Marlo A. Perry, Research Associate Professor and Director of Research and Evaluation for the Child Welfare Education and Research Programs at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, was awarded a pilot grant from the Center on Race and Social Problems (CRSP). Her new study, “Supporting Superwomen: Emotional Labor, Gendered Racial Microaggressions, and the Superwoman Schema in Black Female Child Welfare Professionals” seeks to examine how racial identity and emotional intelligence competencies in Black female child welfare professionals can help to mitigate the stressors of racism and gendered racial microaggressions at work.
While research has consistently demonstrated the negative consequences of emotional labor inherent in child welfare work, less is known about how emotional labor manifests in Black female child welfare professionals (CWPs) who also face gendered racial microaggressions in their daily work. In response to these stressors, Black female CWPs may rely on coping mechanisms consistent with the Superwoman Schema (Woods-Giscombé, 2010), which is characterized by fortitude, caretaking, and self-sacrifice. While rooted in resilience, the Superwoman Schema contributes to poor health and mental health outcomes.
Emotion regulation skills and mindfulness can serve as protective factors against emotional stressors; additionally, a positive racial identity can help mitigate the traumatic stress of racism in Black CWPs. Dr. Perry’s study seeks to better understand how these elements of emotional health manifest in a sample of Black CWPs and how they relate to daily experiences of gendered racial microaggressions. Findings will contribute to the development of a racially informed mindfulness intervention.
Dr. Perry is currently analyzing data from an earlier project focused on emotional intelligence competencies in CWPs and their relationship to professional well-being and commitment to the field. “The CRSP-funded study will build upon this work in a crucial way, by examining the multiplicative burden of being a Black female child welfare professional in a field fraught with racism and racial disproportionality,” says Perry. “Our team is eager to utilize findings from this project to develop and implement supports for Black women in the child welfare workforce.”
The project was awarded in October 2021 and will continue through June 2023. Partners include Helen Cahalane, Principal Investigator for the Pitt School of Social Work Child Welfare Education and Research Programs, and Deborah Wilson Gadsden, a Training Specialist at Voce and Adjunct Professor at Elizabethtown College, Social Work Department.