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Smith Spears, R. (2015). Everybody’s Mama Now: Gloria Naylor’s Mama Day as Discourse on the Black Mother’s Identity. In K. T. Craddock (Ed.), Black Motherhood(s): Contours, Contexts, and Considerations (pp. 109-118). Demeter Press.

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Leading from the Margins: An Intersectional Qualitative Analysis of the Leadership Experiences of Black Mothers

  AUTHORS: Adiyah Aisha Ali, Ingrid M. Hayes-Burrell

  KEYWORDS: Black Mothers, Leadership, Intersectional Identities, Oppressions, Values

  JOURNAL NAME: Open Journal of Business and Management, Vol.12 No.1, January 31, 2024

  ABSTRACT: This study sought to inform individuals and institutions about the benefits of having historically excluded people—those relegated to the margins of society—in leadership positions. Specifically, this study aimed to learn how being a Black mother influences one’s choices, career opportunities, and experiences as leaders. While the literature review included an examination of the sociohistorical context for Black women’s oppression, this study focused on the present-day oppressions that Black mothers in leadership positions face and how they resist. In examining the relationship between race and gender within the construct of motherhood, this study conceptualized this existence as a Black motherhood identity. The four-tiered conceptual framework was a lens to view the convergence of intersectional identities, oppressions, and values and their influence on Black mothers’ leadership. Black feminist theory and intersectionality were the theoretical frameworks leveraged to address the study’s research questions, as they captured the myriad ways Black mothers navigate and resist intersectional oppressions and reimagine their position in social hierarchies, respectively. An intersectional qualitative methodological approach was utilized to center the knowledge and experiences of the historically excluded and marginalized study participants, allowing them to tell counterstories to dominant narratives. The study design consisted of a primarily semi-structured approach to the focus group and interview protocols. The findings show that Black mothers in leadership positions face workplace barriers but are deft at leveraging aspects of their identity to lead effectively. Based on the conceptual framework and the findings, this study has generated three recommendations for practice and future research to help workplaces dismantle barriers to equity and inclusion.