SARCHi hosts Prof Johnnie Hamilton – Mason
| On 10 October 2024, the Interim DSI/NRF South African Research Chair: Welfare and Social Development at the CSDA hosted a public lecture by Prof Johnnie Hamilton-Mason, Professor of Social Work at Simmons University in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Prof Johnnie’s presentation titled Economic Stability, Stress and the Superwoman Schema: Coping Among Black Women explored how economic stability affects Black women’s quality of life, using the Transactional Model of stress and coping and the Superwoman Schema as frameworks. Black women face systemic inequalities, including financial stress and discrimination, that impact their mental, emotional, and physical well-being. The Superwoman Schema—the pressure to appear strong, suppress emotions, and handle stress alone—often exacerbates these challenges, leading to burnout. Her lecture explored how Black women perceive and cope with stress, balancing personal and professional demands while navigating barriers in the workplace. Social support networks, while intended to provide relief, can sometimes amplify stress through “stress contagion,” when community members also face financial struggles. By connecting these coping mechanisms to the broader scientific discourse on stress management in marginalised populations, this presentation highlights the need for targeted interventions that address the intersectional challenges Black women encounter. View the full presentation here. |