in business, the double penalty for racialized women

Being a woman means facing, among other things, wage inequalities, denounced each year by the Les Glorieuses association. But some also have to bear the weight of racism, a taboo subject in business.

In France, in 2020, there are spaces where the problem of pay inequalities between women and men can be addressed. But almost impossible to evoke those between white women and racialized women, that is to say those belonging to a human group that has been categorized and stigmatized as Other (Black, Asians, Jews, Arabs, Muslims …)

Yet these inequalities do exist. In the United States, the Women’s Politicy Research Institute, cited by Les Glorieuses, shows that black women perceive 38% less than white men and 21% less than white women. A double penalty, therefore, for those who are at the intersection between sexism and racism, two oppressions which do not add up but which, when they meet, create a new oppression with its own functioning. And what about the situation in France? It is difficult to determine the extent of the phenomenon, since there are no ethnic statistics and research on race issues, in the sociological sense of the term, poses a problem for our institutions. However, there are many similarities between US and French society, and the subject is also widely documented by the women concerned on French soil. Now, they use social networks to denounce what they experience in business: difficulty in hiring because of a surname or wearing a headscarf, refusal to recognize their skills because of their skin color or a accent… "These women can also belong to other minorities, explains Rebecca Amsellem, founder of Les Glorieuses. You can be racialized AND fat, disabled … When we talk about salary in a company, rather than talking about THE woman, we must take into account our specificities ". However, this is far from being the case today, the world of work struggling to tackle even the issue of skin color.

Both structural and individual responsibilities

Carmen Diop, a sociologist specializing in issues of inequality and discrimination, confirms the existence of the problem, and explains that she uses empirical data to dissect it. Asked by Les Glorieuses, she details: "At all levels of the hierarchical chain, women of color, and in particular black women, with whom I work, are paid less and do not have the same advancement in their professional careers (…) Our own experience, when we are racialized, we are referred to a social class that is not our own, to keep us in terms of human relations at the bottom of the hierarchy ".

Among the various mechanisms allowing the oppression of racialized women in the world of work, the sociologist cites the fact of "reduce a person's responsibilities to prevent them from showing their skills" or, "to oversee her so that she cannot prove that she deserves a better salary or a promotion". Mechanisms "both collective and individual", who have in particular as guarantors these discriminating chiefs. Indeed, according to psychoanalyst and psychology professor Christophe Dejours, employees under the responsibility of such a person tend to adopt the same behaviors. Finally, Carmen Diop observes that the company ensures that the victims are physically isolated, dispersed throughout the organization, in order to "that they cannot organize themselves".

Financial cost, psychological cost

Result for racialized women: an impact on their wages, which should finally be able to be quantified. But also, on their mental and physical health. Indeed, and a quick tour of the tweets testifying to the situation at work shows it, it is practically impossible for those concerned to speak. A suspicion of sentimentality, of "lack of humor", even a strategy to harm a colleague or the company are all arguments drawn when the word "racism" is uttered. In a country which establishes universalism as a principle (that is to say that all individuals live by the same rules, without distinction of class, race, gender, religion…) and whereas the company readily declares itself " neutral "in the treatment of its employees, we cannot admit that such situations exist. And even if that was the case, why correct them, since they guarantee a number of privileges to the dominant people, namely white men, followed by white women?

It is therefore very difficult today to cope for the victims of this sexime mixed with racism, the people concerned feeling crushed by what is called the racial burden (the fact of constantly monitoring their appearance, their attitudes, having to remain calm in the face of micro-attacks, to constantly strategize your exchanges …). What to do then? Asked by Forbes, Marie Donzel, expert in inclusion and strategy within the Alternego firm, encourages "have trusted points of contact outside the hierarchical line or HR, (such as) staff representative bodies. The Diversity and Inclusion departments can also welcome the words of victims or witnesses of acts of racist order. It is also recommended to appeal to specialized associations which can advise and guide usefully on the steps to be followed and possibly support the victim in these. A report to the Defender of Rights is also recommended ". Less official, the coaches specializing in these issues, who today help in the fight for equality in business, between men, women and racialized people, too often forgotten in this fight.