Minorities and leadership in organizational contexts

Stock

Leader

Does Having a New Black President

Make it Easier for Minorities to Advance to Leadership Roles in Business?

"Excuse me, sir. I'm looking for the Color Line. Would you know where I can find it?" (Miller)

The United States has made great strides in regard to minority relations by electing its first black president. By today's standard, minority entails many different things such as classifying by nationality, race, religious preference, physical disability, gender or sexual preference. Throughout history, there have been many great leaders who came from their respective minority groups. For example, few people are aware of the fact that the Roman Empire had black emperors and even less know that one of them, Septimius Severus, through his legislative changes to military pay scales and community control laws, may not only have been the greatest black emperor, he may actually have been the most influential Roman emperor of them all. "Severus brought many changes to the Roman military. Soldiers' pay was increased by half, they were allowed to be married while in service, and greater opportunities were provided for promotion into officer ranks and the civil service. The entire praetorian guard, discredited by the murder of Pertinax and the auctioning of their support to Julianus, was dismissed. The emperor created a new, larger praetorian guard out of provincial soldiers from the legions. Increases were also made to the two other security forces based in Rome: the urban cohorts, who maintained order; and the night watch, who fought fires and dealt with overnight disturbances, break-ins and other petty crime. These military reforms proved expensive, but the measures may well have increased soldiers' performance and morale in an increasingly unsettled age." (Meckler) Barak Obama may or may not be the modern day equivalent of Septimius Severus, but one thing is for sure, by having a minority leader in the white house, other minorities will face all new levels of scrutiny. So, does having a new black president make it easier for minorities to advance to leadership roles in the business world? This paper aims to examine the evidence on all sides and come to a conclusion that is supported by the data.

A funny thing happened on the way to work

With a new black president and many new minority millionaires throughout the nation, one would think that it has become okay to be a minority in the United States. It appears that something clearly has changed because the nation has a plethora of all new influential power brokers that sway both black and white alike. The recently passed singer Michael Jackson, sports stars like Michael Jordon, Lebron James, Shaq and Tiger Woods, movie and television stars like Halle Berry, Denzel Washington, J Lo, Oprah, Chris Rock, George Lopez and other stars like OJ, Snoop Dog and Dr. Dre have all crossed the not so imaginary color line. In one way or another, these minorities have made their own levels of contribution to our society which has technically reduced the perceived level of racism. They, in a sense, have made it okay to be a minority. But, is this new found level of acceptance towards minorities carrying over into the world of business, finance or politics? Are minorities getting and thriving in jobs at the mid to upper levels of management in the business, finance or political spectrum?

(Carrol)

Throughout the United States, statistics show that there have been more minorities hired; but, those minorities face barriers to advancement once the hiring process has been completed. Therefore, any cure all solution by Human Resource departments institute for diversity training initiatives have not addressed the major issue of minorities being overlooked for regular promotions. But before one can worry about mid to upper levels of job opportunities and promotions, one must consider the employment picture as a whole. "In October, employers took 2,127 mass layoff actions involving 217,182 workers. Mass layoff events decreased by 434 and associated initial claims by 30,824 from September. Over the month, the number of manufacturing events, at 619, decreased by 237, and associated initial claims, at 70,572, decreased by 26,494." (Bureau of Labor Statistics) There are vast differences between white and minority opinions when it comes to the subject of jobs.

(Carrol)

A 2006 Gallup's Annual Minority Rights and Relations Poll found that "blacks are much more likely than whites or Hispanics to agree with the notion that society is divided into the 'haves' and 'have-nots.' Roughly two in three blacks (67%) say American society is divided into these two classifications, while only 42% of whites and 31% of Hispanics feel this way. Most whites (57%) and Hispanics (64%) say American society is not divided. Hispanics are the least likely of the three groups to acknowledge such a division." (Carrol) Unemployment statistics give a more accurate understanding of these poll numbers. Consider the implications of the high level of unemployment -- that is because some groups are affected more than others.

