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The State of Black Professionals in Tech
Keep inclusion at the forefront to gain the benefits from diversity.
- The experience of Black professionals in IT differs from their colleagues.
- Job satisfaction is also lower for Black IT professionals.
- For organizations to gain from the benefits of diversity, equity, and inclusion, they need to ensure they understand the landscape for many Black professionals.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- As an IT leader, you can make a positive difference in the working lives of your team; this is not just the domain of HR.
- Employee goals can vary depending on the barriers that they encounter. IT leaders must ensure they have an understanding of unique employee needs to better support them, increasing their ability to recruit and retain.
- Improve the experience of Black IT professionals by ensuring your organization has diversity in leadership and supports mentorship and sponsorship.
Impact and Result
- Use the data from Info-Tech’s analysis to inform your DEI strategy.
- Learn about actions that IT leaders can take to improve the satisfaction and career advancement of their Black employees.
The State of Black Professionals in Tech Research & Tools
1. The State of Black Professionals in Tech Report – A report providing you with advice on barriers and solutions for leaders of Black employees.
IT leaders often realize that there are barriers impacting their employees but don’t know how to address them. This report provides insights on the barriers and actions that can help improve the lives of Black professionals in technology.
The State of Black Professionals in Tech
Keep inclusion at the forefront to gain the benefits from diversity.
Analysts' Perspective
The experience of Black professionals in technology is unique.
Diversity in tech is not a new topic, and it's not a secret that technology organizations struggle to attract and retain Black employees. Ever since the early '90s, large tech organizations have been dealing with public critique of their lack of diversity. This topic is close to our hearts, but unfortunately while improvements have been made, progress is quite slow.
In recent years, current events have once again brought diversity to the forefront for many organizations. In addition, the pandemic along with talent trends such as "the great resignation" and "quiet quitting" and preparations for a recession have not only impacted diversity at large but also Black professionals in technology. Our previous research has focused on the wider topic of Recruiting and Retaining People of Color in Tech, but we've found that the experiences of persons of color are not all the same.
This study focuses on the unique experience of Black professionals in technology. Over 600 people were surveyed using an online tool; interviews provided additional insights. We're excited to share our findings with you.
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Allison Straker |
Ugbad Farah |
Demographics
In October 2021, we launched a survey to understand what the Black experience is like for people in technology. We wanted and received a variety of responses which would help us to understand how Black technology professionals experienced their working world. We received responses from 633 professionals, providing us with the data for this report.
For more information on our survey demographics please see the appendix at this end of this report.
26% of our respondents either identified as Black or felt the world sees them as Black.
Professionals from various countries responded to the survey:
- Most respondents were born in the US (52%), Canada (14%), India (14%), or Nigeria (4%).
- Most respondents live in the US (56%), Canada (25%), Nigeria (2%), or the United Kingdom (2%).
Companies with more diversity achieve more revenue from innovation
Organizations do better and are more innovative when they have more diversity, a key ingredient in an organization's secret sauce.
Organizations also benefit from engaged employees, yet we've seen that organizations struggle with both. Just having a certain number of diverse individuals is not enough. When it comes to reaping the benefits of diversity, organizations can flourish when employees feel safe bringing their whole selves to work.
45% | Innovation Revenue by Companies With Above-Average Diversity Scores |
26% |
Innovation Revenue by Companies With Below-Average Diversity Scores |
Companies with higher employee engagement experience 19.2% higher earnings.
However, those with lower employee engagement experience 32.7% lower earnings.
(DecisionWise, 2020)
If your workforce doesn't reflect the community it serves, your business may be missing out on the chance to find great employees and break into new and growing markets, both locally and globally.
Diversity makes good business sense.
(Business Development Canada, 2023)
A study about Black professionals
Why is this about Black professionals and not other diverse groups?
While there are a variety of diversity dimensions, it's important to understand what makes up a "multicultural workforce." There is more to diversity than gender, race, and ethnicity. Organizations need to understand that there is diversity within these groups and Black professionals have their own unique experience when it comes to entering and navigating tech that needs to be addressed.
(Brookfield Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 2019)
The solutions that apply to Black professionals are not only beneficial for Black employees but for all. While all demographics are unique, the solutions in this report can support many.
Unsatisfied and underrepresented
Less Black professionals responded as "satisfied" in their IT careers. The question is: How do we mend the Gap?
Percentage of IT Professionals Who Reported Being Very Satisfied in Their Current Role
- All Other Professionals: 34%
- Black Professionals: 23%
Black workers are underrepresented in most professional roles, especially computer and math Occupations
The gap in satisfaction
What's Important?
Our research suggests that the differences in satisfaction among ethnic groups are related to differences in value systems. We asked respondents to rank what's important, and we explored why.
Non-Black professionals rated autonomy and their manager working relationships as most important.
For Black professionals, while those were important, #1 was promotion and growth opportunities, ranked #7 by all other professionals. This is a significant discrepancy.
Recognition of my work/accomplishments also was viewed significantly differently, with Black professionals ranking it low on the list at #7 and all other professionals considering it very important at #3.
All Other Professionals |
Black Professionals |
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Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs applies to job satisfaction
In Maslow's hierarchy, it is necessary for people to achieve items lower on the hierarchy before they can successfully pursue the higher tiers.
Too many Black professionals in tech are busy trying to achieve some of the lower parts of the hierarchy; it is stopping them from achieving elements higher up that can lead to job satisfaction.
This can stop them from gaining esteem, importance, and ultimately, self-actualization. The barriers that impact safety and social belonging happen on a day-to-day basis, and so the day-to-day lives of Black professionals in tech can look very different from their counterparts.
There are barriers that hinder and solutions that support employees
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There are various barriers that increase the likelihood for Black professionals to focus on the lower end of the needs hierarchy: |
These are among some of the solutions that, when layered, can support Black professionals in tech in moving up the needs hierarchy. Focusing on these actions can support Black professionals in achieving much needed job satisfaction. |
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Unlock Sample ResearchAuthors
Allison Straker
Ugbad Farah
Contributors
- Carlos Thomas, Executive Counselor, Info-Tech Research Group
- C. Fara Francis, CIO, Center for Creative Leadership
- Cinnamon Clark, Practice Lead, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Services, McLean & Company
- 633 Survey Respondents
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Unlock The State of Black Professionals in Tech
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Search Code: 100688
Last Revised: February 27, 2023
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