by Daphna Motro, Jonathan B. Evans, Aleksander P.J. Ellis, and Lehman Benson Ill
The angry Black woman stereotype has penetrated many parts of American culture, including the workplace. This pervasive stereotype not only characterizes Black women as more hostile, aggressive, overbearing, illogical, ill-tempered and bitter, but it may also be holding them back from realizing their full potential in the workplace — and shaping their work experiences overall.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says Black women make up nearly 7% of the workforce, and still, they are severely underrepresented in leadership positions, especially among CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. Ursula Burns, the former CEO of Xerox, became the first Black woman CEO of a Fortune 500 in 2009. As of 2021, Walgreens CEO Rosalind Brewer and TIAA’s chief executive officer Thasunda Brown Duckett are the only two Black women who currently hold that position. Overall, the U.S. Department of Labor reports that in 2020, Black women’s unemployment rate was 10.9%, compared to 7.6% for white women. These realities led to our desire to look more closely at the angry Black woman stereotype. We argue that companies could miss out on the full contribution of Black women in their organizations because of this image.
Where The Angry Black Woman Stereotype Came From
Notably, characterizing Black women as loud, irascible, too straightforward — and just plain angry — isn’t a new practice. In her book Ar’n’t I a Woman?: Female Slaves in the Plantation South, Rutgers University history professor Deborah Gray White notes that the angry Black woman image is deeply rooted in American culture and dates back to chattel slavery in the U.S.
The trope has been a prolific profile for decades in politics, books, films, and namely, popular television shows. In fact, many characters that are welcomed as cultural favorites utilize the stereotype of an angry Black woman. There’s Sapphire in Amos ‘n’ Andy in the ’50s and Florence in The Jeffersons in the ’70s. Comedian Martin Lawrence portrayed Sheneneh in his eponymous ’90s sitcom, and today reality TV star Nene Leakes is a meme favorite, radiating disapproval and sass. (Leakes’ famous expressive eye roll is markedly immortalized in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.) The angry Black woman is an image that feels familiar in pop culture — and organizational life.
How It Impacts the Workplace
Anger is a commonly expressed emotion in the workplace. But our research has found that when some people see a Black woman become angry, they’re likely to attribute that anger to her personality — rather than an inciting situation.
This may be explained by attribution theory, a psychological theory that looks at whether people attribute causes of behavior to either internal or external characteristics. An internal attribution occurs when the behavior is perceived to be about the person themself. For example, we may think a Black woman expresses anger because she has an angry disposition. An external attribution occurs when the behavior is attributed to a frustrating or unfair situation. In this case, if we see an employee expressing anger at a supervisor, we might believe it’s because her boss treats her unfairly, which leads to less negative assumptions about the person.
As research in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology points out, stereotypes provoke internal attributions.
A Deeper Look
To learn more about the angry Black woman stereotype, we conducted two experiments that looked at reactions when people express anger at work. In our first experiment, we asked more than 300 undergraduate business students to watch one of eight videos, in which they observed a male supervisor to one of his employees. In each video, there were three factors at play: race, gender, and emotional response of the employee. (The employee was either Black or white, male or female, and angry or neutral.) When the employee was angry, their tone began to increase, eventually shouting and yelling at the supervisor.
After watching the video, participants of the study answered a series of questions, including questions about attributions (like was the employee’s anger internal or external?) performance evaluations (such as is this employee a good performer?) and leadership capabilities (for example, would this employee be a good leader?).
Our results found participants were more likely to attribute the anger of Black female employees to internal characteristics, or her personality. This had negative consequences because internal attributions translated into lower performance ratings and leadership evaluations. It’s important to note the demographics of the study’s participants didn’t affect the results; whether man or woman, Black or white (or other races), participants were more likely to attribute a Black woman expressing anger to her personality.
More Insights
We conducted a second experiment to see if expressions of anger from Black women activated the angry Black woman stereotype in the minds of people observing her. We used a similar setup to the first experiment, however this time, we only looked at female employees since, in the first experiment, we did not find any effects with men.
