What happens when companies support black women

This Black History Month, we’re pausing to celebrate Black women’s achievements in the workplace—and to look closely at the realities they face right now.

Black women have worked outside the home for centuries—often without pay or recognition—so there was no single moment when they “entered” the workforce. But the pace and scale of their advancement—despite decades of headwinds and hurdles—deserves special recognition and admiration.

Today, Black women make up about 8% of professional employees in the United States, roughly in line with their share of the population—and that’s worth pausing on, given how recently access to these roles was denied to them. And they are more qualified than ever. Their graduation rates have more than doubled since the 90s—and Black women now earn college degrees at higher rates than white men.

They’re also among the most motivated of any employees. Across the last decade, Black women are often the most likely group to want a promotion or a leadership role. Not only that–they’re also the fastest-growing group of women entrepreneurs.

I know firsthand that Black women lift others as they rise. As a white woman, some of the most meaningful support of my career has come from my Black women colleagues. More than once, a Black woman used her influence to advocate for me—to help me land the job I have now, and the one before that.

As a white woman, I also know from the data that we benefit consistently from Black women’s advocacy—without offering the same level of support in return. It’s our responsibility to change that, to step up and be better allies. I commit to trying my best to do that, now and every day.

Black women’s generosity shows up again and again in the data: they are more likely to mentor others, support peers, and invest in their communities, even when the system doesn’t invest equally in them.

But in the past year, Black women in the United States have faced mass layoffs and historically high unemployment. They also now face the worst “broken rung” of any group of women: they are only just over half as likely as men to be promoted from entry level to manager—the first step toward leadership. This early promotion gap sets Black women back from the start, making every step after that harder.

This outcome is not inevitable. In 2022, Black women’s broken rung almost mended, after around 9 in 10 companies doubled down on diversity and inclusion efforts following the pandemic and the racial reckoning of 2020.

But since then, many companies have pulled back from those commitments, with 3 in 10 now saying they place little to no priority at all on women of color’s advancement. It’s no surprise that the broken rung for Black women has cracked apart again.

The takeaway is clear: Black women are an extraordinary source of talent that companies can’t afford to overlook.

If you work at a company, manage people, influence decisions, or know someone who does, this data is for you. Share it widely. Bring it into conversations with leaders. The numbers tell a clear story: how large the gaps are, how real the setbacks have been, and how much progress is possible when we all commit to supporting Black women.