A Workforce Support Group for BIPOC Women
The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library is committed to offering inclusive programs that support lifelong learning, educational success, and community connection. The Tables We Build is a monthly workforce support group designed to affirm, uplift, and empower Black, Indigenous, and women of color navigating professional spaces.Meetings are held at The Pauline Tea-Bar Apothecary in Charlotte, a Black woman-owned space dedicated to healing, reflection, and joy. This location allows us to ground our conversations in a place that honors our values.
This space is for those who are currently working, seeking new opportunities, or have past experience in the workforce and want to pour into others. Whether you are in a corporate setting, caregiving role, creative industry, or somewhere in between—you are welcome here.
Too often, women of color experience exclusion, limited mentorship, and wage inequality in the workplace. Many report being the only person of their race or gender identity in the room while still facing higher standards and fewer opportunities to advance. These gaps are not about a lack of talent but about systems not built for us. This program creates space to imagine something different.
Each session includes storytelling, reflective discussion, and tools for navigating bias, burnout, and belonging. We draw on art, literature, personal narratives, and shared wisdom to deepen connection and foster solidarity. Topics may include leadership, labor and care, beauty politics, professional resilience, and collective rest.
This program is open to all who wish to learn and grow in community, but unapologetically centers the experiences, stories, and leadership of women of color.
We are not waiting for a seat. We are building the table.
