Black women historically have been excluded and dismissed from entry into many sectors, healthcare being one. Authors from Harvard University penned an article titled "Superhuman, but never enough" in the Oct. 16 issue of The Lancet discussing what being a Black woman in healthcare is like.
Despite pushes for increased diversity in recent years, only 2.8 percent of the physician workforce is made up by Black women, and only 0.8 percent of U.S. medical school's full professors are Black women. Structural barriers like economic instability and underfunded school districts make it more challenging for Black women to enter the field.
Those who do manage to succeed often are hailed as "superwomen". Although the intention is good, this creates pressure on Black female physicians to never fail and exposes them to hyper scrutiny, the authors claim. Critics may regard them as merely filling a quota and professionally adequate for the job on their own merits, a harmful stereotype that can affect Black physicians' mental health.
They often shoulder a lot of the diversity, equity and inclusion work, becoming unofficial spokespeople for those causes alongside seeing patients and teaching. This adds more weight to an already heavy load.
Many Black female physicians are suffering under the "Goldilocks dilemma", either not being good enough or being too boastful, but never just right, the authors say.
They argue that more work should be put into developing diversity and inclusion hiring and promotion initiatives to ensure that diverse talent is brought into organizations and retained. For example, diversity, equity and inclusion initiative participation is a criterion for faculty advancement at Harvard Medical School. They suggest that institutionally implemented diversity programs are a good starting place to improve a hostile culture for Black women physicians.