The Illusion of Inclusion: When Women of Colour Are Still Fighting to Be Heard

Let’s not pat ourselves on the back too quickly.

Yes, more women are stepping into leadership roles. Yes, we’re having louder conversations about equity and inclusion. But scratch the surface in many of our organizations, and you’ll see a harder truth:

Women of colour are still being dismissed, overlooked, and silenced even in spaces led by other women.

The New Gatekeepers

In nonprofit, public health, education, and social service sectors white women now often hold the power. But while gender parity has improved, racial equity has not kept pace.

Ask any Black, Indigenous, or racialized woman in leadership, and you’ll hear stories of:

• Being ignored in meetings until a white colleague repeats the same idea and gets applause.

• Having their tone policed while others’ egos go unchecked.

• Being labelled “difficult” for showing backbone.

• Being “included” but never fully trusted or supported.

This is more than oversight, it’s systemic gatekeeping, even when it looks like progress.

White Feminism Isn’t Enough

Let’s name it:

White women in leadership often mentor, sponsor, and promote each other while women of colour are left navigating alone.

This shows up in:

• “Let’s not make this about race” when race is the issue.

• Dismissing lived experience in favour of “data” that protects dominant narratives.

• Quietly passing over racialized candidates for promotions or boards because they’re not a “cultural fit.”

This isn’t allyship. It’s protectionism.

So, What Does Real Inclusion Require?

For white women in leadership, the work isn’t about guilt it’s about responsibility.

It means:

• Sponsoring women of colour into spaces where decisions are made not just inviting them to observe.

• Speaking up when others are interrupted or minimized.

• Choosing equity over comfort, especially among your peers.

• Listening when feedback is hard to hear, and doing something with it.

Representation is a start. Redistribution is the goal.

To the Women of Colour Holding the Line

We see you.

The ones navigating unspoken rules, managing every facial expression, code-switching to survive while still trying to lead. The ones pushing for change, often without support.

Your leadership isn’t the exception.

It’s the future. And the resistance you face is proof of how much it’s needed.

Final Word from Spark Creative Solutions

At Spark Creative Solutions, we believe culture is built by what we normalize, challenge, and protect.

If your feminism leaves out race, it’s not equity, it’s branding.

If your leadership makes space for some and not others, it’s not inclusion, it’s comfort dressed up as progress.

We can do better.

We must do better.

And it starts with listening and acting differently.