Voices of Resilience: Black Women’s Navigation to Executive Leadership Roles in Corporate America - A Narrative Inquiry

Black women remain markedly underrepresented in the C-suite, despite their growing educational attainment and presence in the workforce. This narrative inquiry examined the lived experiences of five Black women executives to illuminate how they interpreted and navigated the realities of leadership within corporate environments. Guided by Clandinin and Connelly’s (2000) three-dimensional framework, the study explored how temporality, sociality, and place shaped their leadership identities and strategies. Participants described early life influences, organizational dynamics, and identity-based challenges that shaped their trajectories, revealing how they confronted exclusion, navigated scrutiny, and cultivated resilience through faith, preparation, community, and strategic competence. Cross-case analysis identified recurring themes, including the emotional labor of corporate navigation, the significance of mentorship and sponsorship, the centrality of authenticity, and the deliberate use of resilience as a leadership tool. Together, their voices offered a rare and compelling view of how race, gender, and power intersect in executive spaces and provided insight for organizations seeking to strengthen pathways for Black women’s leadership advancement.