Lisa Peyton-Caire encourages black women to balance career aspirations and family responsibilities with self-care.
As president and founder of the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness, Lisa Peyton-Caire frequently gets messages from African American women across the country whose friends and family members have died young from preventable health conditions.
“I lost my best friend, she was 37, she had a massive stroke; I lost my mother, she was 54, she worked herself to death,” said Peyton-Caire, recounting recent emails. “In many of these cases, these were pioneering women who are doing all the things we’re talking about — raising families and building careers.”
Caire was one of five panelists who weighed in on “the state of black women in Wisconsin” at the second-annual Black Women’s Leadership Conference, an event put on by local “socialpreneur” Sabrina “Heymiss Progress” Madison. The discussion, moderated by Cap Times reporter Amber Walker, was framed around the troubling-but-familiar statistics about black women and the obstacles they face — lower pay than white women, widening health disparities and lack of representation. When Madison booked the panel, she envisioned the group digging into “the big issues for black women across the state.”
But instead of rehashing the disparities, the discussion focused on opportunities for collaboration, the sharing of resources and knowledge and the importance of self-care. “It wasn’t succumbing to the status quo, it wasn’t this depressing discussion,” Madison tells Isthmus. “I felt like it was motivating and empowering.”
Nationally, black women represent the fastest-growing demographic of entrepreneurs. They’re also the most educated segment of the population, according to recent reports from the National Center for Education Statistics. “I’m excited about the uptick,” said panelist Nia Tramell, an administrative law judge for the state of Wisconsin. “We are beginning to realize we can take risks.”
Annette Miller, a former Madison mayoral aide who now works as a community services manager for Madison Gas & Electric, emphasized that Wisconsin and Madison are rich in resources to help with starting a business or pursuing an education. But the gatekeepers and decision-makers within organizations and institutions — most of whom are white — can be resistant to change. She encourages black women to support each other and continue pushing for access and opportunities. “Think about your business, talk to others who can help you think bigger,” she said. “What today is a side hustle can become a global conglomerate.”
As black women continue gaining ground in the workplace, many still struggle with financial literacy skills — particularly those with a low-income background, said Nancy Hanks, chief of schools for the Madison school district. “I’m the first person in my family to make a salary, the first generation [to do] retirement planning,” she said, urging the audience not to bring a “poverty mindset” to managing their wealth — spending extra cash on status symbols instead of saving responsibly.
Panelists addressed the stereotype of the “strong black woman” and the tendency for black women to serve as providers and caregivers — often at the expense of their own mental and physical health.
“We have to learn that self-care is not selfish behavior — it’s self-preservation,” Peyton-Caire said. “Our institutions won’t change unless black women are in decision-making roles...but we’ve got to work at it with a mindset of self-care. And doing it together is the only way to sustain it.”
