The Silent Sabotage: Examining Mean Girl Behavior Among Black Women in the Workplace

In many professional spaces, Black women continue to face significant challenges, including the barriers of racism and sexism. Yet, within those rooms we fight so hard to enter, there’s a growing conversation about another form of tension—mean girl behavior between Black women themselves. This harmful dynamic can manifest as sabotage, exclusion, or tearing each other down, and it’s time to explore why this happens and how it affects our professional advancement.

For Black women, the workplace is often a space of immense pressure. The scarcity of opportunity means that once we make it into those rooms, the fear of losing our hard-earned seat at the table can create an unhealthy competition. This competition can fuel mean girl behavior—undermining one another, forming cliques that exclude, or even spreading negativity that stifles collective progress.

Historically, Black women have been taught to “work twice as hard to get half as much.” This message, while born out of necessity, can lead to a mindset of scarcity—believing that there are only so many seats available for us. This mentality pits us against each other, encouraging a culture of tearing each other down instead of uplifting one another. We begin to see our sisters as competition rather than allies in our shared journey.

The origins of this behavior are complex. In addition to internalized racial bias, some of it stems from generational trauma and systemic oppression. However, it’s essential to recognize that this behavior is counterproductive, and it hinders the collective progress of Black women. By engaging in this behavior, we unintentionally uphold systems of exclusion that have marginalized us for generations.

What we need is a shift—a commitment to building each other up rather than tearing each other down. Collaboration over competition. Mentorship over isolation. Black women must see each other as sisters, not threats. In rooms where we are scarce, our strength comes from solidarity, not division. It is only through lifting each other up that we can ensure more seats at the table for the generations to come.

Ultimately, to rise together, we must leave behind the mean girl mentality. We are more powerful united than we ever could be apart. Let’s choose to be allies in every room we step into, recognizing that each other’s success is a win for all of us.