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While it seems some women are breaking the corporate ceiling, many African-American female executives are finding themselves left behind. And those who do reach the pinnacle of success in their industries are finding that they face harsher penalties than other business leaders when organizations fail.

According to a new study by professors Ashleigh Shelby Rosette of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and Robert W. Livingston of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, black women point-blank have a harder time of their jobs in leadership positions. The study, entitled “Failure is not an option for Black women: Effects of organizational performance on leaders with single versus dual-subordinate identities,“ is published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology and was covered today on The Huffington Post.

For the study, 228 participants “read fictitious news articles about a company’s performance, including permutations in which the leader was black or white, male or female and successful or unsuccessful. What they found was that black women who failed were viewed more critically than their underperforming white or male counterparts — even those of the same race,” HuffPo writes.

Author and life empowerment coach Dr. Anita Davis DeFoe said in an online chat that black women must face the reality that racism exists in the workplace and learn to overcome other people’s preconceptions. “People will always bring their stereotypical thinking and biases into the  workplace, so as women of color we must accept this, hope that it changes, but meanwhile focus on aspects of our work life we can control.” In order to do this, Dr. DeFoe advises:

1.  Focus on strengthening your personal emotional intelligence (EQ). No one is able to increase the emotional intelligence of another, especially in the workplace. Understanding your level of emotional intelligence will help you build stronger relationships, succeed at work and achieve your career and personal goals, in spite of biases.

2. Become an irreplaceable employee. Develop skills and productivity levels that make you a star employee in the company. Results can overcome many discrimination issues as competency is always regarded. You do not necessarily have to  have popular to have power. By being an employee who is highly valuable, your status and responsibilities will naturally increase to meet the company’s needs and foster the respect that you deserve.

A recent campaign on Facebook called, Who Needs Feminism? has sparked some controversy all over the web. Originally started by 16 women who attend Duke University, they created this campaign to combat the negative images that resonate with people when they hear the world feminism:

“Identify yourself as a feminist today and many people will immediately assume you are man-hating, bra-burning, whiny liberal. Perhaps a certain charming radio talk show host will label you as a “Feminazi” or “S**t.” Even among more moderate crowds, feminism is still seen as too radical, too uncomfortable, or simply unnecessary. Feminism is both misunderstood and denigrated regularly on a broad societal scale.”

Inspired by a Women in the Public Sphere course at Duke University, these 16 young women have decided to fight back and teach people what they believe it truly means to be a feminist.  The idea that many people believe we don’t need feminism anymore is frightening. Women are still degraded and objectified in the media, women are still not given equal pay even though many exceed most men in education, women are still being told what they can and can’t do with their own bodies. Simply put, we’re still getting the short end of the stick.

What I really like about this campaign is that it allows women and men who are usually not the face of feminism to have a voice. Middle class white woman have always been the main vehicle for feminism, which has somewhat excluded women of color, queer identified people, and transgender people.  I also like that men are entering into the conversation, because feminism isn’t about the equality of just women, but men too.

Even now, when you ask people what they think a feminist is, they will most likely think of some radical white woman who doesn’t shave and hates all men. When in actuality, people like me, a 21-year old black female in college, identifies as a feminist/womanist.

As great as feminism is, why do women of color have to create another movement to gain recognition? Why is it that in 2012, we still have to question this? As a young black feminist, I sometimes find myself outside of the conversation. I attend the meetings of my college’s feminism group and the lack of faces that look like mine is staggering. Many women of color either feel feminism isn’t for them and/or feel that the issues that pertain to them don’t get addressed, so they wonder why they need to get involved.

It’s nice to see college students take the initiative to tackle an important issue, I just hope in the future that more young black women will feel confident enough to call themselves feminists.

Do you believe we still need feminism? Does feminism play a part in your life?

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When a new study came out earlier this month suggesting that assertive black women receive less backlash than white women on the job because they’re expected to be strong, it seemed like a bit of a catch 22. But the researchers behind the study say black women can use this information to their advantage in the work place because what the results really show is that they are good leaders.

