How people of color and white women have to twist and turn themselves to fit the white, male expectations of corporate America

• America's corporate leaders are predominantly white and male.
• For every 100 white men who were promoted to management over the period of between 2018 to 2019, only 68 Latina women were promoted. That number was even less for Black women, at 58, per research by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org.
• In order to reach the top rungs of the corporate ladder, dozens of people of color and women described having to change or "contort" themselves to assimilate, an April 2020 study found.
• The study, conducted by researchers at Utah State University, reveals people of color and women have to twist and turn themselves to fit white, male expectations.

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For one Black female executive, being taken seriously at work means painstakingly going over every single email or message she sends. A single typo, she says, could significantly damage her reputation.

"I am like a fanatic about typos. I work really hard that what goes out over my signature is perfect. If it is a white guy, people think he doesn't have good help. But with me, I think people think 'she isn't smart …' I want my work product to be impeccable. Other guys just shoot some things out … I cannot afford to open a cut where criticism comes though," said the woman, whose name was kept anonymous by the researchers who interviewed her.

This is an example of a professional contortion, or a way in which people of color and women change themselves to "ease the anxiety" their white, male counterparts experience from having them within the same ranks.

It's one of many anecdotes shared in an April study, where researchers from The Utah State University conducted in-depth interviews with 32 high-level executives (SVP or higher) who were people of color and/or female. They asked them to describe if, and how, they had to change their behavior, looks, speech, ect. to get to C-suite.

What they found was that in order to break the proverbial "glass ceiling," or "concrete wall," that holds women and people of color back at work, these executives consistently had to perform these professional contortions in order to fit in.

"White women and people of color bear the brunt — and the burden — of inclusion in top leadership roles," write the study's authors, Christy Glass, Utah State University sociologist and anthropologist, and Alison Cook, professor of management at Utah State University, in the paper for in the journal Gender, Work, and Organization.

"Not only must they pursue a range of performative contortions aimed at making their white male colleagues comfortable with their intrusion, but they must do so on a consistent and continuous basis," they add.

How women and workers of color 'contort' themselves to fit in

Some women spend extra time on their appearance and makeup, wanting to appear feminine to fit expectations, but not too feminine, the researchers found.

"I always think about how I dress. If it is a dress or a suit, what color my nails are, how am I doing my hair? You want to be put together but not too much — then it seems like you care too much," one Latina said.

These actions aren't out of hyper vigilance. There are gendered ways people are expected to dress at work, studies have shown. And breaking those rules can reinforce a person not fitting in to a workplace culture, researchers found.

Research has shown that Black women with "Afrocentric hair" (like afro-styled hair) were perceived as less professional than Black women with "Eurocentric hair" (like straight-styled hair) per one 2015 study. And women who appear to dress too "provocatively," can be seen as be viewed as "attracting" sexual harassment, other studies show.

Other women specifically choose certain clothes to make them appear older in an attempt to gain respect.

"I tried to dress older and more stodgier so I might be taken more seriously. I was cute when I was younger. That isn't good in an environment where you are trying to be taken seriously," an Asian woman said.

Executives of color also discussed efforts they made to make white men feel more comfortable with their presence.

One Black male executive described being quick to highlight his preference for music that was popular with his white colleagues.

"You come in with preconceived notions about me, but then I start speaking about the Beach Boys or classical music … I throw them off. The bar, in their minds, the expectation, is low," he said.

Others still avoid bringing their whole selves to work because they feel they wouldn't be included, or worse, because they'd witness intolerance in the workplace.

One white woman who identified as gay said she wasn't out at work because her company didn't promote acceptance.

"I knew there were managers who had a low opinion [of members of the LGBTQ community] — I would hear jokes about dykes ... I didn't think it was relevant," she said.

Companies need to prioritize inclusion so people of color and women can be themselves at work

Diversity and inclusion are often take as one thing. But the study points to how desperately not only diversity initiatives are needed, but inclusion initiatives, too.

Inclusion initiatives actively promote and celebrate difference. For example, a company may have gender neutral restrooms or quiet spaces in the office for workers with autism. Inclusion also means giving marginalized communities a seat at the table when it comes to decision making, like having more Black, Asian, and Latino people in board rooms and on senior leadership teams.

Until corporate America does so, a grim future presents itself, the study suggests.

"None of our respondents felt that they had — or ever would — reach a position where their presence went unquestioned and unchallenged," Glass and Cook write.