CREATING STANDARDS OF LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONALISM ROOTED IN BLACKNESS
Creating Standards of Leadership and Professionalism Rooted in Blackness by Jennifer M. Tardy and Brittany Crichlow. The measurement of Black representation through CEOs in Fortune 500 companies, at the top of organizational hierarchies, has decreased from six CEOs in 2012 to three today.1 According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) data, among all U.S. companies with about 100 or more employees, Black people hold just about three percent of the executive or senior-level roles.2 But why? We believe part of the answer stems from how hiring leaders perceive leadership and professionalism. JENNIFER TARDY – is founder and owner of an award-winning, Maryland based, diversity recruiting consulting firm. BRITTANY CRICHLOW – is the Learning and Innovation Specialist with Jennifer Tardy Consulting.
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IT IS KNOWN that systemic issues are preventing increased diversity at the senior executive ranks for Black professionals. To unpack the causes for this underrepresentation, there are three areas we know are not the issue: The problem is not a lack of a business case to increase diversity. Firms that have the most ethnically diverse executive teams are 33 percent more likely to perform better than their peers on profitability, and those with gender diversity in their executive-level worldwide forming 21 percent have a likelihood to outperform their industry competitors.3
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