How Predominately-White Workplaces Affect Black Women’s Job Satisfaction and Success

According to a new study led by Harvard University’s Kennedy School, Black women are disproportionately adversely affected when they work with predominately White co-workers.

In a study of over 9,000 new hires in professional services firms, the authors found that Black women were 51 percent more likely than White women to leave the firm within two years if they were placed on a team with primarily White peers. They were also significantly less likely to receive a promotion over the same time period. Notably, Hispanic, Asian, and Black male employees did not have the same adverse experience when working with a predominately White team.

Conversely, the authors found the turnover rates for Black women decreased when they worked with more Black team members. They also reported overall higher rates of job satisfaction than those working with predominately White peers.

“Retaining and promoting a diverse set of employees in elite firms is just as important as recruiting them,” the authors write. “That Black women’s experiences are distinct from other race-gender groups, and that White men and women may play different roles in shaping these experiences, underscores the need for intersectional approaches to identifying barriers to equity and equality at work.”

The authors call on other scholars and business leaders to leverage their findings to test interventions and policies that build more inclusive workplaces.