Campus Location
Dallas Campus (Online)
Date of Award
6-2026
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2274-2212
Document Type
Dissertation
Department
Organizational Leadership
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Karmyn Downs
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Karan Duwe
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Dianne Reed
Abstract
African American women leaders in Fortune 500 companies experience persistent challenges of subtle yet pervasive systems of discrimination in the form of microaggressions that cause negative impacts to their psychological well-being, workplace performance, and career advancement. These women exhibit incredible resilience that enable them to thrive at work, mitigate mental health challenges, and navigate their careers successfully. However, unlike people who fall into either a racial minority group or a gender minority group, African American women experience compounded effects of microaggressions due to the intersection of their race and gender. As a result of microaggressions, these women experience impacts to their selfesteem and mental health, as well as harm to career opportunities, advancement, and growth. This study examined how African American women leaders encountered and responded to racial and gendered microaggressions in Fortune 500 companies and the resilience utilized to combat harmful effects, while persisting in leadership roles. Guided by microaggression and resilience theories, this qualitative study explored how resilience manifested through adaptive coping strategies, boundary-setting, mentorship, and self-advocacy, which served as protective barriers against the psychological and professional toll of microaggressions. Using the phenomenological framework, this qualitative research included semistructured interviews with 10 African American women in leadership positions in Fortune 500 companies, offering these women the opportunity to create knowledge and solutions through their stories. Participants completed 60 minute semistructured, recorded Zoom interviews. The data were reviewed, employing translation, pattern coding, and thematic analysis, which was consolidated and organized to place key findings into themes by participant. The findings focused on how resilience mitigates the adverse effects of microaggressions while also fostering empowerment, family, community, and self-efficacy, thereby amplifying the voices of African American women leaders in organizations shaped by systemic bias. By amplifying the voices of African American women leaders, this research contributed to the broader discourse on diversity, equity, and inclusion, offering practical implications for cultural change and leadership development.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Dionne Trenise, "Overcoming Adversity With Resilience: A Phenomenological Examination of African American Women Leaders Facing Microaggressions in Corporate Spaces" (2026). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1036.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/1036
Included in
Business and Corporate Communications Commons, Business Intelligence Commons, Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, Gender Equity in Education Commons, Leadership Commons, Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons, Training and Development Commons