5 Common Challenges Women Face In Business from a Black Women's Experience

Photo credit: Mel Dez Productions at WeWork

1. Thinly disguised misogyny from male-dominant owned industries

This grew prevalent as I embarked on a project in the tech industry. Visualizing, planning, and designing my very first mobile app product was no walk in the park. Professional business consultations were often met with flirtatious and demeaning remarks that had to be nipped in the butt right away, leading to awkward correspondence later or failure to correspond further. 

2. Commonly mistaken for uneducated  

Introductory meetings and exchanging information on professional background was met with surprising facial expressions and repetitive interrogations for validation. People did not expect me to say that I have a Masters degree and five years experience as a teacher in my 20s. 

3. Judged as superficial and often misunderstood

Millennial professionals are fashionable, unconventional, innovative, and creative. We're often mistaken for trying to reinvent the wheel well in all actuality we are spinning the same wheel at a new pace and spicing it up with a new taste because we are futuristic visionaries.

4. Lied to by corporations that want more money from you

Companies assume you did not conduct research and can identify when you are being overcharged. 

5. Endure a lot more footwork to get to the next level

They will require more from you to get their job but will not do the same for their male counterparts or big chip companies.