8 revealing statistics about career challenges Black IT pros face

Disparities in apprenticeship programs

Apprenticeship programs have become an increasingly popular way for companies to open the talent pipeline and to train employees on the IT and tech skills they need in the organization. As a work-based learning experience, apprenticeships allow individuals to earn a living while they learn new skills with the promise of a job opportunity at the end of the program. It’s part of a shift to skills-based hiring, instead of degree-based hiring, which eliminates 75% of Black adults from consideration, according to the New York Times. While there’s been an increase in representation, with 17% of tech apprentices identifying as Black over the past six years, according to the Kapor Center, there are still some stark disparities in what’s offered.

Kapor Center found that less than one-quarter of Black apprentices complete their apprenticeship, compared to 33% of white apprentices. This is due to several reasons, including racial discrimination and hostility, but also because companies often set up apprenticeship programs in career pathways that are at the highest risk for being displaced by automation. Black and women tech apprentices are also paid less than other apprentices, according to the report.

Apprenticeships are a great opportunity to open the talent pipeline, bring in more diversity, and upskill workers in your organization. It’s extremely important, however, to consider how you shape the programs and what opportunities are offered once completed. Ensuring that your apprenticeship programs offer everyone the same equity and opportunity is vital to fostering better diversity in the industry.

Higher standards, lower ceilings

Once Black tech professionals hit mid-career, they are more likely to express dissatisfaction with the performance evaluation process. Only 29% of Black tech professionals with 10 to 20 years of experience are satisfied with the equality of their “level of recognition and of the equality of their pay,” whereas 47% of non-Black professionals said the same. This group of mid-career professionals report being promoted nearly half as often as their non-Black counterparts, even with the same amount of experience. Black tech professionals with 10 to 20 years of experience report three promotions on average for their careers, while their non-Black coworkers report having received five or more promotions on average.

Another report from Russel Reynolds Associates, Divides and Dividends: Leadership Actions for a More Sustainable Future, found that 63% of C-suite leaders agree that leaders in their company show favoritism for employees who are like themselves, especially when it comes to promotions, and 62% agreed that it’s “easier for individuals of certain ethnicities or backgrounds to get promoted than others, regardless of their capability and performance.” This is only exacerbated when companies focus too heavily on hiring for a “culture fit,” especially if the culture is one that is not inclusive to all its workers.

Leaders need to take a hard look at their hiring and promotion practices and address processes that allow for bias and discrimination to play a part in who gets to advance in the company.

Outdated mindsets, moving goalposts

Senior Black tech talent and executives with 21 or more years of experience in the industry point to the fact that “the bar moves subjectively, no matter what.” Regardless of what they accomplish or contribute, this cohort of Black IT pros say they are often eliminated or overlooked for opportunities based on what they “haven’t accomplished,” an outdated and problematic mindset about “who is qualified to lead.” For many Black technology leaders, they believe that “no matter how much they achieve, it will never be enough,” and only 29% say they are satisfied with the career opportunities they’ve had to date, compared to 52% of non-Black tech professionals with the same level of experience.

Many Black executives and senior Black tech professionals say that one of the biggest roadblocks they have encountered has been a lack of access to “critical development experiences,” compared to non-Black counterparts. Nearly 90% of non-Black tech professionals with more than 20 years of experience have led “major company initiatives,” whereas only 61% of Black tech professionals with the same amount of experience can say the same. And nearly 25% of Black tech professionals with extensive experience in the industry do not feel they will have the chance to lead a major company initiative, whereas only 7% of their non-Black counterparts said the same.

Investing in leadership development is crucial, and it’s equally important to ensure your Black tech staff is receiving the same development opportunities as their non-Black peers. Ensure your leadership is trained on DEI and inclusive leadership skills — try interviewing leaders to get a sense of how they’d handle different scenarios related to diversity and recognizing implicit and internal bias. You can’t change inequities in your company culture overnight, but you can make concerted efforts and take steps in weeding out homogeneity in tech to build a more diverse and equitable industry.

The mentorship gap

Mentorship is vital to growing a career, especially for the leadership path. Mentors help you navigate the company, identify opportunities for growth, and advocate for you when it comes time for promotion. However, mentorship programs often fail due to poor mentor pairing, lack of consistency, or simply not having strong processes in place around mentorship.

According to a survey from McKinsey, many companies have implemented mentorship programs to improve retention of Black tech professionals. But the data shows only 20% of Black entry-level employees and 14% of Black management-level employees feel that mentors are effective at creating opportunities for them.

And, while mentorship is a strong asset for any organization, when it comes to improving DEI in tech, the real key is sponsorship. Organizations should ensure that Black tech employees have mentors and guidance to navigate their careers, but it’s even more important to ensure those employees are also being championed behind closed doors. Senior leaders need to be tasked with creating networking opportunities and advocating for Black colleagues when it comes time for promotions and raises.

Disparity between DEI intentions and results

Despite passionate promises and conversations around DEI sparked in 2020, actionable results in the years since are few and far between. Of the many organizations falling short on their DEI efforts, lack of investment has been a key factor, according to Built In, which found that unsuccessful DEI initiatives suffered from lack of budget (39%), lack of time (35%), lack of employee buy-in (34%), and a lack of dedicated DEI staff (33%). 

Organizations that want to be successful at implementing strong DEI strategies that uplift Black IT professionals and other underrepresented employees need to consider how they’re investing in the strategy. According to Built In’s survey, successful DEI implementations are those with higher budgets (42%), increased employee buy-in (43%), increased relevance to specific goals (42%), and increased buy-in from ERGs or committees (38%).

Certain investments have bigger impacts than others, according to the survey. The most common investments that paid off for organizations include investing in a robust DEI training program (44%) and being more intentional about recruiting diverse candidates (43%). These companies also report having flexible work opportunities (43%) and a commitment to wage transparency and equitable pay (39%).

This article was originally published on February 18, 2022, and has been updated to reflect new reporting and research.