4 Data Points Impacting Black Representation + Progress
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In celebration of Black History month, Team JTC has been hard at work to zero in on recruitment data that you need to know that can support your initiative to increase diversity at your workplace, specifically among Black job seekers and employees. In today’s article, I am going to share the 4 data points that stood out most that not only hinder Black representation, but also Black progress at your workplace. This research is in no particular order or importance. It is all important.
Data Point #1: Black people continue to face, “higher unemployment rates, fewer job opportunities, lower pay, poorer benefits, and greater job instability.” - AmericanProgress.org
You have heard our team talk about this before, and it likely won’t be the last time. There is a Hiring Obstacle Course that impacts the ability of Black job seekers to gain access to new job opportunities. It is a series of challenges (in the form of biases) that is baked into the hiring system that directly impacts historically untapped communities, and more specifically, Black job seekers. Therefore, it is critical that as recruiters and hiring managers–(i.e., hiring professionals with access to one of the most powerful and influential systems in the US), you must audit your hiring process and identify the bias and remove it. That is what creates more equity and supports your initiative to increase diversity.
Data Point #2: “Thirty-eight percent of Black millennials say they are considering leaving their jobs to start their own company.” - NBC News
You may be wondering why we are suddenly talking about retention when I promised to share recruitment data. That is because retention impacts recruitment. You can hire all the top talent in the world, but if people leave your organization as quickly as they are entering, then your recruitment efforts are rendered useless. When you think about recruitment, you also have to think about retention. Are Black people leaving your organization? Is it Black men, Black women, or gender non-confirming individuals? Why? Why are they leaving your organization? Ask questions like these to identify the core challenge and then partner with key stakeholders to create an environment where Black employees want to stay. Only then will you be able to increase representation among Black people in your organization.
Date Point #3: “Black US employees hold a disproportionate share of frontline jobs and make up a representative 12 percent of entry-level jobs at the companies that participated in our research. But they are hobbled by a “broken rung” on the corporate pipeline: they aren’t promoted from entry-level to managerial positions at the same rate as others.” - McKinsey
I work with clients often who boast their high representation percentages for people of color, but once we look more closely at the data, we realize that it is only within entry-level roles. Our conversations with these clients quickly shift into a forward-looking strategy and recommendation to also increase representation at higher level roles too. I want your workplace to review your data through this lens as well. Employees want to feel a sense of career self-determination. They want to know that their efforts have a direct impact on how far they can go in the company. They want assurance that bias will not be the reason they are overlooked for new opportunities at your company. Representation at all levels helps to show proof.
Data Point #4: “ The number of Blacks in the labor force is projected to increase from 19.6 million in 2016 to 21.6 million in 2026 .” - Bureau of Labor and Statistics
We have all heard the justification, “the issue is the talent pipeline” or “there just aren’t enough Black people in the workforce.” Next time you hear this excuse, I invite you, as a matter of fact, I encourage you to ask the person: Show me data to support that statement. Then share the statistic above. Data like this helps to position you as more of an authority, and as a recruiter, it is an opening to position yourself as a partner to hiring managers. And with these myths debunked, begin working to develop more effective sourcing strategies that focus on increasing representation–in this case, among Black people, within your organization.
I hope you found this research as interesting as we did at Team JTC. I do want to take this opportunity to gently nudge everyone to remember, yes, we did share this information in honor of Black History month, but two things: (#1) every month (and every day), Black people are making history and deserve to have history told in a truthful and transparent manner and (#2) it is important to remember that February is not the only month to be vocal about your efforts to increase representation among Black people. Increasing representation should be ingrained in every conversation. Moving your organization in the direction of authentic allyship.
