Black Workers Struggle To Climb the Corporate Ladder
This week, we talk about the lack of Black workers in management ranks and GameStop’s return.
Welcome to our weekly chat about the environmental and social issues that influence the way we work, spend our money and live our lives. We're your hosts, Maitane Sardon and Dieter Holger. Want to get our newsletter every Wednesday? Hit the subscribe button in the upper right corner and please share with your friends!
Hi Dieter! Last year, we spoke about how major U.S. corporations promised to hire more Black employees at all levels and pledged tens of millions of dollars in donations to support racial equality. Yet, Black Americans are struggling to move up the corporate ladder.
Yes, a study by McKinsey found that despite all the resources companies have devoted to making the workplace more racially diverse, Black employees are leaving early-career jobs in large numbers—often, they say, because they feel little support or opportunity to advance. This means not many of them are well-positioned to make the leap to management and executive roles.
The study looked at promotion, attrition and recruitment at 23 companies during the first half of 2020 and found that Black workers were hired and promoted at higher rates than their white peers, but they also left in high numbers. Black employees make up 12% of entry-level jobs, but at the managerial level, that share goes down to 7%.
One of the reasons is that companies’ endeavors have helped just a small pool of workers and haven’t tackled the issues causing attrition, reporters Vanessa Fuhrmans and Te-Ping Chen say.
McKinsey’s diversity and inclusion chief Lareina Yee says one of the ways companies can advance Black employees is by tackling key barriers such as higher attrition and lower opportunities for career advancement. She adds that creating a supportive work culture so they want to stay in the companies is crucial.
Some companies are working on creating more opportunities for Black people. Consumer-electronics retailer BestBuy has promised to fill one in three corporate positions with Black, Latino and indigenous employees and to improve its career support to boost retention. Target has pledged to increase representation of Black employees across its workforce by 20% over the next three years.
Interesting. We’ll watch corporate racial diversity pledges closely this year. Now, what’s the latest in the market mayhem?
GameStop is back. Defying expectations once again, shares of the videogame retailer shot up 13% on Monday after Keith Gill, the Reddit trader known as Roaring Kitty and DeepF—ingValue, said late Friday that he had piled more money in the stock. Gill recently testified before Congress along with hedge fund chief executives and Robinhood’s CEO.
It’s a sign that the company’s wild ride probably isn’t quite over. GameStop isn’t the only retailer that has drawn attention though. Take the SPDR S&P Retail ETF, an exchange-traded fund that lets investors back many mall-store firms at once. It has surged more than 23% this year, outstripping the gains of the S&P 500.
What am I looking at? The chart above shows the year-to-date share-price performance of the SPDR S&P Retail ETF. ETFs let investors play multiple stocks by just owning one share of the fund.
It shows how the mania among Reddit traders can drive prices in other investments.
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Meet the team:
Elevate the Conversation is produced by the editorial teams of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires. Here's a little bit more about us, along with our contact information. We'd love to hear from you.
Dieter Holger, Reporter: I have a knack for uncovering values-based investing trends and I’m obsessed with spreadsheets and charts. I really enjoy ‘80s music and skateboarding (but I suck). dieter.holger@wsj.com @dieterholger
Maitane Sardon, Reporter: I have a passion for amplifying the voices of those at the center of stories. I love running on Barcelona’s beaches and binging on chocolate ice-cream to compensate (it’s all about balance). maitane.sardon@wsj.com @sardonmaitane
Catherine Lindsay, Editor: I like breaking down complex ideas and explaining them. On the weekend, you’ll find me wandering the city with my film camera at the ready. catherine.lindsay@wsj.com @CathsLindsay
Tammy Lian, Designer: As a visual producer, I'm always excited by the challenge of creative problem solving. In my spare time, you can usually find me taking care of my ever-growing collection of plants and drinking tea. tammy.lian@wsj.com @violian.tammy