“There’s this idea that acting dominantly is explicitly proscribed for white women and explicitly proscribed for black men,” says Ashleigh Shelby Rosette, co-author of the study and an associate professor at Duke. “However, for black women there is this stereotype out there of the ‘angry black woman.’ Some of these behaviors we often think of as extremely negative but actually, if you think about it, that angry black woman stereotype is also congruent with things like being aggressive, dominant, assertive, and self-assured—and those are our typical leader characteristics.”

In an online survey of 84 non-black participants conducted by Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, subjects were asked a series of questions based on eight different scenarios with executives either communicating dominant or communal behaviors. When the results were tabulated, aggressive and direct leadership reflected negatively on white females and black males, but surprisingly it was seen as positive coming from black women and white men.

The reason for this, Rossette says, is that in the minds of most people, “Black women aren’t just a mirror image of white women—they occupy a new and unique space.” When you think of women, white females typically come to mind, and when when it comes to race, there’s usually an image of a black man. Because black women fall in between the two, they are seemingly safe from the negative outlooks placed on either group.

Rossette says these results require a new way of thinking about the power black women currently hold in the workplace, yet there is still much to do.

“When a black woman occupies a leadership position, she may have more behavioral freedom than we previously thought to communicate more forthrightly and recognize that she won’t necessarily be penalized because of that.

“But the presumption in our research is that she currently occupies the position. It’s completely counterintuitive to what we thought would happen when black women occupy these top positions, but the next aspect is how do we get them into these positions.”

Do you agree with this study’s findings about black women’s assertive nature making them good leaders?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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A new Duke University study found that African American and Asian teenagers are less likely to use drugs and alcohol than teens of other races.

Of teens across all racial groups, aged 12-17, 37 percent used alcohol or drugs in the past year and 7.9 percent were classified as having a drug problem.

Author of the study, Dan Blazer, from the university’s Department of Psychiatry, said, “There is certainly still a myth out there that black kids are more likely to have problems with drugs than white kids, and this documents as clearly as any study we’re aware of that the rate of … substance-related disorders among African American youths is significantly lower.”

Find out which racial group is more likely to abuse drugs or alcohol and get the rest of the story at Black Voices.com.

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This is possibly a no-brainer, but hey, never hurts to hear it again. If you’re a lady working on your fitness at the gym, a new study says jogging and other aerobic activities are more beneficial than picking up weights. Good ‘ol running. Your favorite activity, right? (Yeah, right).

An eight month study conducted by Duke University Medical Center found that when you’re trying to lose that stubborn body fat, aerobics are more effective. Especially  in the fight to lose the fat near the abdomen called visceral and liver fat, which can increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease. That belly fat that keeps you from feeling less than fab can be obliterated (through hard work and time) by long distance running, biking, swimming, and a lot more. Mixing resistance training (weight lifting of any sorts) with aerobics can be helpful in burning off a large amount of calories, so don’t run away from weights completely. But resistance training is more or less about improving strength and toning, the focus isn’t on weight loss as much.

With obesity rates in America increasing to the nines, it’s best we take any advice we can get out here folks. Especially the free kind (a la, go for a run in the park for free.99?). If you’re not the most athletic person out there, other aerobic exercises you can try at your local gym or outside other than getting your run on include the following:

• Stair climbing
• Elliptical trainer
• Indoor rower
• Stairmaster
• Stationary bicycles
• Treadmill (of course!)
• Real cycling
• Skating (Roll, bounce!)
• Jumping rope
• Swimming

…and a lot more. So you know what to do when you get to the gym, girl. You “betta” work!

By Khadija Allen

A new policy to inflate grade point averages at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles will kick in next month to make it easier for students in a dire economy. The law school will increase their grading system by adding on 0.333 to every grade the student receives to enhance their portfolio and career prospects in a competitive job market.

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