Unlock Your Organization’s Potential To Attract, Advance And Retain Black Women Leaders
The resilient labor market in the United States continues to challenge leaders to attract, retain and develop high-performing talent as there exist persistent business needs for a highly skilled workforce.
Organizations need team players, problem solvers, out-of-the-box-thinkers, creative and strategic minds, can-doers and change agents who can create forward-looking solutions and deftly execute plans in collaboration with a highly diverse cohort of colleagues.
As companies consider a variety of sources for talent, the answer might be readily available in their existing workforce.
Research shows women continue to experience pay disparities, less access to growth and promotional opportunities than their male counterparts, and persistent challenges with work-life balance. If companies want to maximize new business opportunities — especially during challenging economic times — they need to be laser-focused on recruiting, retaining, and promoting women.
Why Firms Need Female Leaders
Research suggests companies with greater than 30% female representation in management and executive leadership outperform their peers. After all, women — particularly Black women — have long juggled multiple priorities inside and outside the workplace, developing sharp instincts and formidable skills that translate into business results.
Firms with female chief executive officers (CEOs) and chief financial officers (CFOs) have above-average stock performance, according to research from SP Global. Additionally, companies with a gender-diverse board of directors are often more profitable than those with less gender diversity.
Yet, there’s a persistent issue of the glass ceiling, glass cliff, and a general pipeline problem.
A McKinsey report, “Women in the Workplace 2022,” highlights broken rungs on the corporate ladder that finds women often face the biggest obstacles at the manager level, or the first step in the ladder. For every 100 men promoted and hired to manager, only 72 women are promoted and hired. This leaves many women stuck in an entry-level or individual contributor role.