as an objective reality but as determined by the “world of meaning bestowed upon us by our culture” (p. 8). Employing a Black feminist epistemology lens, we center the voices of Black women and their perceptions of their success, rather than imposing normative views of career success that may overlook the historical and intersectional experiences that influence their career success definitions and perceptions.

In exploring the under-researched area of career success perceptions and identity-aligned behaviors, we draw on findings from studies examining Black women’s career experiences. While the extant research has not directly addressed these important relationships, our analysis uncovers evidence substantiating their significance. We detail our interpretations and the implications below.

Discussion

The aim of this conceptual analysis is to address gaps in research about career success by exploring how gendered racialized social structures influence career success perceptions. Specifically, as most career success studies have focused on OCS and SCS, we suggest that future work examine CCS perceptions, which we describe as a Black woman’s evaluation that her career actions and achievements contribute to her group’s interests rather than solely benefitting her or even the world at large. We further suggest that scholars examine how career scripts are racialized and gendered to reflect and perpetuate stereotypes that uniquely influence Black women’s careers. Black women respond to these career scripts with identity-aligned behavioral repertoires informed by internal and external career shocks such as mega-threats, inequitable treatment, and interracial relationships. Our resulting conceptual model, while not exhaustive, depicts gendered racial dynamics impacting Black women’s career behaviors and introduces a new conceptualization of career success that provides insight into the importance of incorporating intersectionality in future career studies.

Implications for Future Research

We extend recent research calling for greater attention to career success among socially marginalized and underrepresented group members (Seibert et al., 2024). Specifically, we have focused on a particular minoritized group – Black women – because of the intersecting systems of oppression that affect their lives, work experiences, and career trajectories. Based on our analysis, we offer several implications for future work on Black women’s careers and career success research.

First, we suggest further work considering the meaning and content of scripts. Recent research described career scripts as predefined frameworks shared within a professional community (Laudel et al., 2019). According to this conceptualization, scripts are instrumental in guiding individuals through an expected career progression within certain fields or organizations. Other scholars have defined scripts as individuals’ context bound answers to questions about their career paths (Valette & Culié, 2015). We argue that career scripts are not neutral guidelines but are inherently racialized and gendered, shaping different agentic responses for Black women compared to members of more dominant groups, such as White men, Black men, and White women. These differences in script interpretation and enactment are primarily a consequence of the disparate opportunities and constraints imposed by social structures based on race, gender, and other identity dimensions. Future research can also examine other identity dimensions, such as social class, age, ability, sexual orientation, and their intersections. For example, career scripts may also be age-stratified and able-bodied normalized. A career script may suggest that individuals of a certain age should retire, and able-bodied normativity may support this narrative with stereotypes that physical or mental challenges disqualify individuals from being effective employees. Additionally, there are age-related paradoxes that provide both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, age is revered (e.g., elders are wise), while on the other, it is demeaned (i.e., older people should step aside because they have outdated ideas and values). Indeed, these dynamics appear to significantly influence societal perceptions and structures, as evidenced in the 2024 presidential election process, where President Biden’s age became associated with infirmity and was viewed by some as a disqualifier for a second term (Lerer & Igielnik, 2024).

Moreover, studying the careers of Black women may provide insight into the link between institutions, scripts, and agency. Black women’s responses to racialized and gendered career scripts have prompted institutional changes. For example, advocacy for and passage of the CROWN Act in 17 states signifies a shift in societal norms, challenging conventional definitions of professionalism and advocating for inclusivity. Similarly, Black women contend with career shocks, including mass media coverage of police violence. However, career shocks studies rarely consider this kind of career disturbance. To further work on career scripts and career shocks as gendered and racialized, we suggest future research incorporate racialization research (Ray, 2019), which explains how race influences agency, resource distribution, the credentialization of Whiteness, and organizational practices. With these considerations, future research holds promise for scholars, career actors, and managers alike, to gain a deeper understanding of the intricate interplay between careers and institutions.

