Inside Social Innovation - Navigating Double Jeopardy in the Social Sector

Navigating Double Jeopardy in the Social Sector

02/11/19 • 50 min

Black women face racial and gender stereotypes and biases that often keep success in the hands of the few—and their experiences working in the social sector are no exception.

To understand the unique set of racial and gender barriers—coined “double jeopardy”— that stymie black women, listen to this discussion from Makiyah Moody, senior consultant at La Piana Consulting; Tyra Mariani, executive vice president of New America; Crystal German, principal of Prosperity Labs; and Ify Walker, founder and CEO of Offor. They provide insight into everything from survival strategies to creating more inclusive work environments.

“In my daily life, being black and being female comes into play on a constant basis, and that takes a toll,” German says. “It gives me a different level of appreciation. It gives me a different level of empathy.”

The conversation was based on Moody’s interview series, “Black & Bold: Perspectives on Leadership,” which she expanded upon in her 2018 SSIR piece about black women’s use of kinship to overcome career barriers in the social sector.

https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/navigating_double_jeopardy_in_the_social_sector

Black women face racial and gender stereotypes and biases that often keep success in the hands of the few—and their experiences working in the social sector are no exception.

https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/navigating_double_jeopardy_in_the_social_sector

Previous Episode

How Client Feedback Helped Transform a Houston Health Agency

Due to her father’s work as an engineer, Paula John moved around a lot in her youth. She often felt seen but not heard in the relationship with her dad. With her own family, she tried hard to listen, and she expected the same consideration from her local Houston health agency, she told former NPR host Bill Littlefield. When she reached out to the agency for help with an illness, and it sent her home empty-handed after a four-hour wait, she gave it harsh feedback. “She was right,” said Cathy Moore, executive director of Epiphany Community Health Outreach Services (ECHOS). “Some of the things she said were some of the things we focused on most.”

Through a Listen for Good grant, ECHOS began regularly surveying clients like John and responding to their feedback to transform the way ECHOS works.

https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/how_client_feedback_helped_transform_a_houston_health_agency

Next Episode

Dismantling Invisible Barriers to Capital

Research shows that when talented social innovators lack “invisible capital”—the so-called right pedigree, right passport, right skin color, right gender—they may fail to get the attention and investment they need to succeed. How can leaders in philanthropy improve access to capital? What tools can help nonprofit leaders overcome these barriers and get the support they need?

Social entrepreneur, author, and Stanford University lecturer Kathleen Kelly Janus leads a discussion about these questions with Echoing Green President Cheryl Dorsey, Whitman Institute Co-executive Director Pia Infante, and California Endowment CEO Robert Ross.

“Philanthropy is reinforcing many of the very forms of inequality that we are all working so hard to solve,” Janus says.

Dorsey identifies three main systemic barriers—a lack of access to capital and opportunities, psychological stress from social exclusion, and the unequal control of resources and political power in society—as some of the challenges to achieving more equitable investment.

Funders have to take a structural response to addressing these barriers, says Ross. Solutions might include changing the makeup of board rooms, staffs, and leadership teams. Or it might mean looking out for emerging leaders who haven’t already received major investment, and supporting them or having funders participate in implicit bias training.

“You can’t see what you can’t see,” Infante says. “It’s important who’s in those choosing seats.”

https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/dismantling_invisible_barriers_to_capital