Black Careers Matter
While the coronavirus is scientifically indiscriminate to race and class, the disproportionate impact on the black population in the United States is both stunning and distressing. Not only from a medical standpoint, where the black mortality rate is 2.3 times the rate for whites and Asians (the World Health Organization reports). But also from an economic perspective, where at present 17% of blacks are unemployed (against the national average of 13%), and where 40% of the U.S.’s 1 million black-owned businesses have closed due to the pandemic (compared to 17% of white-owned businesses).
It’s easy to see the “rigged system” that produces the above statistics. Minority businesspeople frequently have less access to capital because of a long history of discriminatory lending practices, thus they start with lower savings raising their risk profile for financial loans. Call it an economic “pre-condition” that makes minorities more vulnerable to recessionary periods, similar to how the coronavirus preys on people with medical pre-conditions. What’s worse is that the major federal stimulus programs that are intended to help all Americans are also racially skewed: an analysis by the Center for Responsible Lending found that 95% of black-owned businesses who applied for PPP loans were shut out.
It’s time to answer the current call to address systemic racism and its chokehold on minority economic opportunities. This is a massive societal syndrome with no easy solutions; it is closely tied to breaking the poverty cycle that traps countless minority families and creates a situation where blacks and other underserved minorities are beginning the race way behind the starting line. It involves greater investments in early childhood education, public school standards, substance mis-use education, enrichment programs, and other bootstrapping initiatives that can raise the quality and quantity of the candidate pool of 18-year old minority students.
A good place to start would be to question the premise of this blog: what is a “black career”? It is unwise and unhelpful to pathologize a specific race to a specific industry, but yet it’s common for people to think of Asians dominating high tech and whites having a monopoly in finance. In fact, we should stop thinking that careers are a series of jobs and begin realizing that careers are a series of decisions that are influenced by both professional opportunities and personal circumstances. In the rigged system, the decision options for black career seekers are constrained due to having fewer opportunities and carrying the burden of systemic economic and educational disadvantages, thus reducing their competitiveness and consideration for the best jobs. Limited options may explain the preponderance of black-owned small businesses in the U.S.
Assuming that progress can be made to melt this enormous iceberg, the next challenge is to improve underserved minority access to the nation’s top universities and colleges. Inarguably, this is where career success begins for many people of every race and class. Proof of this statement is evident when you look at who is admitted to top tier schools: the majority being wealthy white and foreign-born students, and a smattering of spectacularly qualified minority students. A striking indication of the exclusivity of top schools is the extent people are willing to go to get into the club: in the same year we see the Operation Varsity Blues bribery scandal and the Harvard discrimination lawsuit on behalf of denied Asian applicants. I am not suggesting that Higher Ed admissions practices are intentionally racist — more accurately, they are intentionally capitalistic and fixated on feeding the cost dragon that has grown for the last 40 years to the point where it may never be satiated. One of the potential benefits of Higher Ed reform (including a cost of attendance in line with the value of the degree) would certainly be an opportunity to focus on true social reform, without being hostage to the economic shackles that maintain the status quo.
If Higher Ed can become a more level playing field, the next area to address is corporate hiring and management practices. We can hope for greater compliance with the letter and the spirit of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act as a starting point. Black careers should also be supported by the personal development framework that white professionals receive as a matter of course: mentoring, cross-functional work experiences, executive leadership training, community volunteer opportunities, just to name a few.
How will we know when black careers are on a par with other advantaged groups? Our company (CareerMap) is beginning to explore the career paths of black professionals in an precedented way by conducting studies of the educational and work histories of professionals across many industries. Some probing inquiries include: what defines career success for blacks and minorities? Is the definition the same for black men and black women? What are the career paths that are most successful for black professionals, and how do they differ from professionals of other ethnicities? What are the different segments or personas that exist among black career seekers? These insights are going to be critical to develop actionable strategies for blacks and other minority groups to optimize their career opportunities and ultimately to close the wealth gap which then can lead to closing the health gap.
A final note: CareerMap can greatly benefit from collaborating with African-American career seekers who can shape our research by helping us begin with the right assumptions. If you find this study to be of interest and value, please contact us!
Tim Guen is the President of CareerMap and blogs frequently about the challenges of building careers and corporate culture.