The Pomegranate Principle

CHAPTER SEVENSTOP DOING THIS: Believing Your Organization Is a True Meritocracy

The fake failed search is a symptom of a larger issue bedeviling many companies and organizations: the myth that they are a true meritocracy. I am a passionate believer that systems create the outcomes in organizations, companies, societies, and even nations. The systems within companies and organizations produce white men as their predominant leaders not because white men are more qualified than women and people of color, but because there are overt and subtle systems that further those outcomes. The under‐leveling of professionals of color, the unequal bestowing of executive sponsorship, the divergent ways stretch assignments are doled out, the unequal pay and its associated motivations, the unfairness in performance reviews, the lack of transparency and inequity in the promotions process, sexual harassment and racial discrimination, and several other factors all conspire to create the unequal outcomes in corporate America.

The data about corporate leadership paints a damning picture within corporate America. According to a McKinsey & Company report, Black workers make up 12% of the entry‐level workforce and just 7% of the middle and senior management. After middle management levels, the numbers begin to dip considerably: Black workers make up 5% of the workforce at the senior manager level. At the senior vice president level, 4%. Only 1% of Fortune 500 CEO spots are held by Black leaders. McKinsey ...