Six years later, the world’s most valuable company, has one Black board member and an all-white top-five executive tier, led by CEO Tim Cook, who announced a $100 million commitment to racial justice in June. Apple’s larger leadership team of 16 has one Black executive, according to its website. According to the company, 3% of Apple leadership is African American and it plans to take"significant new steps on diversity and inclusion.
At Time Warner, Parsons tapped one individual to make sure his company interviewed a diverse slate for every executive opening. More than 100 candidates from underrepresented groups were hired with no quotas. By contrast, the boardrooms of these companies are becoming less homogeneous, with Black members making up about 11% of directors at the 50 companies in the USA TODAY analysis. Kimberly White, Getty Images for New York Times
Corporate America urgently needs to replace the white standard of leadership with a more inclusive standard, says Duke University's Ashleigh Shelby Rosette.Facebook has pledged to employ 30% more Black people in leadership positions over the next five years. It also has added two Black members to its board since last year.
Mark Zuckerberg's social media giant Facebook has pledged to employ 30% more more Black people in leadership positions over the next five years.But none of the five top executives listed on the company's proxy statement is Black. On its website, Verizon lists 11 on its leadership team, one of whom is African American: Rose Stuckey Kirk, the chief corporate social responsibility officer.
That executive, David Drummond, left Alphabet in January, according to the company's proxy statement.“There is no issue, zero issue, with the candidate pool,” says Barry Lawson Williams, a retired Black businessman who has served on more than a dozen public company boards.
It’s not that corporate America is lacking for Black executive talent, says Barry Lawson Williams, a retired Black businessman who has served on more than a dozen public company boards. The 35-year-old founder and CEO of Walker & Co. Brands says he's grateful for progress. His majority-minority-led company makes a modern personal care line for people of color and merged with Procter & Gamble in 2018.
“What I’ve learned is if I’m on a board and they’re not interested in fairness and true economic inclusion, then I will resign from that board,” said Rogers, founder and CEO of Ariel Investments, who sits on the boards of directors of Nike and McDonald’s. He declined to name the companies he's left. “I’ve done that several times over the years, where this is not a good fit, and these people are not living the values they say they believe in.