Why Black Women Are Leaving Their 9-5s to Build Businesses
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Black women face systemic barriers, bias, and a lack of support in workplaces around the world. We see how these obstacles push many of us to leave, not because we lack talent, but because traditional structures fail to recognise or nurture our potential. Entrepreneurship offers a way for us to reclaim agency, build inclusive environments, and thrive on our own terms.
The Real Reasons We Leave
Workplaces in Western countries fail Black women. Promotions and opportunities are rarely based on merit alone. Too often, they depend on who you know, who you socialise with, and who you share common traits with. As one Black senior manager explains: “I’ve seen folks get promoted, and it was decided by who you know, who you hang with, and what you have in common. The fact still remains: like people like people. If you have similar characteristics to someone, unfortunately, it will lead to benefits that I’m just not going to get.”
This is not just a reflection on unfairness. It is a mirror of a system that subtly tells Black women their talents, ideas, and efforts are secondary to fitting into a pre-existing mould. It is a system that privileges similarity over skill, comfort over courage, and familiarity over innovation. Every promotion passed over, every opportunity withheld, sends the same message: you do not belong here.
Moreover, support-or the absence of it-shapes whether we stay or leave. Women of colour often lack guidance from managers, mentors, and colleagues, making the daily work experience isolating and exhausting. Less than half of women report receiving the support they need, and women of colour receive even less than that. Without consistent backing, workplaces become a minefield of obstacles, where every advancement must be fought for alone. It is no surprise that Black women often feel pushed toward the exit because the system fails to recognise our skills and talent and nurture it.
Microaggressions further chip away at our sense of belonging. From subtle “othering” comments to dismissive behaviours, these experiences make it difficult to bring our whole selves to work. It is draining to navigate an environment that constantly signals you are an outsider.
These barriers are not unique to Western workplaces. They are global.
In Nigeria, for example, structural barriers at entry-level limit the number of women who can rise to senior positions. Women who do make it into management often leave roles due to frustration or seek lateral moves to environments that feel more equitable. The representation of women in the Nigerian private sector is around 29 percent at senior levels.
In Kenya, women face a “double dip”: first, a barrier to management, then a second to senior leadership. By the time the C-suite is reached, only 28 percent of positions are held by women. Across continents, the pattern is clear: talented Black women are consistently sidelined, and the pipeline to leadership remains narrow.
These statistics tell a story beyond numbers.
They show us that systemic barriers are not abstract; they are lived experiences that shape daily decisions, hopes, and departures. Black women leave because workplaces ask us to prove our worth continuously, while denying the structures that allow us to thrive.Building Our Own Spaces
The real reason we leave points to the solution: we must build our own spaces. Entrepreneurship allows Black women to craft environments that work for us, where our skills are valued and our presence is not conditional. In our own spaces, we determine the culture, the rules, and the networks. We create opportunities on merit, not similarity, and build support systems that nurture rather than exclude.
Creating our own spaces is empowerment. It allows us to reclaim agency in a world that too often diminishes it. It lets us lead in ways that help us grow, thrive, and uplift others along the way.
Workplaces will continue to fail Black women, but entrepreneurship becomes a path not just to success, but to belonging, recognition, and dignity. Share This Article
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