The Black Girl's Guide ...

Author: Lindelwa Skenjana
Publisher: NB Publishers
Reviewer: Hazel Makuzeni
'My wish is to witness, in the near future, young African female professionals being unapologetically themselves at work, and fully expressing who they were born to be, regardless of the organisational space in which they find themselves.’
In this book, an empowerment tool for young African female professionals, Lindelwa Skenjana shares her experiences of corporate South Africa as a young, black, professional.
This is a candid reflection on Lindelwa’s own 

journey and those of other young, black females who are featured in the book as they navigate the workplace environment in this country. An environment that, on so many levels, unfortunately still thrives on exclusivity. The book examines racism, sexism, ageism, male privilege, office politics, bullying, sexual relations between junior and senior stuff, unequal pay between females and their male counterparts - issues that mostly affect young, black females in the corporate world.
The author asks: Can corporate culture become inclusive and truly embody diversity?  She offers great insights to this question and many others.
The book is easy to read as it doesn’t use time consuming jargon. It’s broken down in different chapters that tell real women’s stories.  It’s really a gift for women on the move - women who have just entered their careers or that are climbing the career ladder.
‘We have so much undoing, unlearning and self-loving to do as black women.’ Says Lindelwa, ‘Throughout our lives we have been told one thing or the other is wrong and we would need to change it to fit in.’
If you find yourself in a toxic work environment, this book is for you. It gives strategies to not only assist you survive corporate South Africa, but to flourish in it. It’s a book that will arm young black, professional women with enough information to better navigate the workplace, find their voices and more importantly, their authentic selves. The book is also an excellent read for graduates who are yet to enter the workplace, to not go blindly into the world of work – to know what can be expected. ​