Data Series

Back

Data

May

2009

June

2009

July

2009

Aug

2009

Sept

2009

Oct

2009

Unemployment Rate (1)

9.4

9.5

9.4

9.7

9.8

10.2

Change in Payroll Employment (2)

-303

-463

-304

-154

(P) -219

(P) -190

Average Hourly Earnings (3)

18.53

18.54

18.59

18.66

(P) 18.67

(P) 18.72

Consumer Price Index (4)

0.1

0.7

0.0

0.4

0.2

0.3

Producer Price Index (5)

0.2

1.7

(P) -1.0

(P) 1.7

(P) -0.6

(P) 0.3

U.S. Import Price Index (6)

1.7

2.7

(R) -0.6

(R) 1.5

(R) 0.2

(R) 0.7

Footnotes

(1) In percent, seasonally adjusted. Annual averages are available for Not Seasonally Adjusted data.

(2) Number of jobs, in thousands, seasonally adjusted.

(3) For production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls, seasonally adjusted.

(4) All items, U.S. city average, all urban consumers, 1982-84=100, 1-month percent change, seasonally adjusted.

(5) Finished goods, 1982=100, 1-month percent change, seasonally adjusted.

(6) All imports, 1-month percent change, not seasonally adjusted.

(R) Revised

(P) Preliminar

United States - Monthly Data

Data extracted on: November 20, 2009 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Data Series

Back

Data

3rd Qtr

2008

4th Qtr

2008

1st Qtr

2009

2nd Qtr

2009

3rd Qtr

2009

Employment Cost Index (1)

0.6

0.6

0.3

0.4

0.4

Productivity (2)

-0.1

0.8

0.3

6.9

9.5

Footnotes

(1) Compensation, all civilian workers, quarterly data, 3-month percent change, seasonally adjusted.

(2) Output per hour, nonfarm business, quarterly data, percent change from previous quarter at annual rate, seasonally adjusted

United States - Quarterly Data

Data extracted on: November 20, 2009 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Minorities and whites clearly see the business and political worlds and their relation to unemployment or underemployment very differently. Whites are far more likely to consider themselves on an equal footing when it comes to job opportunities against minorities. Hispanics and the vast majority of blacks strongly disagree and blacks know that unemployment is one of the most pressing issues this nation faces. If minorities believe in the cultural divide of 'haves' and 'have-nots,' it is also not a great leap of faith to understand that minorities know that they are in the wrong group, they have been labeled as the 'have-nots.'

That is because they are the ones more likely to be unemployed. As CNN points out, the percentage of Whites who are unemployed is 3.9%, Hispanics 5.8%, and Blacks at 8.5%. This is not just a problem in the United States. Like the United States, cities all over Canada are trying to become more diverse in the mid to upper levels of management for business, finance and politics. An extremely multicultural city like Toronto, Canada can often be compared to cities like Indianapolis, Detroit or Minneapolis. The majority of the population may be considered to be minorities but the management spectrum is often all white. "In the most diverse GTA municipalities, visible minorities make up nearly 50 per cent of the population. But just 13 per cent of the top leaders in the public, non-profit and corporate sectors belong to visible minorities, according to a study earlier this year. Corporations fared the worst, with minorities accounting for just 5 per cent of senior executive positions in the firms studied." (Toronto Star)

Toronto has been trying to add more diversity to corporate, financial and governmental management jobs. "The initiative, called DiverseCity, has met or exceeded its targets, the organizers announced last night. More than 300 people from minority groups have made it on to public, private and non-profit boards, and 140 have become spokespersons helping to ensure a broader range of media voices. This is good news not just for minorities but for everyone. When all our citizens are able to contribute their utmost, society as a whole benefits. Studies have linked diversity in leadership to better corporate performance and more creative thinking." (Toronto Star)

Who's the boss?

Far too often, qualified minorities are kept from advancing up through the corporate ladder within organizations. Many believe this is only a minor setback, but it seems it is long-term phenomena. "Nor does the evidence indicate that the glass ceiling is a temporary phenomenon. In fact, the research cited here finds relatively few women and minorities in the positions most likely to lead to the top -- the "pipeline." The critical career path for senior management positions requires taking on responsibilities most directly related to the corporate bottom line." (Dol.gov) Future promotions to the next job level through regular promotions are difficult to attain.

