Diversity in C-suite lacking across all industries

Healthcare isn’t unique in the ongoing challenge of creating a more diverse C-suite. Across all industries, minorities continue to be underrepresented in top leadership positions.

An analysis of executive appointments at Fortune 500 companies between 2005 and 2015 found no significant rise in the promotion of women, AfricanAmericans, Latinos and AsianAmericans to the CEO rank.

For instance, in 2005, there were six African-American CEOs running Fortune 500 companies. By 2015, the number held steady at six, according to research from Richard Zweigenhaft, a psychology professor at Guilford College. Among AsianAmericans, the number peaked at 14 in 2011 and 2012, but dropped to 11 by 2015. Latinos saw a slight rise to 13 CEOs in 2015, up from nine in 2005.

More broadly, data from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission showed that 119,009 minorities held executive- and senior-level positions across private industry in 2015. That’s 14% out of a total of 849,503 leadership jobs reported by the agency.

In an effort to jump-start the diversity movement, executives from a cross section of industries in 2017 launched the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion initiative. It includes CEOs from such firms as Accenture, Anthem, Deloitte US, Highmark Health, Lowe’s, Pfizer and United Airlines. The group has generally pledged to advance diversity in the workforce and to share best practices for doing so.