Navigating the Unique Career Challenges Facing Women of Color
By: Faith Eutsay and Zena Lum, Senior Consultants with Lindauer, a top-ranked global search and talent firm; they collectively bring over 15 years in executive search experience grounded in more than 40 years of professional development service
As we grapple with the impact of health, economic and societal challenges that seem to grow exponentially, we should also recognize the enormous opportunities emerging. Without doubt, a strong non-profit sector will be key to recovery, reinforcing the resilience of communities and continuing to move our world forward. This article is for our sisters — women of color in fundraising and philanthropy — who are assessing their professional aspirations against this complex backdrop.
Many of us have heard the axiom, “women must work twice as hard as men to receive the same recognition.” Women of color are challenged even further, not only having to strive harder, but also having to achieve more than men and white women, to be seen and heard as valuable contributors in predominately white spaces. Throughout their careers, women of color have learned to navigate these complex spaces, while remaining true to themselves. You might ask, “What do I need to know to be successful in my own career?” We offer some guidance to help you navigate these unique workplace challenges.
Where Do You Want to Go?
Knowing your destination and charting your path are essential. Research is imperative. Can you identify growth opportunities within your current organization? If so, what might this path look like? Make sure you are well-positioned to develop skills and experience critical to that next level job and beyond. If an internal path is not available, which other organizations offer such potential? Finally, be sure to understand the culture of diversity and inclusiveness of the organizations you are targeting.
How Are You Wired?
Once potential paths are identified, make a self-assessment. Do you enjoy the challenge of a start-up or prefer contributing to the sustainability of an established mission? Do you prefer wearing many hats or specializing? As you conduct your research, ensure that your next role will align with your skills and experience, feed your passion and increase your proficiency.
Women of color are challenged even further, not only having to strive harder, but also having to achieve more than men and white women, to be seen and heard as valuable contributors in predominately white spaces.
How Will You Be Perceived?
Germane to your career considerations, and certainly to self-assessment, is the practice of code-switching. In the research text, Language and Interracial Communication in the United States: Speaking in Black and White, George B. Ray describes African-American code-switching as “a skill that holds benefits in relation to the way success is often measured in institutional and professional settings.”
For many women of color, code-switching is a skillset that is integral to our perceived credibility, promotability and ultimate survival in the workplace. Knowing how and when to shift your demeanor and speech is critical to effectively engaging with others in an interview setting or thriving after landing the job. Perhaps, in the future, code-switching will not be essential to success; for now, mastery seems wise.
Are You Maximizing Your Network?
Women of color are often subjected to compromising stereotypes. Networking is essential to building a support system of allies and staving off those misconceptions. Navigating your career path will require support and encouragement from people who may not look like us, but who are enthusiastically willing to stand up for us. Collaboration is the secret sauce to creating allies that will boost your career, as it allows others to experience your work ethic, creativity and problem-solving ability. This insight into your skills enables allies to tout your talents to internal leadership and serve as references in a career transition. Use this data-proven approach to activate allies who can help open doors. “Outstanding You,” coupled with “Open-minded Them,” equals a stronger, diverse institution, outperforming homogeneous groups.
For women of color, navigating career and job choice is a complex task, compounded by “unspoken, but understood” rules. Systemic challenges present barriers to growth, and many organizations are not ready to see past their blind spots. For further reading, we recommend Race to Lead, an initiative of Building Movement Project, which provides a series of reports on the racial leadership gap in the non-profit sector, including an intersectional analysis of Women of Color in the Non-profit Sector.
Finally, we encourage you to boldly share your accomplishments and showcase your excellence during your job search and after securing your new position. Know your audience, and then, be courageous, confident and strategically brave enough to speak. For women of color, it will take all of this, as well as an organization’s commitment to disrupting bias in hiring or in internal promotion, to see the wonderful talent we bring and the assets we can be.
Faith Eutsay, Senior Consultant, Lindauer
Having viewed the development world from an executive perspective, Faith Eutsay is strongly attuned to the characteristics of leadership. Her innovative nature and exceptional communication skills, finely honed from her experience in senior level non-profit and for-profit roles, help Faith effectively identify, engage and match top candidates with culture-appropriate clients.
Her connection to the non-profit world began with Integral Resources, Inc., telephone fundraising specialists for the non-profit profession. There, Faith was hired as Fundraising Campaign Manager and Account Executive, and quickly moved up through the ranks to her eventual role as Vice President of Client Services. In that capacity, Faith managed annual giving initiatives for 13 non-profit partners, raising over $7 million yearly, and directed all communication programs in addition to other responsibilities.
Faith made the leap to the non-profit sector as Vice President of Development for Easter Seals Massachusetts, where working closely with the president, she oversaw every aspect of the department. In addition to supervising all major gift, annual fund, special event, corporation and foundation activity, Faith served as chief frontline fundraiser to key donors while managing a development staff and Board relationships. In her seven-plus years helming the development division, Faith played a key role in advancing the organization’s strategic initiatives.
As Senior Consultant at Lindauer, Faith relies on her twenty years of development experience to guide her in fulfilling client needs. A self-described “generalist,” she brings the best of both frontline fundraising and management expertise to the Lindauer team. Faith is responsible for placing Chief Development Officers (or the equivalent position) at Buckingham Browne & Nichols, Walker, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Perkins School for the Blind, Babson College, Western Connecticut Health Network Foundation, Society for Science and the Public and Whitinsville Christian School. She has placed multiple candidates at WGBH, PBS’s single largest producer for television, mobile and the Web; Princeton University and Stanford University, counting Phillips Academy, University of Texas at Austin and Syracuse among her successful placements with several others to her credit.
Faith holds a B.A. in Communications/Business from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and an M.A. in Interpersonal Communications from Purdue University.
Zena Lum, Senior Advisor, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Lindauer
Zena Lum joined Lindauer in 2011, bringing with her over 17 years of non-profit and development experience. Zena started her non-profit career and spent seven years at the New England Aquarium in successive roles, and was eventually recruited by Boston’s Museum of Science. Other positions followed with Jumpstart, a national early education organization, and WGBH, Boston’s public broadcasting affiliate and a national producer of programs for both PBS and NPR.
Before joining Lindauer in 2011, Zena served as the inaugural Director of Institutional Advancement for Boston Public Schools, including management of all state and federal funding opportunities, coordination with other city agencies, and engagement with external partners. Zena’s placements include top non-profit and development leaders for Jacob’s Pillow, the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra; Cincinnati Museum Center; and the League of American Orchestras. Zena has closed multiple searches with Colby College, including their Director of Museum Development. She has also completed a combined twelve searches for Harvard Business School, Harvard Law School and Harvard Medical School.
Zena is an alumna of LeadBoston, and a board member of Women in Development, co-chairing WID’s Governance and Nominating Committee as well as serving as a member of the Program Committee. Zena holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Georgetown University.
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