When Black Women Hurt Each Other at Work:Internalized Racism, Racial Trauma & the Weight of Systemic Oppression

Systemic Racism Shapes the Environment Before We Even Walk In

Workplaces are not neutral spaces. They were built inside systems shaped by colonialism, patriarchy, and anti-Blackness. Black women often enter environments where:

• Leadership is overwhelmingly non-Black

• Stereotypes about Black women still operate silently

• Mentorship and sponsorship for Black women are limited

• Success feels like a narrow doorway, not a wide-open gate

Because of this, scarcity becomes the unspoken rule:

“There is only space for one of you.”

This scarcity mindset lays the foundation for competition, mistrust, and lateral violence—long before any interpersonal conflict begins.

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When Leadership Is Black, but Still Wounded by Systemic Racism

One of the most painful and confusing experiences for Black women is being targeted, belittled, or undermined by another Black woman in leadership.

You may hear comments like:

• “You think you’re smarter than me?”

• “Who do you think you are?”

• “You’re too confident.”

• “Tone it down.”

• “Don’t outshine me.”

These comments are not simply about personality differences.

They are symptoms of internalized racism.

How Internalized Racism Shows Up in Black Leadership:

• Feeling threatened by another Black woman’s intelligence or competence

• Believing there can only be one powerful Black woman in the room

• Gatekeeping opportunities to maintain proximity to power

• Aligning with dominant groups for protection or validation

• Punishing Black women who do not shrink themselves

These behaviours are often rooted in historical trauma, where Black women were taught:

• Survival depends on not challenging authority

• standing out is dangerous

• excellence must be controlled

• power is limited

• white approval equals safety

So when a brilliant, articulate, confident Black woman enters the space, she unintentionally activates old wounds and systemic conditioning.

This is not a personal failing — it is a legacy of oppression.

The system has taught us:

“Only one of you can succeed.”

“If she rises, you fall.”

“If she shines, you disappear.”

And when Black leaders internalize these messages, they may police, criticize, or sabotage other Black women instead of mentoring them.

This is how systemic racism turns Black women into adversaries rather than allies.

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Internalized Racism: When Oppression Turns Inward

Internalized racism is subtle but destructive. It creates dynamics where Black women:

• impose dominant stereotypes on each other

• resent one another’s success

• question each other’s professionalism or intelligence

• compete for validation from white leadership

• unconsciously replicate the same harm the system inflicted on them

Internalized racism is not a character flaw; it’s a conditioned survival strategy.

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Racial Trauma and the Wounds We Carry

Many Black women enter the workplace already wounded—from childhood colorism, school bullying, microaggressions, or generational stories of exclusion.

These wounds create triggers:

• mistrusting other Black women

• experiencing another Black woman’s confidence as arrogance

• interpreting feedback as a threat

• feeling invisible unless outperforming

When trauma is unhealed, it becomes easier to hurt those who look like us.

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The “Strong Black Woman” Mask Intensifies Competition

The myth of the Strong Black Woman leaves little room for vulnerability or collaboration. It pushes Black women to:

• hide their fatigue

• suppress their emotions

• overwork to prove themselves

• appear endlessly resilient

This mask can cause resentment and conflict because when vulnerability is unsafe, competition becomes the default.

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Lateral Violence: When Oppression Makes Us Turn on Each Other

Lateral violence is what happens when marginalized people are denied power and safety, and the pressure pushes them to lash out at each other.

In workplaces, lateral violence looks like:

• gossip

• gatekeeping

• exclusion

• silent treatment

• passive aggression

• microaggressions from Black women to Black women

This is not inherent to Black women.

It is a response to living within oppressive systems.

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Healing Requires Truth, Community, and Courage

a) Acknowledge the system first

Black women are not enemies; the system is.

b) Hold compassion for the wounded Black leader

Her harm is learned, not innate — but the impact is still real.

c) Build spaces of intentional sisterhood

We break scarcity by building abundance: mentorship, sharing opportunities, rooting for one another.

d) Individual healing through therapy and racial identity work

Especially to unpack triggers around competition, threat, and belonging.

e) Organizational responsibility

Workplaces must address anti-Blackness, support Black women leaders, and intervene in lateral violence.

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Reclaiming the Narrative

Black women are not naturally competitive, angry, or divisive.

We are powerful, intuitive, community-oriented, and resilient.

When we turn against each other, it is because the system designed it that way.

But when we choose solidarity?

We become unstoppable.

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Closing Reflection

If you have experienced harm from another Black woman at work — especially one in leadership — know this:

• Your experience is real.

• Your pain is valid.

• And it is rooted in systemic forces far bigger than you.

And if you have ever felt threatened, intimidated, or competitive toward another Black woman:

• You were navigating wounds, not weakness.

• You deserve healing too.

The path forward is not blame — it is truth, compassion, accountability, and collective healing.