It's Lonely at the Top

blackenterprise.com:

"Despite diversity efforts by progressive firms over the last decade, African Americans still only hold just under 10% of management positions in corporate firms. And for many managers of color on the fast track there remain obstacles to advancement that include tokenism, presumed incompetence, and isolation that results in frustration and sometimes departures.

'Once a black manager comes aboard, oftentimes he does not stay,' says Martin N. Davidson, professor of business administration at the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business. In fact, research has shown a 40% higher turnover rate for black executives than for others. 'U.S. corporations are fundamentally designed to exclude people of color, people who are different, who don't fit, who don't fall in rank and fall in line,' he says. It is clear that diversity initiatives cannot just focus on recruitment, but systems that support the existence of diverse candidates in a corporation.

'It demands that there be space for individuality and creativity for people who are different,' Davidson explains. 'What happens when we step into the room is that we immediately make that challenge present. We are so different that it's undeniable and that creates a real tension.'

This is especially true for companies that don't understand how to leverage the differences a diverse workforce offers."