Before You “Lean In,” Read This

I’ve watched brilliant women walk into a room with receipts… and still shrink. I was one of them. Not because I lacked competence - because I was already braced for impact.

But why?

I’ve got a few theories but I’ll let you decide for yourself.

Lean In’s State of Black Women in Corporate America report is influential. It’s built on McKinsey + Lean In’s Women in the Workplace research, which they describe as drawing from 590+ companies and 22M+ employees over multiple years.

Right out the gate, this years report leads with:

Black women are significantly underrepresented in leadership roles.

We’ve all heard it before and I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who disagrees with this statement. But today I’d like you to take a closer look.

Let’s talk about how they show it.

#1: The comparison that “creates” the severity

One of the first visuals is explicitly framed as “Share of U.S. population vs. representation in leadership.”

LEAN IN: The State of Black Women in America, pg.6

Here’s what you’re looking at in short: The claim is that since White men make up only 35% of the U.S. population but 68% of C-suite - they are grossly over-represented.

So a reader would naturally interpret that chart as “corporate America is denying promotions to Black Women at a 500% discrepancy,” the visual can land like a verdict when in REALITY it is actually mixing denominators (total population vs corporate leadership roles).

That may sound technical, but it matters because how you frame reality shapes how people show up inside it.

If we’re talking about promotions and leadership representation inside companies, then comparing leadership to the entire U.S. population is a values framing, not a workplace reality statement (who is actually in the labor force and eligible to be promoted).

The report’s own chart is explicitly framed as “Share of U.S. population vs. representation in leadership.” That’s literally comparing apples to oranges…

So I ran the exact same logic using something closer to the real promotion pool: the civilian labor force.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics White men make up about 69-70% of the labor force, at the time of this report.

This would then mean that White men make up 69% of the workforce and 68% of C-Suite positions and just 57% of VP roles.

Looks pretty proportionate to me.

#2: Notes that discount nuance and biology

On the same page, the report states:

“And for every 100 men hired into manager roles, only 64 Black women are hired."

The question that immediately came to mind for me was... “Do Black women apply for management roles at the rate as men?”

Well last year, LinkedIn examined the job search behavior of their users in great detail. They found that despite viewing the same number of jobs as male users on the platform, women were:

• Less likely to apply for positions they had viewed on the website

• Less likely to apply for positions that were more senior than their current position (what LinkedIn call ‘stretch roles’)

• More likely to be hired when compared to men applying for the same position as them.

In other words, LinkedIn’s research shows that women on average apply for fewer positions, and in particular for less senior positions. So it may be that women are just applying for positions that are safer bets for them which leads to higher success rates per application. 1

#3: The “Did you know?” that hijacks the body

On the same page, the report states: “49% of Black women feel that their race or ethnicity will make it harder for them to get a raise, promotion, or chance to get ahead.”

Read that again: nearly half of Black women are walking into work already anticipating resistance.

What happens to your performance, presence, and communication when your body believes the building is unsafe - every day - before you’ve even said “good morning”?

And here’s the part that is rarely considered, if ever, and is the crux of my work:

If your nervous system believes you’re under threat, you do not communicate at a high level.

Stress reliably impairs key executive functions like working memory and cognitive flexibility - two things you need for meetings, conflict, persuasion, and strategic presence. And over time, chronic stress creates “wear and tear” that affects both mind and body.

So to be clear: this does not erase bias, racism, or sexism. What it does is expose something else:

The report is not just describing representation, it’s shaping perception.

If nearly half of Black women already feel their race and gender will make it harder to get ahead (49%), then repeatedly feeding them “you’re severely underrepresented” visuals framed in the most emotionally activating way possible doesn’t just inform them - It can condition their nervous system to treat work like a threat environment.

And when the body senses threat, it doesn’t prioritize nuance, creativity, or strategic influence. It prioritizes survival.

That’s why you might:

• talk too fast

• over-explain

• go blank

• get sharp

• or agree to things you don’t even want

It’s not because you’re weak or incompetent. It’s because your nervous system is doing its job.

Why this is especially hurtful

The stories we consume can become the reality we live from.

When nearly half of a group believes their identity will make advancement harder, that belief alone can create a constant background hum of vigilance. Even before anyone says a word to you. Even on a “good” day.

And chronic vigilance doesn’t work at work and nor does it “stay” at work.

It spills into your sleep, your relationships, your patience at home, and your ability to rest without guilt. Over time, that stress load adds up.

My question is: who benefits when Black women live in a permanent state of survival? And how much of this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that follows you from work… into love… into your home… into your health?

How do you stay powerful anyway?

Here’s what I’d rather see us do (in-spite of)

1. Audit the frame: when reviewing reports like the one I’ve considered here ask yourself what does the data claim vs what is actually true or represent lived experienced by you or people you know?

   
   

2. Regulate before you communicate: you can’t “confidence” your way out of a threat response. Develop daily practices that remind you to relax your nervous system and ones that you can adapt in the moment, like before a tough conversation or high stakes meeting - maybe even right before you walk through the doors or log on.

   
   

3. Build your pack: allies, sponsors, truth-tellers - safety is relational.

   
   

4. Practice embodied power: clear asks, clean boundaries, evidence-based receipts, and strategic silence.

Information isn’t the missing ingredient

Here’s the part most articles won’t tell you: knowing these strategies isn’t the same as being able to do them when it’s your turn to speak and your heart is pounding.

That’s the gap >> execution under pressure.

That’s why I created Voice of the Pack 2026: Vision, Strategy & Planning Workshop. Not as another motivational moment, but as a training ground where you practice these skills in real-time, retrain your nervous system to stay online, and build the kind of pack support that makes your power sustainable.

If you’re tired of surviving work and dragging the stress home, I want you in that room.

Come join me at Voice of the Pack 2026: Vision, Strategy & Planning Workshop.

Not theory, not fluff. Practice. Presence. Power.

You need repetition, tools, and a room where your nervous system can learn something new: I am safe enough to be seen. I am safe enough to speak. I am safe enough to lead.

If you want a practical starting point: take my Voiceprint ArchetypeTM Quiz and find out how your nervous system shapes your communication under pressure, so you can stop surviving meetings and start running them!

1. BIT, Women only apply for jobs when 100% qualified. Fact or fake news?, (November 2019),https://www.bi.team/blogs/women-only-apply-for-jobs-when-100-qualified-fact-or-fake-news/