This issue has become a major concern that Human Resource professionals will have to address more and more often as globalization demands a more diverse labor force. The NAACP and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) each point out that blacks and other minorities who have been properly educated and are properly qualified are having less difficulty finding well paying white collar positions, but they then realize that those jobs are heavy with 'glass ceilings.' Cure all diversity training initiatives by desperate Human Resource departments have not succeeded in dealing with the underlying racial discrimination. Ironically, racial discrimination claims filed by minorities statistically have been consistently dropping over the course of the past few decades. However, specifically associated claims for racial discrimination in regard to promotion have been growing over the same period of time. Although diversity related initiatives address racial sensitivity issues, they do not in most cases address racial discrimination regarding promotion or advancement.

These are not new twentieth or twenty First century problems W.E.B. Du Bois's Free Press way back in 1903 made an announcement to the people and the souls of the 'colored folk' when he wrote "the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the Color Line." (Ashton) Throughout the nineteenth century, the topics of slavery and race superiority were a big enough problem for the state that it led to the bloodiest war ever fought here on American soil. The war was actually a legal attempt to correct a blatant wrong and there have been many attempts to legally control the color line since. Consider the three-fifths rule of our Constitution, slave trade bans, limits on the expansion of slavery, the Fugitive Slave Act, Emancipation, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the civil-rights revolution. Apparently all have failed. Although we now have our first black president, the number of blacks on the boards of Fortune 500 companies is still a clear indication that our nation has a long way to go. "African-American, American Indian, and Hispanic-American men believe that within their groups not enough individuals are earning the degrees that business needs. On the other hand, they also perceive that even those who have these credentials face brick, opaque, and thick glass ceilings that block their advancement to senior level decision making positions. A survey of senior level male managers in Fortune 1000 industrial and Fortune 500 service industries shows that almost 97% are white, 0.6 are African-American, 0.3% are Asian, and 0.4% are Hispanic." (Dol.gov)

As demonstrated by the new power brokers, there are many examples of African-Americans and other minorities that have crossed the barrier we understand as the color line, however, the majority of black Americans and other minorities may never even come near the magic boarder. Society has and will continue to change. "Demographic experts say recent population shifts indicate that by the year 2030 whites will be a minority in the United States. Concomitant with this alteration of racial dominion is the matter of spatial density… 'urban areas will hold half of all people by the year 2000,' and that by 2020, '3.6 billion people will inhabit urban areas while 3 billion will remain in rural areas." (Smith)

When we talk about minorities advancing, are we only talking about black and Hispanic-Americans? Anti-immigrant racism is just as big a problem in the advancement of national diversity acceptance and greater representation by minorities in mid and upper levels of business and political managerial org charts. "Fortune 500 companies are white; 95 to 97% are male. In Fortune 2000 industrial and service companies, 5% of senior managers are women -- and of that 5%, virtually all are white." (Dol.gov)

Be it in the work place or in general social settings, white America continues to discriminate. "The color line concludes that, nearly 120 years after the Chinese Exclusion Act, immigration policy continues to reflect racial bias. The report points to a disturbing pattern or racism visible in the application of U.S. immigration laws, and concludes that those who are African, Asian, Latino, or Caribbean are more often detained, deported, and denied legal status and protections. In particular, the U.S. government has implemented a program of anti-immigrant legislation that justifies racial discrimination against immigrants, both by law enforcement officials and civilians. The climate of racial hostility towards immigrants is fostered by laws and practices that effectively tolerate racial discrimination in the workplace, in civil society, in schools, in access to social services, and in access to legal protections." (Duke)

Data extracted on: November 20, 2009 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

After the devastating attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, immigrants of Middle Eastern decent and many who worshipped as Muslims were suddenly stereotyped and became regular victims of what the black community considered to be racial profiling. Targets of racism expanded after 911 in the same way that occurred to Americans of German, Japanese and Italian decent during World War II and specifically following the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese. The United States and America have practiced situational discrimination for hundreds of years. "The Gulf War intensified anti-Arab hostility in the United States. Before the invasion of Kuwait in 1990, ADC had recorded five anti-Arab hate crimes for the year. Immediately after the invasion, from August 2, 1990 until February 2, 1991, ADC recorded 86 incidents." (Akram, 2002) Americans under fire often resort to racial profiling, discrimination and isolationism. Minorities traveling on New Jersey highways were very well aware of law enforcement incorporating regular harassment stops on Latinos, blacks and now those of Middle Eastern decent. In related escalations, hate crimes also increased against immigrants of color under the Bush administration but continue under the current administration.