Paradox has been an important framework for examining the careers of women and Black women in particular (Bhattacharyya & Berdahl, 2023; Hall et al., 2019; McCluney & Rabelo, 2019). We extend this research by examining the repertoire of identity-aligned behaviors that Black women employ to manage paradoxical and gendered racial expectations and how those behaviors influence career success perceptions. While our focus has been on identity alignment, it is important to note that Black women do not always engage in such behaviors. For example, adopting White cultural expressions in hair, dress, or speech because one believes they are superior to Black cultural expressions is not code-switching but rather a form of assimilation characterized by the internalization of negative stereotypes and uncritical acceptance of these stereotypes (assimilation ideology, Williams & Lewis, 2021). According to the research, the adoption of an assimilation ideology is typically associated with early stages of Black women’s gendered racial identity development.

We further suggest future researchers refine and measure CCS, which we see as distinct from SCS. Unlike SCS, CCS is deeply tied to an individual’s membership in a stigmatized or marginalized group, where community uplift is frequently prioritized over personal career satisfaction (Sendze, 2023). This type of career success is uniquely experienced by individuals who are not just serving but are also members of the communities they aim to uplift. For example, an individual from outside a marginalized community might work to improve conditions within that community and achieve SCS; however, without shared membership and identity, we contend CCS would not occur, because CCS inherently involves a personal connection and commitment to the group’s welfare. Future studies should also explore the relationships among OCS, SCS, and CCS. Research such as that by Abele and Spurk (2009) reveals that while SCS has a strong positive influence on OCS over time, the reverse does not appear to be true. This finding highlights the complex dynamics between different types of career success.

Finally, we encourage careers researchers to broaden their epistemological frames beyond the traditional White, Eurocentric social constructions of knowledge (Collins, 2000; Williams & Lewis, 2021). Incorporating diverse perspectives, such as indigenous epistemologies, has proven valuable, enriching management and organizational science research with new insights and methodologies (Salmon et al., 2023). In our research, the application of black feminist epistemology has introduced unique historical and lived experiences of Black women, contributing to a previously unexplored conceptualization of career success. This approach has revealed dimensions of career success rooted deeply in the unique history of Black women in the United States. Building on this foundation, future studies should investigate how membership in various marginalized and stigmatized identity groups, including immigrants, refugees, and members of the LGBTQ+ community, influences career decisions and perceptions of success. Explorations of these diverse experiences promise to expand our understanding of career success in a more inclusive and comprehensive manner.

Implications for Practice

Our paper provides important practical implications for Black women, career counselors, coaches, and organizational leaders. First, leaders often adopt a difference-blind approach, ignoring the unique experiences and institutional expectations of Black women. Our proposed framework offers leaders insight into how career scripts are gendered and racialized and replicate stereotypes that uniquely complicate workplace experiences for Black women.

Second, our analysis posits that Black women engage in a repertoire of behaviors that may appear contradictory, such as authentic self-expression followed by threat reduction. These behaviors are often responses to career shocks and are shaped by the overarching gendered racialized career scripts they must navigate. Recognizing this, career counselors and coaches should tailor their strategies to help Black women manage these challenges effectively, enhancing the range of career behaviors that can be seen as identity-aligned and lead to career success perceptions.

Finally, our research reveals that Black women often have a concept of career success that diverges from traditional definitions prevalent among other employees. Their sense of success is deeply intertwined with a collective, intersectional struggle, emphasizing the advancement of broader Black community interests. Organizations that create opportunities for Black women to pursue these collective interests will likely see improved recruitment and retention of Black talent. Leaders must consider these collective dimensions when designing career development programs and organizational policies that support Black women’s unique career success concerns.

Conclusion

While some may view the focus on Black women’s careers as too niche, this paper demonstrates that research on Black women is essential for a comprehensive understanding of career dynamics. By employing intersectional analyses, we reveal how diverse influences—such as racialized and gendered career scripts, paradoxes like invisibility and hypervisibility, and career shocks such as mega-threats —impact careers. Finally, we introduce CCS as a novel concept that broadens our understanding of career success to include contributions to advancing group interests. Thus, our work not only highlights specific challenges faced by Black women but also provides insight on factors that affect the career success perceptions of many individuals in an increasingly diverse global workforce.