How Do We Attract and Keep Black Women Executives?

Since 2020, this is the #1 question I get as a Global DEI leader.

As organizations strive for diversity and inclusion, attracting and supporting Black women in executive roles is crucial to unlocking untapped leadership and driving innovation. However, it requires more than just surface-level initiatives; it demands frameworks and a customized tailored strategy.

Let's look at what high leverage practices look like for any organization.

1. Board and Senior Leader Ownership: Commitment is not the same as ownership. In working with both types of leaders, I have found that ensuring leaders own DEI+ goals is the best way to ensure they are met. Successful change starts at the top. Senior leaders must actively commit to recruiting, development, advancement and succession of Black women in executive roles. This commitment should be backed by measurable goals, accountability, and a willingness to champion us at all levels.

??Quick Fix: Begin using the DICE framework. Who on the leadership team should be the Decider, Informed, Consulted and Executor of the DEIB goal?

2. Why Corporate Needs BW Executives: Black women bring unique perspectives and problem-solving approaches that drive corporate success. For example, I added a Sponsorship Program to a DEI strategy. I created the criteria for the North American Sponsorship Program and worked well with an HR partner. The 12 month program had 100% of the leadership team and managers involved. I developed the criteria for sponsors, sponsees, and managers including sponsors getting sponsees visibility in their senior level meetings, having managers using check in on goal progress, and ensuring women had agency to address microaggressions (if any) and take on a leadership opportunity. Yes, there were promotions, but there was access to senior leaders for the first time. This program was scaled globally because it drove impact. Our leadership fosters innovation, strengthens decision-making, and builds more inclusive corporate cultures.

??Quick Fix: Compare the data for Black Women and White Men Executives in your organization for the past 10 years. What accounts for his difference?

3. Story Circles with Heads of DEI: Create space for open dialogue. Story circles, with senior leaders and present and former Heads of DEI, provide a platform for Black women to share their experiences and challenges, informing organizational change and making DEI efforts more authentic. Having facilitated these circles with Leaders and employees together, it drove quick fixes and even launched a first ERG. In my case, I shared with senior leaders how White women microaggressed me and how I handled it. And because I had built a trusting relationship with them, they offered to support me however I needed.

??Quick Fix: Schedule a One on One with the Senior Leader of the Company and the Chief Diversity Officer. Ask, “What works well? And “Even better if…”. If your former Head of DEI has offboarded and you have never spoken to her about her experience, it’s time to ask why.

4. Disrupt Structural Barriers: Organizations must own and address the structural barriers that hinder Black women’s success—whether through understanding how levels of racism works in each phase of the talent cycle and recognizing how racial and gender bias so that harm can be eliminated for Black women as senior leaders. Human Resources is one group that can lead this effort with accountability. In many sessions with HR, I found that some do not see themselves as agents of change, some are unclear how to “challenge” leaders and some don’t have the lived experiences to see the inequity in the talent cycle. This is another reason why Black Women Executives are needed.

??Quick Fix: Dig deeper and a Learning Component about Caste and Slavery to Executive Learning and Development. Ask, “Is there a new framework we can build to help us understand how to remove racism from our talent processes?”

5. Customized Strategy for Black Women Executives Talent Cycle: Tailor strategies for Black Women Executives to ensure there are no gaps in support or growth opportunities, with customized strategies for attraction to interviewing, onboarding and scope, compensation to holistic benefits, feedback from Black women to talent management, professional development and sponsorship to succession. In writing DEIB strategies, the audits tell me what's working and what’s not. The frameworks give structure and the strategy targets the phases of the talent cycle that need the most support. By customizing a strategy for Black Women Executives, you can get the results faster.

??Quick Fix: Learn which part(s) of the talent cycle your organization needs to work on for Black Women Executives. Ask, “How can our framework help determine our strategy?”

6. Executive Coaching for White Leaders: Providing executive coaching for White leaders can help them understand their role in fostering an inclusive leadership culture. Ultimately, this ensures Black women thrive “to and through” the talent cycle. Most coaching has 360 and something similar, but the Anti-Blackness and Intersectional Lens are both missing. Executives must understand how to engage in Table Talks about Race and Racism beyond diversity of dimensions. They must dig deeper to understanding how the caste system and slavery and connect to the practices that have become a part of Corporate Culture. For example, free labor from picking cotton on the plantation morphed into free labor for Black Women on DEI Committees or why Natural Hair is a barrier for us. My R.A.C.E. Table Talks and DEI+ Summits with Executives are incredibly impactful.

??Quick Fix: Add Race Table Talks to Executive Coaching. Ask, “How can I lean in to understand anti-Blackness to support Black Women Executives with natural hair?”

By committing to these strategies, organizations can create an ecosystem where Black women executives can truly thrive and lead.

Want to learn high leverage strategies to attract and retain Black Women Executives in 2025?

??The Organizational Guide to Support Black Women Executives is Here.

??This Final Newsletter of 2024 the Equity Source Newsletter will highlight Black voices, stories and resources that should be on your radar and in your news feed. Thank you for your support this year.

LaTonya Davis is CEO of L. Davis Consulting, LLC. and founder of the DEI+ Academy. A few of her previous leadership roles include Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Published Fellow, Head of Global DEI for Amazon Prime, and Board Member-The Autism Society of Texas. She earned the Outstanding Woman in Law Award and holds a BA with honors from Bennett College and JD from St. Mary’s University School of Law.