As diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs face increasing dismantling across corporate America, the challenges Black women face in predominantly White workplaces are more critical than ever.
Dr. Elizabeth Linos, Emma Bloomberg associate professor of Public Policy and Management at Harvard Kennedy School, recently released a groundbreaking study that explores how the racial composition of teams affects the career trajectories of Black women.
Linos’ findings are especially relevant in light of ongoing debates about the effectiveness and future of DEI initiatives.
Her study, which tracked 9,037 new hires in a professional services firm, revealed that Black women are disproportionately impacted by being placed with majority white teams. Black women were 51% more likely to leave the firm within two years and faced a significant decrease in their chances of promotion when working with predominantly white colleagues.
“One of the main metrics used to define employee success is billable hours, and so, regardless of your race and gender, employees who report lower billable hours are also likely to receive lower performance scores,” Linos said in a recent episode of the Black Press of America’s “Let It Be Known News.” “The ‘penalty’—how much your performance evaluation drops based on a reduction in billables—is larger for Black women than other groups.”
The research emphasizes that Black women assigned to predominantly white teams often logged fewer billable and more training hours, which directly correlated with lower performance evaluations. This created a cycle of disadvantage that reduced their chances for promotion.
“Ultimately, I interpret these findings as confirmation that while, as a society, we may be making progress in diversifying workplaces on some dimensions, Black women may still face additional hurdles for promotion at work,” Linos explained.
The Harvard professor’s findings are alarming to many diversity advocates, mainly as DEI initiatives—designed to counter such disparities—are increasingly under scrutiny and at risk of being rolled back. The study also uncovered that these challenges were not universal across all demographic groups. Hispanic, Asian, and Black men did not experience the same adverse effects from working with white co-workers. In contrast, Black women were uniquely impacted by these team dynamics, highlighting the intersectional nature of the barriers they face.
Moreover, the study showed that when African American women worked alongside more Black co-workers, their turnover rates decreased, and their overall workplace experience improved.
“This is in line with a common finding in the literature that having more similar peers (in this case, Black co-workers) can have a positive effect on retention,” Linos and her colleagues wrote in the study.
As discussions about equity in the workplace continue, the research offers a sobering reminder of how “neutral” workplace practices—such as team assignments and performance metrics—can disproportionately harm Black women.
“Seemingly neutral practices around staffing and promotion that rely on peers and networking can have a negative impact on equity at work,” Linos said.“We need more research on how white employees can adjust their behavior to ensure they don’t contribute to existing racialized and gendered dynamics at work.”