It appears that the white community demonstrated xenophobic motivations after 911 under the Bush administration, but electing a black president has not redirected the national leadership in regard to racist polices. The color line has historically promoted racism and new immigrants of color may now understand the plight of African-Americans a little more clearly. "Immigrants, and those perceived as immigrants due to their race, continue to suffer from employment discrimination. Legislative provisions written to safeguard workers, who appear "foreign" from discrimination, remain unenforced. Immigrant workers also remain vulnerable to workplace abuse and exploitation, and often face greater challenges in attempting to fight for fair working conditions." (Smith) The Latino population has become the new largest minority group as of the latest complete census. "Heightened military and law enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border have escalated human rights abuses of migrants and people of color in the Southwest and other regions of the United States." (Smith) Those considered immigrants or refugees will continue to endure unfair treatment in our criminal systems.

Is President Obama Correct?

Except for the first family, being a minority has many disadvantages including being a social outcast. "This social dynamic result in events being in chaos, with those excluded lacking information about correct means and channels unless they make extraordinary efforts to overcome these barriers. The logic of this Whiteness versus 'lesser than' practice is used to control who gets what and who is automatically overlooked or denigrated. Given that the Whiteness or lesser-than logic is so ingrained in the social cognitions driving behavior, promoting equal opportunity for being included is at the core of the emerging discourse on inclusion. Racism is perniciously perpetuated through discourse practices that include formal and informal policies, verbal, nonverbal, and written practices, what is said, and especially what is not said or practiced." (Lee) Throughout history, the only way to overcome this stigma has been education. The process of educating particular groups in a society has been one successful solution for raising a particular group out of poverty and also establishing new economic opportunities.

In other words, a viable solution for eliminating the color line is to better educate the minority groups that are below it as well as teaching new understanding of diversity to those in the majority above it. A good example of education creating opportunity is how, in the late 1990's, college educated black women began to chip away at the income gap of their white counterparts based on past U.S. Census Bureau reports. Obviously there is still room for improvement. "Considerable gaps remain between whites and blacks, the report showed. The differences sometimes narrow as education and family stability increase. The median income of all black families ($25,970) was only 58% of that of all white families ($45,020). But married-couple black families in which both husband and wife were wage earners took in 84% of the income of similar white families ($49,752 vs. $59,025). Nearly 83% of white families are built around married couples, compared with 46% of black families." (USA Today)

President Obama seems to concur that education is the key and he and his wife are both graduates of Ivy League institutions. He has a unique insight into the policies, philosophies and beliefs taught to a majority of the white students of those schools and this Harvard education took him all the way to the Whitehouse. His dedication to education is clear; "at this defining moment in our history, preparing our children to compete in the global economy is one of the most urgent challenges we face. We need to stop paying lip service to public education, and start holding communities, administrators, teachers, parents and students accountable. We will prepare the next generation for success in college and the workforce, ensuring that American children lead the world once again in creativity and achievement." (Organizing For America)

His message for every single child, of all races, is that they can achieve more and become more if they are dedicated. When polled, over forty percent of the blacks asked also thought improving the educational system was the most important thing that needed to be accomplished. It is not surprising that it was close to how they felt about more job opportunities being needed. President Obama's intentions and message are good, but how many children in black communities around the nation have even a remote shot at applying to an Ivy League school. The educational system has very deep seated rules and only a very select few will be able to bypass the very real social discriminating hurdles. So, will any black children from Detroit's badlands be accepted by Harvard, Yale or Princeton? Dedication for most will simply not be enough when the race begins in a lane for minorities only. But, in case the system can be fixed, the Obama Administration has offered this for our nation's children:

"Improve K-12 schooling: We will recruit an army of new teachers and develop innovative ways to reward teachers who are doing a great job, and we will reform No Child Left Behind so that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them.

Expand access to higher education: After graduating high school, all Americans should be prepared to attend at least one year of job training or higher education to better equip our workforce for the 21st century economy. We will continue to make higher education more affordable by expanding Pell Grants and initiating new tax credits to make sure any young person who works hard and desires a college education can access it.