Too many women can recount tales of being excluded from meetings. When they do attend, they’re ignored. Or worst, they’re not given credit for their ideas when they do speak up.

Female staffers on President Obama’s team were experiencing this age old issue. There weren’t many of women on Obama’s senior team when he initially took office. And it’s just so unladylike to have to beg to be included.

So, the female staffers decided to do something about their visibility…

Here’s what they did as written by Claire Landsbaum in New York Magazine:

Female staffers adopted a meeting strategy they called “amplification”: When a woman made a key point, other women would repeat it, giving credit to its author. This forced the men in the room to recognize the contribution — and denied them the chance to claim the idea as their own.

The results? More women were elevated to senior positions in the Obama administration.

This is similiar to what I call The Taraji Effect…

I must admit, I was shocked when actress Taraji P. Henson hugged and cheered every Black woman who went up on stage to accept an award during the 2015 Emmy Awards.

Viola Davis and Regina King won Emmys that year. Taraji gave them big hugs, enthusiastic applause, and genuine smiles of approval. A hashtag called #allthefeels was created where viewers heaped on praise for Taraji’s deteremined support.

Taraji didn’t win an Emmy that year (she was nominated in the same category as Viola), but that didn’t stop her from supporting the other Black women who did.

The Cubicle Chick, Danyelle Little, sums up The Taraji Effect quite nicely:

In the era of reality television, women fighting, pulling hair, and simply not liking one another, Taraji’s cheerleading and total support is refreshing. There is so much said aboutinfighting and cattiness between women, especially those who are in the same field. We often hear talk of competition and one-upping, but what’s refreshing about this story is Taraji showcased an important trait of being a true professional—cheering for others and supporting people when they win is key.

With very few roles in television (and any other industry for that matter) going to women of color, to see genuine adoration from one brown girl to another is simply awesome. Everyone wants to snag the role and to be the star, but very few want to be a on the sidelines rooting for others. In a dog-eat-dog world, Taraji P. Henson showed us that support is as support doesand when one wins, we all win.

Check out how I’m celebrating Black female voices…

For a long time, I did everything to fit in and to be liked. I adopted various personas, I overgave my time, and I stayed busy just so I could remain relevant.

Then, I reached my 40s and realized that if I only accepted my gifts – my unique ability to see into the future and predict what’s to come – that the only person I need to fit in with is myself. How freeing!

Over the years, despite my varying identities, there have been a group of women who have always accepted me for who I am. And that’s because they could see my gift before I could even recognize, or embrace it.

These are women, Black women, who have the same gift that I do. They tend to innovate in their industry by using a brand new marketing tactic to attract better clients and create fresh new income streams.

I’m proud to celebrate their innovation…

 

From September 20-29, 2016, I will be interviewing Black female business owners. These are women who disrupted their industry, but have not been recognized for being the first.

If you want to be inspired to be the first in your industry and shake up your marketing tactics, click here to access these interviews. Come celebrate with us!