Articles for By The Numbers

White Men Can Increase the Diversity of Executive Leadership in One Move

We could drive diversity metrics off the chart if every white male executive officer/senior leader would develop a succession plan for his position that would fill his role with someone different - someone whose identity doesn’t match his own. 

Dismantling White Male Bias at Work

Current ways of thinking about the inequities experienced by women and people of color at work continue to perpetuate the idea that (white) men are the norm and women/people of color are the “other.” Maybe it’s time to reframe the problem and dismantle white male privilege in our workplaces.

Diversity Doublespeak and Discrimination

If the Business Roundtable and other organizations are serious about tackling the issue of racial inequality in the US, they’re going to have to address the other D word that no one wants to mention: discrimination.

Data Table: African-Americans in F100 C-Suites

Ranked list of companies with one or more African-American executives in the C-Suite. 

Where You Won't Find African-Americans in the Fortune 100

As I watch company after company issue statements on the protests sweeping the US I want to ask them one question: if you are so deeply committed to addressing the issue of racism, if you strive to create a culture where people of all differences can thrive, then why aren’t there more African Americans among your executive leadership?

Data Table: Women and African Americans in the F100

Fortune 100 C-Suite Organizational Charts - February 2020

Stanford Graduate School of Business: Corporate Governance Research Initiative

C-Suite Diversity in the Fortune 100

Women and racially diverse executives are underrepresented in C-suite positions that lead to CEO and board appointments and overrepresented in staff/administrative roles. That's not a good sign if you're looking for a company truly committed to diversity and inclusion. 

A Lifetime of Inequality Can Start With the Very First Paycheck

Every paycheck you receive during your career, with a few exceptions, will build on that first paycheck. Every salary increase. Every bonus. Even matching retirement contributions. Since most employers use percentages to calculate all of the above, that first paycheck can be the start of something big. Except for women, it’s usually the start of something less. 

Women and Salary Negotiations

Negotiation: the fact that men do and women don’t is one of the reasons used to explain the gender pay gap and was the subject of the best selling book by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever, Women Don’t Ask, in 2007. The book and its related research spawned thousands of workshops and classes aimed at teaching women to negotiate their salaries and close the gap. 

In spite of these efforts, the gender pay gap persist.

The Upside of Ticking a Box

Another day, another article finding fault with efforts to encourage greater diversity on boards and in the workplace. This recent one, The problem with diversity targets in the workplace trots out the same old excuse - that targets, quotas, or requirements reduce diversity initiatives to ticking the box to fulfill the requirement. And we all know what that means: unqualified diversity hires. (Cue the scary music.)

Advancing to the C-Suite: The Most Damning Number

There’s only one demographic group whose representation increases as they climb the corporate ladder: white men.

Because Board Diversity Isn't Enough

The 2019 proxy season is nearing its end, and gender diversity on boards is in the news. Companies are welcoming the media attention that comes their way thanks to nonprofit organizations and activist shareholder groups who advocate to increase the number of serving on corporate boards, but many of these same organizations fail miserably at gender equality inside the organization. Here are just a few I’ve run across recently.