What does work, achievement and identity mean to black British women? The lived experience of professional black British women of Jamaican heritage

This study explored the lived experience of six participants who were professional black British women of Jamaican heritage, born in the UK to Jamaican parents of the Windrush Generation. To date, there has been little research within the field of counselling psychology into black existence in the UK. The aim of the research was to make known how the lived experience of these Windrush daughters shaped their relationship with their self and others as illustrated by their relationship to work and achievement. This was a qualitative study from an existential phenomenological perspective, using the critical narrative analysis method (CNA). Two semi-structured interviews were undertaken to capture the participants’ narratives. The participants’ narratives were analysed using critical theories, in particular, black existential philosophy. Analysis of the findings showed that early experience of racism led to self-hatred. However, the 1970s black consciousness movements led many to adopt a new black identity, although others remained conflicted. For all, there was a realisation that their individual worth was linked to the value of all black people. Work and achievement became the means to demonstrate their value and that of all black people. The implication for practice is to recognise the unique tension between the self and other for black women such as these, and that their existence can only be understood through the lens of black existential philosophy.