Conn.’s corporate ladder remains broken

There has not been a Black CEO at a Connecticut company on the list of the nation’s largest corporations in the intervening seven years.

One danger of Black History Month is that once it has passed, it becomes easier to ignore the importance of supporting progress for Black Americans.

But its arrival each February also serves as a sort of scorecard, an opportunity to measure strides and setbacks of the previous 12 months.

Back in 2009, it was a big deal when Ursula Burns became the first Black woman to become chief executive officer of a Fortune 500 company. Since that company was Norwalk-based Xerox Holdings, it was a point of pride for Connecticut as well.

But Burns was only the second Black CEO of a Connecticut Fortune 500 firm. And since her tenure ended in 2016, Connecticut shows a shutout on the scorecard.

There has not been a Black CEO at a Connecticut company on the list of the nation’s largest corporations in the intervening seven years. Representation across the nation is hardly any better. The six Black CEOs identified in the most recent list represent 1 percent of top executives. A reflection of the national population would translate to about 70 Black CEOs.

A story by Hearst Connecticut Media reporter Paul Schott reveals even more dispiriting data, suggesting history is not about to change in Connecticut anytime soon.

Only one Connecticut company, Synchrony, can boast of having a corps of Black executives in the double digits, though just barely (10 percent). Some of Connecticut’s other Fortune 500 companies were at 2 percent in the latest report.

Synchrony boosted its numbers by acknowledging the problem.

“We realized we needed to move the needle faster for Black or Hispanic employees to rise to senior leadership positions, and we challenged ourselves to redefine how we recruit, develop and advance talent. In three years, we have seen strong progress and will continue the hard work to truly drive change,” said Michael Matthews, Synchrony’s chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer.

That came in the form of an initiative named Advancing Diverse Talent. As a result of taking action, the company says its lineup of Black senior vice presidents rose in two years by 70 percent.

To change representation among CEOs, those numbers have to improve first. Openings for the top spots don’t come often, as anyone grabbing the gold ring is unlikely to let it go quickly. The turnover just isn’t the same as it is for lower level positions.

But Synchrony’s data suggests DEI is more than just a fad. The movement began in 2020 in the wake of events such as George Floyd’s murder while in police custody. The danger is that once DEI committees are formed, companies can reflexively consider their representation problems to be solved.

If anything, companies of all sizes need to up their game. Black History Month is over, but we are now in the early days of Women’s History Month. Fortune 500 companies run by women are at about 9 percent.

That too is progress. But the reality is that companies need to forge new rungs from the bottom to the top of the corporate ladder.