Navigating Barriers and Building Bridges: A Qualitative Exploration of the Leadership Journeys of Black Occupational Therapists.

Abstract

Importance: This article illuminates the unique challenges Black occupational therapy practitioners face on their leadership paths. Amplifying minoritized voices and raising awareness of systemic racism serve as catalysts for fostering equity and inclusivity in the occupational therapy profession.

Objective: To explore the journey and lived experience of Black occupational therapy practitioners currently holding or who had previously held leadership positions.

Methods: An interpretive phenomenological method was used to explore, identify, and analyze the supports and barriers participants encountered while pursuing leadership roles. Participants completed a demographic survey and a 60-min virtual interview. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to identify themes, and theory triangulation ensured validity and rigor in the analysis.

Findings: Five themes emerged: (1) sociocultural context can nurture the potential for leadership, (2) responsibility to build a legacy of representation, (3) micro- and macroaggressions: stereotyped and underestimated, (4) networking as a necessary process, and (5) creating inclusive spaces expands professional identities.

Conclusions and relevance: Findings were examined and triangulated through the lens of critical race theory and social network theory, providing valuable context for understanding social structures, power dynamics, and their impact on developing Black occupational therapy practitioner leaders. The data support the importance of networks and the role of institutional racism in perpetuating social inequalities that persist in the leadership journey of Black occupational therapy practitioners. Plain-Language Summary: This manuscript illuminates the unique challenges Black occupational therapy practitioners face in their leadership paths. Researchers used an interpretive phenomenological research design to explore the journeys and lived experiences of seven Black occupational therapy practitioners currently holding or who had previously held leadership positions within the past 5 yr. Five themes emerged: (1) sociocultural context can nurture the potential for leadership, (2) responsibility to build a legacy of representation, (3) micro- and macroaggressions: stereotyped and underestimated, (4) networking as a necessary process, and (5) creating inclusive spaces expands professional identities. The findings were examined and triangulated through the lens of critical race theory and social network theory, providing context for understanding social structures, power dynamics, and the impact of these structures on developing Black occupational therapy practitioner leaders. The data support the importance of networks and the role of institutional racism in maintaining the social inequalities persisting on the leadership journey of Black occupational therapy practitioners. Positionality Statement: The authors all identify as cis women of color and advocate for the impact of the intersection of race and gender on the occupational therapy profession. Tyra M. Banks is a Black woman, educator, scholar, and first-generation college educated. Karen Park is a Korean American, neurodivergent woman, occupational therapist, educator, scholar, and child of immigrants. Kayla Gibson is a Black woman, athlete, occupational therapist, and first-generation college educated. Their combined identities and lived experiences in a predominantly White profession allow them to hold an intersectional lens for critically analyzing the profession and amplifying voices historically excluded from occupational therapy narratives.