How corporate America’s diversity initiatives continue to fail Black women

How corporate America’s diversity initiatives continue to fail Black women

Being a woman in corporate America comes with its fair share of challenges, often facing gender discrimination and bias in the workplace. But, if you're a Black woman, or woman of color, these gender-based challenges are often compounded by obstacles of racism, making it even harder to navigate your way to the top. 

Currently, there are a record 37 women leading Fortune 500 firms, an increase from last year's record high of 33. Of these women, just three are women of color and none are Black or Latina. When looking at the total workforce in the U.S., Black women account for 7% of the population, but make up 12% of minimum wage earners, according to data from Lean In. Of C-suite leaders today, 21% are women and just 1% are Black women. 

All of this is despite the fact that 75% of Black women view themselves as very ambitious towards their career, with 40% hoping to make it to a management position within the next five years, according to CNBC and SurveyMonkey's Women at Work survey released earlier this year. This means that regardless of a Black woman's desire to advance in her career, there are seemingly insurmountable barriers ahead of her that