Do Black Women Make The Best CEOs?

I recently came across a viral reel on Instagram in which it was stated that Black women make the best CEOs and I wanted to unpack that statement. Of course the overall reaction from people who watch the viral clip was "YAY! Of course!" but I paused and took the time to reflect on this message because something about it made me feel uncomfortable.

We already know about the glass cliff, the strong Black woman troupe, the pressure of Black excellence combined with a society that persists in undermining , underpaying and disrespecting Black women across all industries. So if you put Black women in positions of leadership how are they honoured? How are they treated? What are the expectations?

I made a video sharing some of my own thoughts:

Here's the piece I reference in the video: https://news.bryant.edu/can-distincti... Can distinction disguise discrimination? Examining the role of racism, sexism in CEO success by Stephen Kostrzewa "...female CEOs of color — who are subject to both gender and racial discrimination — emerged as the best performers, followed by white female CEOs and then men CEOs of color. White male CEOs, who faced the least discrimination, were among the worst performers." "That order seems to tell us: The more discrimination and scrutiny you face, the more you are required to be more capable to reach that position. When we compare male and female CEOs, In a sense, we are comparing extraordinary women with average white males.” - Dr Sonal Kumar

So in essence Black women CEOs don’t have a choice BUT to be the best because they are not given room or space to make mistakes. They are scrutinised more and criticised more so they have to work harder and be better than their counterparts of other demographics. This is not something that we should be celebrating but unpacking if we are to look at how Black women leaders are treated in wider professional spaces.