5 Empowering Tips for Speaking Up as a Woman of Color at Work
Are you having trouble finding your way into the conversation at work? Do you often feel dismissed or interrupted in business meetings? Or perhaps you already contribute regularly, but you aren't being heard. I promise you are not alone. Many women professionals encounter these challenges as part of their day-to-day experiences.
Countless studies have shown that fewer women raise their voices at work than men. The findings indicate that women don't feel comfortable asserting themselves in high-level meetings, sharing their perspectives, or showing up as their true selves. A McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org report on Women in the Workplace found that 50% of women surveyed experienced being interrupted or spoken over. Black women, in particular, face more significant challenges when they assert themselves and speak up and are sometimes stereotyped as the so-called "angry Black woman." These communication barriers are linked with cultural and gender biases and are harmful to women and deprive organizations of innovation and growth.
I was recently asked by a colleague how I learned to find my voice. I explained that speaking up as a Black woman can be difficult, especially in workplace or business settings where I was the "only" woman or person of color in the room or at the table. Throughout my career, I encountered the intersectional reality of workplace bias that many women of color face, which impacted my ability to find my voice. It took me years to overcome my hesitancy to share my opinions or join the conversation.
My journey was not easy, but as I took on more significant roles in my career, I leaned into my strengths as a professional communicator and learned to let go of my fears, own my voice, and advocate for myself and others. I now pay my experiences forward and coach and mentor women who often struggle to find their voices. It is essential for women—especially women of color—to be bold and speak up, so their voices and talent can be recognized, seen, and heard.
Creating systemic change is essential, and companies and organizations must be part of the solution. They must intentionally empower women at all levels—especially women of color—to find their voices by actively welcoming diverse communication styles. Organizational leaders and allies can also cultivate an open, accessible culture that makes it easier and safer for women to speak up. It's also important for companies and their leaders to champion women's empowerment and workplace diversity.
So, what can you do as a professional woman to reclaim your voice? While you can't control the persistent workplace biases and barriers, here are five strategies I've collected from my experiences and other women leaders. These techniques and tips will help you speak up strategically with confidence and rise above these challenges.
Master Your Mindset
The first step to finding your voice is gaining control of the inner critic that fuels self-doubt and limiting beliefs. Research indicates that out of the thousands of thoughts we have each day, 80% are considered negative. It’s so important to master your mindset, especially for women who work in environments where they experience systemic barriers and the constant struggle to find their voice. These instances can discourage you from speaking up when you do have the opportunity. It can also show up in your behaviors, like putting other people's voices before your own, second-guessing yourself, or simply staying silent.
To shift your mindset, you must learn to challenge your inner voice to prevent moments of self-doubt. Creating new and positive thought patterns can help you become more confident, allowing you to show up, speak up, and reclaim your voice in the workplace.
Empowerment Tips:
Write down negative statements and replace them with value statements that support your accomplishments.
Embrace the unique traits you bring to the table to help increase your self-appreciation.
Lean on your tribe or sister circle for support and help in reprogramming your thinking through positive reinforcement.
2. Know Your Value
Once you've mastered your mindset, a critical next step toward confident self-expression is knowing your value. Appreciating your knowledge and expertise can help improve your sense of self-worth and overcome self-limiting thoughts. In my experience, it has been the key to helping me communicate more successfully and own my voice when I speak. Recognizing your unique value requires an introspective journey of self-discovery.
Empowerment Tips:
Find your "why" or purpose, core values, and gifts, and present them as a unique package that only you can offer.
Explore your vision for success, set personal goals, and evaluate your progress using your benchmarks for success.
Clearly understand your value and communicate it to others using a clear, consistent, and compelling narrative as part of your professional brand.
3. Polish Your Communication Style
Mastering your mindset and knowing your value are essential components of effective communication. How you are perceived is often associated with your communication style, and a polished approach will help you to establish trust and credibility and inspire your audience.
Empowerment Tips:
Be familiar with your audience by knowing what they care about the most or what problems they are trying to solve so that you can tailor your message.
Be prepared in advance by taking time before a meeting to review the agenda. It will help you understand the purpose of the meeting, organize your thoughts, and be strategic about the points you want to convey.
Be compelling, concise, and credible with your messages. Lean into the "why" to drive your perspective on a specific topic and give people the proper context when listening to you speak.
Be aware of unconscious speaking habits that convey uncertainty and a lack of confidence. Examples include using filler words such as "like," "uh," and "um" or passive words "kind of," "almost," or "sort of." Eliminate the overuse of “upspeak,” the lifted pitch at the end of your statement indicating a question.
Be unapologetic by eliminating the words "I am sorry" and "my apologies," as they can weaken your overall message and presence. Also, be sure to move away from overexplaining yourself and get straight to the point.
4. Power Your Presence
Assertive communication goes hand-in-hand with how you show up. Whether in a virtual meeting or in person, the power of your presence impacts how well you engage and elicit trust in the room. Your confidence and visibility can help broaden and deepen your influence and increase access to opportunities.
Empowerment Tips:
"Take up space" with your presence by confidently showing up to meetings and business discussions. Your nonverbal cues can say a lot about your confidence level. So standing tall or sitting upright is essential, ensuring you're not hunching over trying to minimize yourself in the room.
Lean into the conversation and be present. Avoid giving away your power or staying silent. Seize opportunities to speak up, share your opinion, or even lead a discussion.
Make eye contact to increase the power of your presence while speaking to engage directly with your audience. By keeping your focus, your message will be received more directly and land more effectively.
5. Build a Circle of Trusted Advisors
Thriving organizations and companies have a board of advisors, and so should you. I wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't have a "personal board of advisors" invested in my success. This diverse network of strong mentors and sponsors has been one of the greatest gifts in my career and life. These incredible women have helped me trust my voice, increase my confidence, and speak with influence. They have also lifted me up, pulled me forward, and given me access to many opportunities.
Empowerment Tips:
Identify whom you need in your circle to help address the barriers you're experiencing in the workplace.
Set goals and priorities for what you'd like your advisor to help you accomplish. Examples include offering advice on a specific opportunity or challenge, coaching you to trust your voice, helping to strip away the limiting beliefs that keep you from achieving success or serving as an ongoing confidential sounding board.
Be strategic with your advisory board selections by including at least five professionals whom you admire, who know you best, and who can offer diverse perspectives, skills, and approaches to guide decision-making.
If you put these five strategies into practice, I'd love to hear from you!
If you'd like to learn and practice these strategies, tactics, and pro tips, enroll in my Communication Accelerator program. Learn more.
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