Only 1 in 20 C-suite leaders is a woman of color, and even when DEI is a Black woman’s formal responsibility, job security is uncertain. Supporting DEI efforts outside of my primary role responsibilities made me seem expendable. As a marketing professional I recall once being told by my company’s vice president that my DEI efforts were an “extracurricular activity,” and my direct manager agreed. Worse, their immediate line manager might not see the value in DEI initiatives, and there might be a misalignment between corporate and employee expectations for DEI. Corporations financially benefit all the while, since DEI efforts can be harnessed for profitability. Black women are stepping up to improve DEI, but will not likely be financially rewarded for doing so. Many Black women are told to do this work not because of pay (as employees who participate in ERGs are not likely to receive additional compensation) but to gain visibility outside their team and accelerate career advancement.Īs a result, Black women (along with LGBTQ+ women and women with disabilities) are more likely than any other group of employees, including men of color and women of different races and ethnicities, to spend a substantial amount of time on DEI work that falls outside their formal job responsibilities. At most larger companies, Black women are often told to use their ambition to participate in DEI initiatives (such as employee resource groups).
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