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<\/div>\n?Octavia Goredema, a Los Angeles-based author and career coach, provides tips to employers each year during Black History Month to equip them with the necessary tools to better support Black workers’ careers.<\/p>\n
But these organizations don’t always implement her suggestions.<\/p>\n
“It’s really frustrating when you see companies who just want to tick a box for Black History Month but are not prepared to invest in the advancement of their Black employees throughout the rest of the year,” she said. “Often, those employees reach out to me directly because they are prepared to pay for leadership development coaching at their own expense.”<\/p>\n
Each February, employers nationwide release statements or post inspirational quotes from Black civil rights icons on social media. However, many organizations fail to help Black workers develop their careers once the month is over.<\/p>\n
Black Employees Are Leaving at High Rates<\/p>\n
Black History Month gives employers the opportunity to examine barriers Black face in career advancement.<\/p>\n
Federal data shows that Black workers have higher unemployment rates and fewer employment prospects compared with their white counterparts. And just six Black CEOs<\/a> led Fortune<\/em> 500 companies in 2022.<\/p>\n McKinsey & Co. released a report<\/a> in 2021 indicating that Black workers:<\/p>\n “We’re underpaid, underutilized and it’s underwhelming,” Goredema said. “If you’re Black, you don’t need to study to validate your lived experience, but the data speaks for itself.”<\/p>\n Black employees are more likely than white workers to actively search for a new job<\/a> or plan to search in the next few months, according to a 2022 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).<\/p>\n They also continue to experience racism at work, including hair discrimination\u2014although states have begun enacting laws<\/a> to prohibit hair-related bias in the workplace.<\/p>\n Lior Rachmany, founder and CEO of moving company Dumbo Moving in Brooklyn, N.Y., said that Black employees are leaving their jobs at high rates because they aren’t being treated fairly or given the opportunities and tools to thrive at work.<\/p>\n “All Black workers need to be given equal and fair pay and access to the tools and resources to make them successful at their respective jobs,” Rachmany explained. “That starts at the top of any organization.”<\/p>\n The Importance of Mentoring<\/p>\n\n