Double Jeopardy or Greater Latitude: Do Black Women Escape Backlash for Dominance Displays?

Both White women and Black men face social penalties for exhibiting dominant behaviors. Are Black women held to similar rules? Study 1 showed that prescriptive stereotypes permit greater dominance for Black women than White women or Black men, and as much latitude for dominance as White men. In Study 2, people perceived a dominant Black career woman as more likeable and hireable than an identically-described White woman or Black man, and equally likable and hireable as a dominant White man. Rather than experiencing "double jeopardy," dominant Black career women appear to escape the backlash that dominant White women and Black men experience.