Across the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, Black women and gender-expansive leaders often experience a fundamental absence of trust in their leadership, a report from the Washington Area Women’s Foundation finds.

Based on interviews with 36 current or former presidents, CEOs, or executive directors of regional organizations across the public and nonprofit sectors, the report, Thrive As They Lead: Advancing the Infrastructure to Support Black Women Leaders in the D.C. Metro Area Nonprofit Sector (40 pages, PDF), found that a fundamental absence of trust in their leadership cuts across the themes among common sources of barriers and challenges for Black women and Black gender-expansive leaders. In addition to leadership, the report focused on nine other themes, including a lack of robust pipelines for younger leaders; daunting obstacles, such as navigating unrealistic expectations, microaggressions, and unacknowledged efforts; limited opportunities to display vulnerability in their workplaces without their leadership authority being undermined; resisting a scarcity mindset that attempts to create competition and divisions among women of color leaders; varying levels of support from their boards; persistent underpayment and undervaluation; distinctive obstacles in accessing adequate organizational funding; difficulties in donor relationships due to entrenched power dynamics; and profound exhaustion, with limited opportunities for rest and supports for well-being.

Produced for the foundation by KDF Strategies, the report also offers calls to action to provide enhanced support to Black women and gender-expansive leaders to thrive in their role, including spaces curated specifically for and by Black women; trust to access dollars to self-build additional infrastructure supports including trainings, retreats, and opportunities for rest and wellness; adaptable and versatile infrastructure to support their leadership; and cross-sector partners.

(Photo credit: Getty Images/fizkes)