Metrics of the glass ceiling at the intersection of race and gender

Date11 June 2018
Pages110-118
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-03-2018-0023
Published date11 June 2018
AuthorBuck Gee,Denise Peck
Subject MatterHR & organizational behaviour,Employee behaviour
Metrics of the glass ceiling at the
intersection of race and gender
Buck Gee and Denise Peck
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examinethe composition of the executive pipeline in the San
Francisco Bay Area technologysector and measure the effects of race andgender in management and
executive representation. The authors’ report spotlights the evolving challenges for Asians, Blacks,
Hispanics and minoritywomen in climbing the professional ladder to successin San Francisco Bay Area
technologycompanies.
Design/methodology/approach The authorsanalyze the aggregate EEOC tech workforce 2007-2015
data and findscant progress in improving upward managementmobility for minority men and women.
Findings Race was a more significant factor than gender as an impediment to climbing the
management ladder. Asianswere the most likely to be hired but least likely to be promoted. Blacks and
the Hispanicshad declined in their representationof the professional workforce.
Originality/value Using historical data setsfrom the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the
authors introducea new metric, the Executive Parity Index
TM
, to measure the effects of genderand race
on executiverepresentation in the San Francisco Bay Area workforcein technology sectors. By analyzing
the intersection of race, gender in the leadership pipeline, the authors are able to uncover new and
surprisinginsights about the glass ceilingfor racial minority groups from 2007-2015.
Keywords Human resource management, Leadership, Technology, Diversity,
Organization development, Talent
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
All private employers in the US with 100 or more employees are required to file confidential EEO-
1 reports with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on an annual basis.
An EEO-1 report provides a racial and gender breakdown of employees by job categories:
nexecutives and officials and managers;
nfirst/mid-officials and managers;
nprofessionals;
ntechnicians;
nsales workers;
nadministrative support;
ncraft workers;
noperatives;
nlaborers and helpers; and
nservice workers.
Buck Gee is Executive
Advisor and Denise Peck is
Executive Advisor both at
Ascend, New York, New
York, USA.
PAGE110 jSTRATEGIC HR REVIEW jVOL. 17 NO.3 2018, pp. 110-118, ©EmeraldPublishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398 DOI10.1108/SHR-03-2018-0023

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