Why racially marginalised women hide their identity by 'code-switching' to act 'white' at work
ABCAfter suffering racist abuse during her formative years, Angelica Ojinnaka spent most of her working life concealing part of her identity. DCA surveyed almost 400 self-identified "culturally and racially marginalised women", defined as women who are black, brown, Asian, or any other non-white group and who face marginalisation due to their race. DCA's survey found that 85 per cent felt they sometimes, often or very often had to work twice as hard as employees who were not culturally diverse women to get the same treatment or evaluation. It found that in those periods, when a narrower definition of "culturally diverse" was used — women without "Anglo Celtic" or "North-West European" origins — the figure of ASX directors who were culturally diverse women was 1.9 per cent. The prototype of what a leader looks like — "characteristics that are associated normally with white middle-class men" – also needs to be challenged, and culturally diverse female mentors need to be identified.
History of this topic
Why women are in Britain’s boardrooms – but not in the top jobs
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Corporates Talk Up Diversity, But Boards Stay Stubbornly Male: How Biz Can Bring In More Women
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Large firms lacking board level diversity risk ‘toxic’ cultures, group warns
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