For Black Women Who Code-Switch When Authenticity is Enough: An Exploration of How Black Women Navigate Microaggression in Workspaces

This capstone presentation explores the history of Black women who have long been subjected to microaggressions in workspaces. Like most pervasive acts of oppression, discrimination situates itself in workspaces, affecting Black women who must constantly police themselves against these microaggressions of projected stereotypes, feelings of invisibility, visibility, and tokenism. This capstone presentation provides an overview of how microaggression is perpetuated against Black women as a result of their dual marginalized identities.

Coping strategies are also examined, as Black women often feel the need to modify their behaviors, speech, and hairstyles to overcome the afflictions of microaggression. Support groups and mentoring frame the analysis of how Black women cope with microaggressions in workspaces. The phenomenon of Black women empowering one another by utilizing the integrated perspectives of Intersectionality and Black Feminist Thought Alliance Theory is discussed.

Finally, this capstone presentation offers a fresh perspective on addressing microaggressions through a tech-savvy intervention for Black women to lessen the adverse impact of their experiences while collaborating with organizations to combat microaggressions through their diversity, equity, and inclusivity initiatives.