Research indicates that Black Women are more ambitious and more likely to say they want to advance in their companies than their female counterparts. They are also less likely to find mentors who will aid their climb up the corporate ladder.

Lack of mentoring is a consequence of intentional exclusion when leaders make it a point not to include Black Women in teams, as mentees, or on important projects. But either way, these patterns thwart their mobility in organizations and their ability to realize ambitions and secure leadership roles. Black Women are left to struggle harder to access and advance in these professions, with occupational underrepresentation and wage disparities to show for it.

Specific, unique challenges for women of color are too easily ignored with broad platitudes that seek to advance women's representation without questioning which women are most likely to benefit.

Ugly Duckling is a parable for these days, a story about a women of color who insists that boundaries are made to be broken.