In my book Afro in the Boardroom chapter 3, I speak about the power of Sisterhood. There is a special kind of power that happens when another woman speaks your name in a boardroom, you’re not in.
It’s quiet. Unseen. Sometimes unacknowledged. But it can change everything. In boardrooms where voices compete, power is brokered, and opportunity is often decided before you even step in, having someone, especially another woman, advocate for you is one of the most strategic acts of sisterhood
there is.
What It Means When Someone Speaks Your Name
When a woman speaks your name in the boardroom, she’s doing more than mentioning you. She’s
extending a bridge. She’s saying, “Her voice matters.” She’s placing her own credibility and influence
on the line to make sure yours is heard.
That kind of advocacy shifts conversations, shapes opportunities, and opens doors that hard work
alone sometimes can’t. Because let’s be honest, in many boardrooms, it’s not just about what you
bring to the table. It’s about who brings your name into the conversation.
This isn’t about dependency or needing someone to “save” you. It’s about the power of strategic
networks. About women refusing to let each other be invisible.
We’ve All Been Overlooked Before
I know that feeling. Sitting in meetings, contributing, building, showing up at 110%, and still watching opportunities pass me by. I know what it’s like to do the work and not be mentioned when it counts.
It’s not because we lack capability. It’s because so many decisions are made in the rooms we’re not
in, the conversations after the meeting, the circles where power circulates quietly.
When someone speaks your name there, it alters the power dynamic. Suddenly, you’re not just
someone on the edge of the table, you’re part of the conversation.
This Is Sisterhood in Action
True sisterhood isn’t just hugs and hashtags. It’s strategic. It’s intentional.
It’s the woman who says, “I know someone who would be perfect for this.”
It’s the colleague who redirects credit: “That was actually Diana’s idea.”
It’s the sister in the room who refuses to let your work be erased, diluted, or repackaged.
Breaking the Cycle of Silence
Historically, women, and especially Black women, have been made to compete for the one seat at the table, the one leadership role, the one opportunity. That scarcity mindset has been weaponised
against us for generations.
But every time we speak another woman’s name in the boardroom, we disrupt that narrative. We prove that there is more than enough space for all of us to thrive.
This is what Clenora Hudson-Weems meant in Africana Womanism when she spoke of the power of the collective woman, the strength in recognising that our progress is deeply interconnected.
The Gift and Responsibility of Influence
If you’ve earned your place at the table, and I know many of us have fought tooth and nail for that seat, then you hold power. Maybe not the loud kind, but influence, nonetheless.
And with influence comes responsibility. It’s not enough for us to just be in the boardroom. We have
to shift the boardroom. That means:
- Saying someone’s name when opportunities arise.
- Redirecting credit when someone tries to take it.
- Opening doors, we once had to break down.
- Holding space for the next woman to rise.
- Because if all we do is survive the boardroom alone, then we’ve missed the bigger mission.
I Remember the First Time Someone Spoke My Name
There was a time early in my consulting journey when I was just starting out, unknown, underestimated, working behind the scenes. A senior woman, whom I barely knew, spoke my name in a meeting about a contract I didn’t even know existed.
I got a call days later. Not because I was in the boardroom, but because she made sure my work was seen. She didn’t just create an opportunity for me, she modelled power differently.
How We Build This Culture
If we want to build workplaces and boardrooms where sisterhood is strategy, not sentiment, it has
to be intentional. Here’s how we can start:
1. Speak Names When It Counts.
Recommendations, contracts, leadership appointments, your voice has power. Use it.
2. Correct the Record in Real Time.
When someone’s work is being overlooked or misattributed, step in. It doesn’t take a
speech, just clarity.
3. Be Generous with Access.
Share opportunities. Forward the email. Make the introduction.
4. Build Reciprocity, Not Transaction.
This isn’t about favours. It’s about building a culture of trust and elevation.
5. Mentor and Sponsor.
Mentorship gives guidance. Sponsorship opens doors.
Sisterhood Is a Power Strategy
When we speak another woman’s name in the boardroom, we are engaging in something far greater
than advocacy, we’re engaging in legacy building.
We’re saying, “Your voice belongs here too.”
We’re saying, “I see you.”
We’re saying, “Let’s shift this space together.”
It’s easy to feel like power is a solo pursuit. But the most powerful women I know didn’t climb alone,
they built bridges.
Final Reflection
There is power in your name. But there is also power in who speaks it when you’re not present. And
one day, your voice will be the one speaking for someone else, opening a door, shifting a decision,
changing a life.
“When another woman speaks your name in the room, she isn’t just making a gesture. She’s moving
the walls.”
So, speak the names. Speak to them loudly, strategically, intentionally. Because when we do, we’re
not just surviving the boardroom. We’re redesigning it.
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