Professionalism Is a Relic of White Supremacist Work Culture
Whether it’s Zoom or Slack, Black women can be who we are and get work done
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I’ve long been a believer that professionalism is just a synonym for obedience. The less social capital you have, the more you are tethered to professionalism. It’s why Mark Zuckerberg can wear the same T-shirt to work while Black women are punished for wearing braids. The rules are different for different people depending on wealth, race, or class. Professionalism is often used as an amorphous term designed to uphold a single (read: White) standard. So, while it may seem objective to expect people to look, act and, work a particular way, enforcing these standards can be an undue burden on marginalized identities. For Black women, in particular, navigating the workplace is tough.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic has seen upward of 42% of American workers working from home. Contact with colleagues and bosses has been relegated to emails, Slack messages, and the dreaded Zoom meeting. Expectations of professionalism are no longer relegated to the office but remote work presents itself with many unique challenges. Should I put on a nice blouse before this staff meeting? Which Zoom background covers up my apartment the best? Am I smiling enough? Should I respond to this late-night email so my boss thinks I’m always available?
Working remotely has provided an opportunity for Black women to flourish outside of the expectations of professionalism, simply by nature of not being hypervisible and held to standards that weren’t designed for us. So this begs the question: How has remote work changed what it means to be professional for working Black women?
Sade, a 29-year-old therapist living in Virginia, initially loved working from home, primarily due to the physical comfort. While working with students, she normally had to wake up at 5 a.m. for her commute to work. But working from home has taught her some valuable lessons about the expectations she used to adhere to when it comes to both management and appearance: “I don’t need a certain level of management to do my job… I’m doing my job in my pajamas and I’m doing it to the level I would if I were in a suit.”
Working remotely has provided an…
