The 2024 McKinsey Women in the Workplace report just dropped and what it reveals may shock, sadden, or downright incense you… or a mix of them all. Despite the notable gains women have made in the workplace, for Black women their experiences are the exact same, if not worse, than ten years ago. Let’s unpack.
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Information from nearly 300 organizations that collectively employ more than ten million people were surveyed. Notably, the report, which is also the largest ongoing study of corporate women in America, showcases in black and white (no pun intended) the workplace biases that affect Black women compared to white women.
The report found women of color represent only seven percent of current C-suite positions, a measly four percent increase since 2017. “After notable improvements in 2021 and 2022, Black women’s promotion rates this year regressed to 2020 levels,” the report said. And at the current pace of progress, it would take white women 22 years for parity. For women of color? Twice as long.
Companies have also scaled back programs designed for career development, mentorship, and sponsorship programs, that was meant to advance women. “Relatively few companies track these programs’ outcomes, and in all cases, companies are investing in fewer programs designed to advance women of color,” the report said. Black women are also not receiving sufficient support from their managers, even less than white women. “Given that employees with consistent manager support are more likely to be promoted, this very likely disadvantages women of color,” the report discovered.
Black women remain not only under represented, but under promoted and unsupported, significantly, at every level. And yes, their gender and race are viewed as obstacles.
A white man, named Ben (who is in partnership with a Black woman) and who founded Three Trees Center for Change “known for transforming harmful behavior through evidence-based programs,” took to Instagram to take a deep dive into the report.
“It [the workplace] is still built on systems of control that have harmed so many for so long in the workplace,” he began in his clip. He noted how white women are rewarded for showing vulnerability while Black women are, you guessed it, punished for it in the workplace. He continued: “The qualities that we say we want in leadership such as empathy, authenticity, [and] emotional honesty are labeled as problems when Black women display them.” Whew.
Ben added a concluding message to his white counterparts.
“My belief is that the last thing we need is more white women climbing into positions of power just to sustain the abusive systems that have harmed everybody,” Ben declared. “We need leaders who are willing to challenge and disrupt the system. Because if your style of leadership only works for people who look like you, its not leadership at all. It’s just another system of control. It’s just another way to oppress the people that white people have been oppressing for hundreds of years.” Mic drop.
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