Corporate diversity reports have an epic blind spot

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It’s now common for companies to publish diversity reports. But most of them lack a key measurement, leaving millions of women behind.?

Some 96% of companies report the gender representation of their employees at all levels, and 90% report representation at senior levels, according to LeanIn and McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace report .?

But only 54% of companies track gender and race/ethnicity — i.e. Black or Latina women in senior leadership.?

This renders women of color “invisible,” says LeanIn CEO Rachel Schall Thomas .?

Only 4% of C-Suite positions and 5% of senior vice president positions are held by women of color. These figures have barely budged in the seven years since LeanIn and McKinsey have partnered on this report.?

“At every step up the corporate ladder, women of color are losing ground to white women and men of color,” said Thomas.?

Despite a year of increased focus on racial equity across corporate America, women of color continue to battle bias and discrimination at work. Microaggressions — like being interrupted or having your judgment questioned — continue to plague Black and Latina women at higher rates than their white peers. Black women are promoted into managerial roles at a much lower rate than white women, and more than 25% of Black women told LeanIn that they felt their race has negatively affected their ability to advance.?

The continued bias and microaggressions, coupled with the data holes, have prevented progress at companies.

Some companies avoid this intersectional approach to diversity out of fear. Organizations that may seemingly be gaining ground on gender equity within their ranks may only be promoting and retaining white women. Publicly acknowledging that in a report could change the narrative of how inclusive a company really is.?

The other reason is data related, said Tiffany Dufu , founder of female coaching platform TheCru. Introducing a new metric into the data hampers a company's ability to compare progress year over year.

“It comes down to leadership feeling it is important to start tracking the data now,” she said. “That’s it.”

So what can companies do other than starting to track gender and race together? Accountability is a good place to start. While corporate leaders say that gender and racial diversity is among their most important business priorities, only two thirds of companies hold senior leadership accountable for progress on these issues, and less than a third hold managers accountable.

“The most radical solution of advancement is for people in positions of power to reimagine the past version of themselves and then seeing a person of color in that role,” said Dufu.?

We want to hear from you: Does your company publish diversity metrics for gender and race? Or only gender? Let me know in the comments below.?

What’s Working

Speaking out. After speaking out about discrimination at her tech job, Ifeoma Ozoma wrote a handbook to give others the tools and resources to do the same. She’ll join me live on Thursday, October 28th at 3ET to discuss her handbook, what’s happening at Facebook and Netflix, and more. [Join us here ]

Renting an IPO. Retail startup Rent The Runway, led by co-founder and CEO Jennifer Hyman, is slated to go public today. After raising $357 million, the company is now valued at roughly $1.3 billion. This will be the sixth company since 2020 that has gone public via IPO with a female founder. [Bloomberg ]

Blakely's big exit. After founding retail brand Spanx 20 years ago, Sarah Blakely is selling a majority of the company to Blackstone. The exit is huge for a founder who once dreamed the company would be worth $20 million. It is now valued at $1.2 billion. [LinkedIn ]

A White House first. Last week, the White House came out with its first national strategy on gender equity and equality. The paper includes insights on women’s health, gender-based violence and economic advancement for women. [The White House ]

A Wall Street first. Under the leadership of CEO Jane Fraser, Citi will be the first U.S. bank to undergo a racial equity review by an outside party. This decision comes after the bank committed $1 billion to advance racial equity and investors pushed company leaders to do an audit on the matter after their annual shareholder meeting. [Bloomberg ]

What’s Not

Strike-tober. As workers across the country walk out on the job at record rates, we sat down with HR expert Johnny C. Taylor Jr. and local union president Dan Osborn to discuss what this means for the future of work. "You've recruited a ton of people into the organization without being entirely clear on how you value diverse opinions," Taylor said. [Catch the conversation here ]

“Patterns of abuse” LinkedIn Top Voice Minda Harts spoke about concerns she has with corporate leaders speaking out about equity in the workplace, but not acting on it. [Longdash ]

“People are saying that these things are important and part of their mission statement. Yet, nothing has changed in the leadership gap. Nothing has changed in the salary and pay equity for those who may not be making equal pay for equal work.”?

Impact of sexism. Everyone agrees that outright discrimination is bad for women, but how do the smaller slights of sexism impact their careers? Heavily, according to a study of the promotion rates of one company. Women’s successful solo projects are valued less and women are penalized more when they fail. The result? Fewer women climb the corporate ladder. [NYTimes ]

You’ve got a friend in me. A 2013 study found that a vast majority of white people have zero friends of color, while people of color have much more diverse friend groups. Inclusion expert Ruchika Tulshyan breaks down how that shapes workers’ professional allies. [LinkedIn ]

Who’s Pushing Us Forward?

What topics do you want to discuss next time? Let me know in the comments below using #WorkingTogether