The “Outsider-Within” Perspective of African-American Women

In my research on women of color, I have noted that many African-American women appeared to embrace an “outsider within” perspective. That is, they brought the knowledge and experience gained from being an outsider (e.g., African-American woman) to the role of an insider (professional or managerial employee). I hypothesized that having this outsider perspective helped them more readily recognize issues of unfairness and exclusion, as well as the subtle (or at least unacknowledged) privileges that accrue to those in power and that may be invisible to the empowered.

http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/advancing-african-american-women-workplace-what-managers-need-know

I would further suggest that the “outsider within” perspective, along with a lower degree of loyalty to, and identification with, an organization (as compared with same-level peers) should also help one avoid groupthink—conformity of thought and ignorance of alternatives that leads to faulty decisions. Groupthink occurs more readily among teams whose members are similar in background and isolated from outside opinions. By contrast, if at least some group members—such as African-American women –keep a distanced perspective and are confident enough to voice alternative opinions, the group stands a better chance of making sound decisions. Business leaders who value conformity at the top (and such leaders do still exist, in spite of outward protestations of commitment to diversity) need to take a closer look at their organization’s cultural norms, decision-making processes, and core values.