The African American woman's leadership experience in corporate America: The impact of biculturalism

A qualitative research methodology incorporating a case study approach was utilized in this exploratory study that investigated the work-life experiences of Bicultural African American women leaders. Eight African-American women, residing in different parts of the Southern region of the United States, and representing various industries and professions, participated in this study. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted. Data were analyzed using Creswell's (2009) and Miles and Huberman's (2004) coding and analysis methods. The completed research study includes 8 individual cases presented in three major sections: the self-identity domain, the, leadership domain, and the role of biculturalism. The self-identity domain includes aspects of the participants' lives, such as background, personal traits, and mindset. The leadership domain encompasses career development processes and work experiences. It also includes the exposure and opportunities the women received, the obstacles they faced, and the strategies they employed. Finally, the section on biculturalism outlines how participants integrated their self-definition as African American women and their leadership identities to arrive at the bicultural self they felt comfortable sharing. It is written to address the overarching research question: (1) What does it mean to be bicultural, as an African American woman leader in the American corporate environment? A number of implications of this study are discussed, including (a) providing insight to other bicultural African American women on the strategies of those who have already achieved a level of success; (b) presenting a foundation upon which a career development model for bicultural African American women can be developed; (c) offering guidelines for and providing insight to career development counselors, coaches, as well as managers who work with talented and ambitious bicultural African American women; and finally (d) recommending direction for further research. Implications for organizational professionals and managers are discussed. Due to the exploratory nature of the study, generalizability of the findings is limited. Instead, the findings should be used to contribute to future research in this area by incorporating larger samples of bicultural African- American women and exploring these issues in studies with other ethnic groups and men.