Understanding the power dynamics affecting black and minority ethnic females in leadership roles

Abstract

With businesses, institutions and governments focusing on improving diversity in leadership this qualitative investigation draws on the experiences of black and minority ethnic (BME) females of East Asian and South Asian heritage, in leadership roles, across four professional sectors. In the UK, black and minority ethnic (BME) and black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) are umbrella terms used to describe non-White ethnicities. The women have experienced unequal power relationships in professional spaces, because of their gender, ethnicity, and actual and perceived faith, and where there are similar social identities. The aim of the study is understanding the power relations that influence their career and shape their approach to leadership and how they cope, negotiate, or assimilate these experiences into their professional and personal lives. The themes that emerged from the study include concurrent racial, religious and gender-based power dynamics, social dominance and status, bias and stereotypes challenging the acceptance and legitimacy of the leaders, encountered from both in-group and out-group members; self-debilitating behaviors because of stereotype threat and imbalanced power, and the self-group distancing behavior of BME colleagues. The study offers an account of minority ethnic women in roles associated with positional power, formal authority and inferred influence, and how they are affected by those who offer or reserve approval, recognition, and support of their leadership.