Why Aren't More Black Women Getting Promoted?

Why Aren't More Black Women Getting Promoted?

By Jennifer Millman

 

Date Posted: July 27, 2007

Black women aspire to corporate leadership, but they don't feel that hard work and a positive outlook will pay off, finds a new League of Black Women survey. Many feel persistent stereotypes are stifling their talent and potential, and poor utilization of their skill sets and education relegates them to dead-end jobs, which leads to lower engagement and fewer meaningful connections at work.

 

A few highlights from the survey of black women:

 

• Nearly 80 percent think racial attitudes diminish their ability to be effective leaders
• Only 57 percent feel they can reach their potential in spite of these barriers
• Only 20 percent are "very satisfied" with their overall lives, which is based on the quality of their personal and professional relationships, especially with each other, having black-female executive role models and opportunities for career development
• Sixty-two percent say they give more of themselves at work when they feel valued for who they are, which many feel doesn't happen often enough

 

Recent data from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission underscores these concerns. Black women remain woefully underrepresented in corporate America, particularly at the management level. They account for 16 percent of the female private-industry work force�more than Latinas or Asian women �but just 9 percent of officials and managers, the lowest ratio of work force to management of all women of color.

 

By comparison, 24 percent of the female work forces among the Top 10 Companies for African Americans are black, compared with 19 percent of The 2007 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity ^�. Eighteen percent of the women promoted in management are black, compared with 13 percent for the Top 50.

 

The national survey, conducted in partnership with Booz Allen Hamilton from 2005 to 2007, identifies proactive ways companies can increase retention among black women by providing advancement and networking opportunities and promoting authenticity.

 

The Pressure to Conform

 

Some black women feel pressured to hide their authentic personal styles and professional perspectives to conform to the majority culture, which may undermine their ability to contribute because they can't bring their whole selves to the table.  (See also: What Should You Wear to a Job Interview? Should You Hide Your Hair? and 'You're So Articulate' )

 

This pressure stems from the early women's movement, which was orchestrated primarily by and for white women, says League of Black Women President and CEO Sandra Finley.

 

"There was a cultural style to that movement and it had less to do with black women and the communities and the cultures and the styles that we were coming from, so everything that had to do with how we looked and how we talked had not been factored in to what would be perceived as the preferred or most successful professional polished look," says Finley.

 

"There was a difference in expectation for what would be the different standard for excellent weather for hair, even ... So we're different," she adds. "If we are simply different, then you've got more variety, more diversity. But if there is a preference that is installed in how we see and what we like and what we support, you could find that black women report they have been disadvantaged and that the preference has been formed without any real consideration as to what we bring."

 

What do black women uniquely bring to the table? "With a black woman comes the entire attachment to her culture and society, and so what you have as a company to add on the table of your resources and how you make your company a better competitor is what she has to offer that only she has to offer, and when you have that as part of your corporate array, you have a pretty fierce arsenal of talent," says Finley.

 

But unless that talent has the opportunity to develop, chances are it'll go to waste�or go elsewhere.

 

Need for Networking, Career Development

 

Companies that want to successfully attract, develop and retain talented black women must make a conscious effort to understand black women on their own terms and provide real-time experiences that add value to their personal and professional lives.

 

"Black women have said that we need cohesion; we need access to each other that is unfettered, that is supported," says Finley.

 

The opportunity to connect with each other is critical for black women, who report higher levels of commitment to their organization when they network with each other. Affinity groups provide valuable networking opportunities, as do coaching resources and mentoring programs that provide black women exposure to leadership and give them an opportunity to develop their skills, which many do not feel they have the chance to do.

 

"Black women have invested in education, experience, and they expect that the yield from that investment would be the unfettered opportunity to rise," says Finley. "But we have not been accorded that privilege, or in some situations that right, depending on which system you're in. You see that suppression actually causes women to be much more willing to lead than there are opportunities for them."

 

Lacking representation facilitates a culture of mistrust and perpetuates the cycle by further limiting companies' ability to cultivate a pipeline of talented executive women of color. But companies should not engage in the practice of "accessorizing" with black women, cautions Finley.

 

"There's this sensation ... that if I have one here or one there that I've got representation," she laughs. "Bringing black women into the place where they are an integral part of the genuine pipeline means you won't have to reach so far to find them. They'll be there, at hand, genuinely involved in the business of the company, contributing ideas, contributing to productivity, operations, we'll be there. And when you take a look at your own pipeline and you see that there's a gap, that gap is as important to the overall viability of the company as it would be to any DNA change when there's a gap. There's a vulnerability that is just entirely too expensive to endure."

 

Companies should design fast-track career-development programs for ambitious young black women and clearly articulate advancement opportunities, and ensure these women are considered for promotions and job rotations.

 

Johnson & Johnson, No. 17 in the 2007 Top 50, for example, developed a specialized career fast-track for women of color. The company takes a group of high-performing, high-potential women of color and "immerses them in boot camp," says Kaye Foster-Cheek, vice president of human resources at Johnson & Johnson, to leverage their strengths and help them to grow and be effective leaders. The first half of the program is structured as an opportunity for women of color to learn and connect with each other, and the latter half invites their supervisors to participate as well.

 

Fast-track programs also accelerate the pace at which black women can climb the corporate ladder and then serve as mentors for their successors. "For the relatively few women who have managed to kind of break through, there's so much demand for their attention and for their time and talent that the need for what they have to share outweighs what they could possibly deliver," says Finley. "So we need more women able to share the demand."

 

 

Real Empowerment

 

Companies can create an infrastructure that supports black women, but Finley knows professional development is a two-way street. How can black women empower each other to be successful?

 

"Are black women doing inside of these companies what they choose to do and where their talent and ambitions truly are, or are they just being fit in?" asks Finley. That's a critical question when talking about corporate barriers to advancement. "When women say 'This is what I choose, this is where I'm going to endeavor, this is where I'm going to invest, and this is what the yield is going to be for myself and for the company I'm working for,' then I think you get maximum yield when we choose it."  

 

Black women also want to ensure they regularly contribute their perspective to discussions. "Black women want to use every opportunity to speak candidly about their experience, about their cultural interpretation of opportunities and what might be business scenarios that might be considered differently because we know some things that are only available to our companies through us," says Finley. "When the opportunities come, we have to be able and willing to say, 'Here's exactly how I see it.'"

 

"The best companies are ready for that kind of communication," she adds. "And we have to be ready to bring it."

"The best companies are ready for that kind of communication," she adds. "And we have to be ready to bring it."