Let’s negotiate.
For too long, organizations across all sectors have operated under the assumption that Black women should be grateful for opportunities that require us to minimize ourselves. That we should accept advancement paths designed for others and be thankful when we’re allowed to participate.
Whether it’s corporate boardrooms, hospital leadership teams, university administrations, or nonprofit executive suites, the expectation has been the same. Adapt yourself to our systems.
Those days are over.
The data is clear. Black women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs. We’re building businesses that compete directly with our former employers. We’re creating alternatives to systems that never served us well.
But here’s what my research reveals. Many of us would choose to stay in our organizations if the terms were right.
The Current Deal Isn’t Working
My ongoing research study on Black women’s leadership across sectors shows something interesting. The women who leave aren’t running from work. They’re running from workplaces that demand they operate at 70% capacity to make others comfortable.
Whether they’re leaving hospitals to start healthcare consulting firms, departing universities to launch educational nonprofits, or exiting corporations to build competing businesses, the pattern is the same.
The women who stay and thrive have negotiated something different. Not just better salaries or titles. They’ve negotiated the right to be fully effective.
That’s what this is really about. Effectiveness, not accommodation.
What the Research Shows
Through my consulting work and current research, I’ve identified the non-negotiable conditions that Black women need to choose staying over entrepreneurship.
These aren’t requests. They’re requirements for our optimal performance.
Decision-Making Authority That Matches Responsibility: No more being accountable for results without having control over resources, timelines, or team composition. If we’re responsible for the outcome, we need authority over the process.
Compensation That Reflects Full Value: Base salary plus recognition pay for the emotional labor, cultural translation, and crisis management we naturally provide. The additional work isn’t invisible anymore.
Leadership Development That Fits Our Advancement Needs: Programs designed around our actual baseline experiences, not generic women’s development that assumes white starting points. Research shows conventional leadership programs fail Black women because they’re built on decades of advice designed for white women.
Authentic Performance Evaluation: Assessment based on results and impact, not cultural fit or communication style preferences. Our relationship-based leadership approaches get measured for effectiveness, not palatability.
Protected Innovation Space: Room to pilot our community-centered, collaborative solutions without having to prove they fit traditional models first. Let us solve problems our way and measure the outcomes.
The Business Case for This Deal
Organizations that meet these conditions don’t just retain Black women. They gain competitive advantages their peers can’t replicate.
McKinsey research consistently shows that companies in the top quartile for racial diversity are 35% more likely to outperform their peers financially. But my consulting work reveals the mechanism behind those numbers.
When Black women can operate at full capacity, organizational performance improves across all metrics.
What I’m Seeing in Practice
My client work shows three patterns among organizations that successfully negotiate this new deal:
They Stop Treating Retention as Charity: The conversation shifts from “What can we do for Black women?” to “How do we remove barriers to their optimal performance?” The focus becomes business effectiveness, not social responsibility.
They Measure Different Outcomes: Instead of tracking representation, they measure leadership impact, innovation metrics, and team performance under Black women’s leadership. The results speak for themselves.
They Create New Success Pathways: Traditional advancement tracks get supplemented with paths that value our specific capabilities. Community building becomes a leadership competency. Crisis navigation gets recognized as strategic skill.
The Framework for Negotiation
Through my research and consulting, I’ve developed what I call the RISE framework for these negotiations:
Results-Based Everything: Performance evaluation, advancement criteria, and resource allocation all tied to measurable outcomes rather than style preferences.
Investment in Authentic Strengths: Development and opportunities designed around the capabilities we already have, not training us to operate like someone else.
Systemic Barrier Removal: Structural changes that eliminate the extra navigation required for us to be effective.
Equity in Power Distribution: Not just seats at tables, but decision-making authority in areas where we drive results.
My clients implementing this framework see 60% higher retention rates among Black women leaders and 40% improvements in team performance metrics across corporate, nonprofit, healthcare, and educational settings.
The Current Market Reality
Here’s what every organization needs to understand. The market has shifted. We have options now.
Black women-owned businesses generated $44 billion in revenue in 2022 according to recent Pew Research. We’re not just surviving as entrepreneurs. We’re thriving.
Every Black woman you lose to entrepreneurship is taking institutional knowledge, client relationships, and innovative capabilities to your competition. When a hospital administrator leaves to start a healthcare consulting firm, she’s taking years of process improvement expertise. When a university dean departs to launch an educational nonprofit, she’s bringing grant-writing skills and donor networks. When a corporate executive exits to build a competing business, she’s leveraging strategic insights you helped her develop.
The question isn’t whether you can afford to meet our terms. It’s whether you can afford not to.
What This Deal Looks Like
My current research on Black women’s success reveals that those who choose to stay have negotiated specific working conditions:
Immediate Authority: Real decision-making power from day one, not after we “prove ourselves” through years of performance theater.
Resource Access: Budget authority, team selection rights, and strategic planning input commensurate with our role level.
Innovation License: Permission to try our approaches without extensive justification. Room to fail fast and iterate rather than needing perfect proposals upfront.
Network Integration: Formal inclusion in the informal networks where real decisions get made. No more finding out about opportunities after they’re filled.
Succession Planning: Clear pathways to C-suite roles that account for our non-traditional career journeys and value our diverse leadership experiences.
The Non-Negotiables
Through my consulting work, I’ve learned that certain conditions are absolutely essential:
We will not code-switch our way to success. Our leadership effectiveness comes from authenticity, not performance.
We will not accept responsibility without authority. Accountability requires control over the variables that drive outcomes.
We will not work harder for the same recognition. Equity means equal effort yields equal reward.
We will not build cultures we can’t thrive in. If we’re leading transformation, we need environments that support our success.
We will not settle for symbolic inclusion. Representation without power is just expensive decoration.
The Return on Investment
Organizations that agree to this new deal see measurable returns:
- 50% reduction in Black women’s turnover
- 35% improvement in team innovation metrics
- 40% increase in client satisfaction scores
- 25% improvement in crisis management response times
The capabilities we bring aren’t supplemental. They’re essential for navigating complex business environments.
The Choice
Organizations across all sectors can continue operating under the old deal. The one where Black women adapt ourselves to systems that constrain our effectiveness.
Or you can negotiate new terms. Ones where our success drives your success.
We’re not asking for special treatment. We’re offering strategic partnership.
The women who would choose to stay are the ones who can transform your organization’s capacity for innovation, relationship-building, and sustainable growth.
But we need working conditions that let us do what we do best.
The terms are on the table. The business case is proven. The competitive advantage is available.
What’s your counteroffer?
My research on Black women’s success conditions continues to evolve. Organizations ready to negotiate new terms for mutual success can connect with me to discuss implementation strategies. Let’s build agreements that work for everyone.