The Equity Mindset

14Reimagining “Chief”: Ways Leaders Are Designing with an Equity Mindset

The term “chief” is often used in the business world to indicate seniority, expertise, and authority. In addition to its cousins “president,” “partner,” and “executive director,” the prefix “chief” describes the highest‐ranking officer within a division or department. We know that a chief executive officer (CEO) is the highest‐ranking officer in a company and is responsible for making major decisions; a chief financial officer (CFO) is responsible for managing the financial aspects of a company; a chief operating officer (COO) is responsible for overseeing the day‐to‐day operations of a company; and so on. As a group, they are called “the C‐suite,” with the assumption that one with a chief‐type role has power and influence within the organization and between each other. It is also assumed that they are responsible for the overall health of the organizational culture, including its commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

In practice, however, all “chiefs” aren’t created equally. The majority of Fortune 500 organizations, as well as leading nonprofits, have some form of diversity and inclusion mission statement, yet there is a reality about the composition of senior leaders across industries: they are overwhelmingly white, male, and older. A study highlighted that for companies whose gross revenue was greater than $500 million, 60 percent of the senior leadership team was white; 56 percent were male. ...