In our second experiment, the sample included 253 adults working across industries in the United States. Participants were asked to imagine they were a sales representative at a marketing company, and that one day on the job, another employee at the same marketing company came to their desk to talk. Then, participants listened to one of four audio recordings from their coworker. The recordings portrayed either a Black actress or a white actress, and either anger was expressed, or it was not. We used audio clips instead of video clips to avoid any distractions, such as how the employee looks. The employee in the audio clip who approached the desk had either a traditionally Black name, Lakeisha, or a traditionally white name, Claire.
In the recording, either Claire or Lakeisha told participants she had seen them come into work late, and how she had mentioned many times before that their tardiness was unprofessional. In the recordings that included expressions of anger, Lakeisha or Claire expressed a stern and hostile tone, raised their voices, and sounded noticeably annoyed and indignant about the participant’s tardiness. These voice affectations were absent in the other recordings. After listening to the clip, participants answered questions about stereotypes, such as: Are Black women aggressive? They also answered a series of questions about attributions, performance evaluations and leadership capabilities.
In the second experiment, participants were more likely to attribute the Black female employee’s anger to internal characteristics (her personality) because the behavior brought to mind the stereotype of an angry Black woman. Once again, this reaction had negative consequences for the Black woman, leading to poorer performance evaluations and lower assessment of her leadership capabilities, even when controlling for the gender and race of the study’s participants.
Our research shows not all people are treated the same when it comes to expressing anger in the workplace, and people react more negatively to Black women who express anger because they activate the stereotype of an angry Black woman and internal attributions. Yet, there is little evidence suggesting that Black women actually are angrier than white women.
Organizations can take action to help their employees overcome the angry Black woman stereotype in the workplace. Here are a few tips to help identify, discuss and respond to this characterization.
Acknowledge the problem exists. It sounds simple to acknowledge the problem, but ignorance (either intentional or unintentional) can easily get in the way of being aware. Research from The George Washington University Law School has indicated once people are made aware of different biases and stereotypes, they are more likely to recognize them when it appears and are less likely to succumb to the influence of bias.
Most people want to hold a positive view of themselves (called the self- positivity bias), which could block them from seeing the stereotypes they hold. Efforts to bring awareness (such as training) could help curb discrimination.
Be empathetic. It’s powerful to put yourself in someone’s shoes. Another way to combat the angry Black woman stereotype is to self- reflect. Think about how we react, and most importantly, try to understand the experiences of our coworkers during the workday.
If an employee is angry, before jumping to a conclusion, ask why they are experiencing such strong emotions. Don’t simply rely on assumptions about their personality. Instead, ask, listen, learn, and then reflect. Also, think of a time when you were angry at work. How did people react, and how did you expect people to respond to your anger?
Be intentional. You don’t have to let the stereotype remain unchallenged. Think about your next steps to combat the angry Black woman stereotype. For example, getting to know the other person beyond their physical makeup makes a huge difference.
When working together in a team, appreciate everyone’s unique personality by creating meaningful social interactions, whether in the workplace (asking them how their day is going) or outside (suggesting they get a coffee together). This way, she isn’t “only a Black woman” anymore. Now, she is a trusted colleague and friend.
Ultimately, it’s important to also acknowledge the angry Black woman stereotype persists beyond the workplace, and it should be combated in other aspects of life. California State University professor Wendy Ashley notes it can influence the efficacy of mental health treatment for Black women. The stereotype can lead clinicians to misinterpret their symptoms, leading to misdiagnosis. Also, there’s evidence the angry Black woman stereotype is reinforced through cyber aggression, where Black women are targets of vicious and easily accessible messages on social media. Since this stereotype can yield its wrath in several facets of life — personal and organizational — the need to acknowledge the problem, be empathetic, and be intentional is important now more than ever.
Daphna Motro is an assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship at Hofstra University’s Frank G. Zarb School of Business.
Jonathan B. Evans is an assistant professor of the Organizational Behavior and Human Resources Division at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business.
Aleksander P.J. Ellis is the management and organizations department head at the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management
Lehman Benson III is an associate professor of management and organizations at the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management.