Diversity Efforts Are Falling Short for Black Women. Here's How You Can Help

Companies have focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion in their recruitment efforts since early in the COVID-19 pandemic following the protests over the May 2020 death of George Floyd. However, while the show of support to build more inclusive environments in the workplace for marginalized groups was laudable, initial results of companies’ efforts have been lacking.

One group that has been particularly closed off from the attempted gains of DEI programs is Black women. A report from Black Women Thriving surveyed over 1,400 working Black women and revealed low levels of job satisfaction. Some of the highlights include:

• 75% of Black women feel their organization does not utilize their skills as much as it could
• Only 33% believe their work is judged fairly
• 71% of respondents put themselves on the job market to get a promotion or higher salary
• Just 34% report their compensation is fair relative to similar roles within their company
• Nearly 80% report coming home from work with no energy left at least some of the time

Those figures point to a group of workers consistently operating in survival mode in the office, which leads to burnout and, eventually, turnover. Here are a few ways your office can stem that tide with Black women in the workplace.

Address Pay Inequities

While some surface-level data shows progress in addressing the persistent gender wage gap in America, women still earn 83 cents for every dollar a man makes, a figure that drops to 73 cents for each dollar a male earns when factoring in jobs lost during the early stages of the pandemic. Moreover, the gap widens even further for Black women, whose earnings were 58 cents on the dollar of their male peers. Overall, the gender wage gap contributes to a loss of $10,435 per year for women if their companies fail to address it, making it imperative that employers implement policies designed to address this inequity head-on.

Support a Path to Advancement

Despite accounting for 7.4% of the US population, Black women comprise just 4.4% of management jobs and 1.4% of C-suite positions. Additionally, in the Black Women Thriving report, 63% of respondents stated they did not see a pathway to advance their career within their current organization. Mentorship programs can provide an avenue for rising through the ranks in a company, but 78% of Black women stated they have never participated in a mentoring program sponsored by their workplace. Implementing a program that supports Black women in the workplace throughout their entire career journey can improve your company’s retention efforts and generate more diverse representation at all levels of the organization.

Get Management Buy-In for DEI Efforts

Despite the number of companies creating specific positions to address diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace, many of these programs lack a cohesive and measurable plan. A 2021 study of over 800 HR professionals found that 76% of companies had no diversity or inclusion goals. Meanwhile, 40% of companies view DEI as a means to mitigate legal, compliance, or reputational risks. The 2021 study showed that management buy-in creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment makes the biggest difference in the effectiveness of DEI efforts. Without top-level support, having a diversity, equity, and inclusion program normally ends up as window dressing at best.

Stop Penalizing Natural Hair

In 2020, one in four Black workers reported being discriminated against at work. One of the most common forms of discrimination against Black women at the office concerns their hair. In 2019, Dove conducted a study that discovered that Black women were 80% more likely to alter their hair from its natural state to conform to their workplace culture and twice as likely to be sent home from work because of their hair. Updating your organization’s policies regarding hair can allow Black women to bring their authentic selves to the office and improve employee retention. Beyond updating company policies to allow Black women to wear their natural hair to work, teaching your entire staff about microaggressions, particularly related to hair and looks, can also make Black women feel more at ease on the job.

To learn more ways to improve your company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, check out our resource center.