Breaking the “Black Ceiling” for Black Women in Sales, Tech & Innovation
Black Women in Sales, Tech, and Innovation are essential, but we certainly have a long way to go to be ‘present’ in these spaces. Companies must be intentional about the recruitment process and creating opportunities for Black Women and other extremely talented people of color. With such a tight-knit group of referral-based opportunities in Sales, Tech, and Innovation, many times, very qualified women of color are not considered for openings simply due to the lack of exposure. So, where are all of the qualified women of color hiding? In plain sight. According to Ascend Leadership, a non-profit group for Asian professionals, there was a 13 percent decline from 2007 and 2015 in the number of black women who even entered the tech workforce. But why? For black women, the data pointed to potential hiring and retention issues. “Tech companies over and over have said they ‘must do better’ but the fact remains that blacks and Latinos still make up just 2 to 3 percent of the tech workforce, even less representation in the C-suites and board rooms.” Said Jesse Jackson in a statement to WIRED while representing the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Let me offer some action steps for successfully changing the narrative during this crucial turning point in American society. Where some people are committed to spewing hate and exclusivity, I would like to propose that doing away with those ideals will in the end make your organization more money. Diversity in the lab, product team, and sales team not only contribute various points of view for the clients you’ll service, but the inclusion of diverse groups helps to make your employees and company culture a better, more productive place. By seeing things from a different vantage point, more problems will be solved, more challenges can be overcome and greater productivity results. So, if you want to improve your bottom line, you have to start at the application, interviewing, and recruiting process.
One way you can commit to finding and engaging with the top talent outside of your immediate network is through cultural and gender-based organizations. By developing an alliance with these organizations, you will not only open up a new talent pool but you’ll be able to learn about the experiences people of color are subjected to in some corporate settings. By doing so, you can implement action items within your organization to side-step potentially legal nightmares from cultural and gender bias in leadership and build an environment that top talent would want to stay for longer periods of time. Too often, diverse talent is brought into an organization, but because there is no framework for them to thrive, or their voice is being ignored in board room meetings churn becomes a major issue. We need to feel seen when we come to work — regardless of whether our hair is in a style that you “approve of.”
Lastly, once you’ve brought on top talent and worked to build an environment that’s supportive of their ideas, hard work, and contributions, there should be an intentional effort to mentor and promote women of color into leadership positions. The Women in the Workplace study conducted by the LeanIn Foundation and McKinsey & Company stated for every 100 entry-level men who are promoted, just 58 Black Women are. Additionally, only 1 in 10 senior leaders is a woman. When you consider Black Women or any woman of color, that number drops even lower to only 1 in 25 C-suite execs are women of color. It’s unacceptable to think, you could work just as hard, produce just as much but continue to be overlooked for the next position on the ladder. Build a learning path for your top talent to become the future leaders within the company. Representation is a major indicator of future growth. Oftentimes, it’s challenging for up and coming talent to see themselves having a future at a company where no one looks like them in a leadership position.
Now is the time to change the narrative.
