(ThyBlackMan.com) Although African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans represent roughly 30 percent of the population, they fill only 3 percent of senior management positions at American corporations, according to Management Leadership for Tomorrow, a minority recruitment and development group. Don Thompson of McDonald’s is one of only six black CEOs of a Fortune 500 company.
According to David Thomas, a Harvard Business School professor who studies the issue, “People of color who start at the same time as an equivalent white person have less of a chance of being at the top echelon in 20 years.” This writer agrees with President Barack Obama with regard to the topic of Blacks in the upper echelons of corporate management in America: “We must fundamentally change the way our Country does business”.
Unconscious biases and perceptions about African-Americans still play a significant role in employment decisions. Unconscious bias is defined as “social behavior . . . driven by learned stereotypes that operate automatically (unconsciously) when we interact with other people.” There is a practice that African-Americans are not seriously considered, groomed, or selected for high-level positions because of the stereotypical view (or unconscious bias) that those positions are considered “nontraditional” for African-Americans.
African-Americans require adequate mentoring and networking opportunities for higher level and management positions. Formal and informal mentoring and support from superiors and coworkers are key factors that help place African-Americans on the organizational fast track. A recent study found that 73% of African-American executives who reported having informal mentors at work had faster salary and total compensation growth than those without an informal mentor. Social science research has established a direct correlation between having mentors and increased occurrences of job growth, promotions, and salary increases.
EEO regulations and laws are not sufficiently followed by some companies, and are not effectively enforced. Company recruiters, representatives, and interviewers must be trained on cultural competency, EEO, diversity issues, and unconscious bias theory. Companies should use internships to introduce African-American students to careers and should consider awarding scholarships. The company focus should be on the individual ability of candidates rather than their branding, i.e., specific schools.
In order to facilitate the plight of the African-American in corporate America, perhaps we need to hold senior executives and management accountable. As part of their annual performance ratings, managers, supervisors, and senior executives should be evaluated in at least one element that assesses their commitment to Equal Employment Opportunity principles and goals. Awards, bonuses, and promotions should be contingent on management’s actions in EEO, and companies should not grant proven discriminators awards, promotions, outstanding performance evaluations, etc.
Companies should consider demotion and/or removal of managerial duties of management officials who are known to have engaged in unlawful discrimination or have inadequately responded to harassment.
Staff Writer; Stanley G. Buford
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