The Promotion Black Women Never Asked For At Work: Chief Emotional Officer

The Promotion Black Women Never Asked For At Work: Chief Emotional Officer Stressed black businesswoman working on a laptop in an office alone By Brieanna Lightfoot Smith ·Updated March 18, 2026 Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…

Time may not heal all wounds but it certainly has a knack for providing clarity.

And when you look at the history of black women starting from slavery and the mammy era to the strong black woman schema of the present day, it’s clear to see how our tendency to show up as dependable and reliable over centuries has been costly.

Without recognizing it, we became everything to everybody while simultaneously being too depleted to show up for ourselves, let alone for our families, communities or workplaces.

But this emotional labor we have taken on for so long is starting to produce a call for sweeping resignations.

When I spoke to women about what emotional labor looked like for them I received a wide array of responses.

Kara Stevens, the founder of The Frugal Feminista and author of heal your relationship with money described emotional labor as “the work of smoothing over tension, remembering important details about people’s lives, anticipating needs before they’re spoken, and creating a sense of stability for everyone around you.”

Psychologist and Parenting Coach Dr. Darlene M. Davis Goodwine said “Emotional labor is the lifting, carrying or management of emotional intelligence for others. And there’s a difference between emotional awareness and emotional intelligence.”

Because the weight of what black women carry for others is often unseen it can be easily dismissed.

“People misunderstand how it affects every other area of your life.” Maximized Money Founder and Certified Financial Educator, Joshlyn Ross said. “My mother often calls me to share the latest family drama, and I’ve had to set a boundary to remind her that I have my own challenges.”

Miyah Davis, a medical student at Charles R Drew’s University of Medicine and Science, quietly resigned from becoming a Chief Emotional Officer through the career choice she made. Rather than the fields of pediatrics, gynecology and primary care — roles typically selected by women who now make up roughly half of medical school graduates — Miyah decided to pursue surgery.

“[Pediatrics] requires a patient and somewhat witty personality,” she said. “I realize my personality is more suited for the fast-paced, precision-oriented environment of the operating room. I crave the immediate, tangible impact of surgical intervention.”

Career choice is just one of the ways black women can opt out or at least reduce the impact emotional labor has on them. Another is the decision on whether or not to have children.

“I knew motherhood wasn’t for me when I moved to DC as a young mid-20-something-year-old woman,” Ross said. “It was the first time that I saw powerful women with money,alt=”™” class=”wp-smiley”/> practitioner guiding people towards sustainable and balanced success. Her signature R.E.S.T. framework and Freedom & Flow Planning System equip individuals to lead from a place of overflow and not exhaustion. Connect with her on LinkedIn.