Celebrating Black History Month 2021 at Fairygodboss

Black History Month is a time to celebrate Black culture and success. It’s also a time to reflect on where we are as a society and how far we have to go to achieve equality. As proud as we are to see the first ever Black woman Vice President of the United States and the appointment of the only Black woman CEO of a Fortune 500 company, the fact that we’re seeing so many “firsts” and “onlys” in 2021 shows just how far we have to go. 

In the professional world, despite being the most educated segment of the U.S. population, Black women are underrepresented in many professional industries. Let’s start with tech - although 6% of all computer science graduates are Black, the top companies report that their tech teams are only 1% Black. While women already underindex in technology, of the 47% of women who worked in tech in 2015, only 3% were Black. And pay-wise, even in high demand technology jobs, Black women in STEM still only made 62 cents per every dollar men made. In Financial Services, despite 13% of the total U.S. population identifying as Black, only 9% of all accountants and less than 1% of CPAs are Black.  

In response to the pandemic, economic recession, and racial violence that hit Black communities hard, organizations around the country have finally come to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion. In fact, Chief Diversity Officers are the fastest growing C-level position and recent Deloitte research found that 96% of CEOs say diversity and inclusion is a top priority.

Despite a renewed interest in DEI, many organizations don’t know where to start. As the largest career community for women, we’re thrilled that we can be part of the solution. That’s why we offer amazing resources to support and celebrate Black women including 

Information like 4 Powerful Ways to Celebrate Black History Month at Work. We also drive conversations around how organizations can celebrate. Even more, on February 23rd at 1pm EST, we’re hosting a Twitter chat on Black Success in the Workplace. More details on this coming soon! 

Closer to home, though, we’re hosting new research and events to help organizations attract and retain women - especially Black women - in their organizations. On February 10th at 1:30pm EST, we’re partnering with diversity hiring expert Jennifer Tardy to share what organizations need to know about diversity recruiting in 2021. If you’re looking for the latest diversity hiring research, practical strategies, and actionable insights you can use to achieve diversity hiring goals and drive real organizational change, this is one event you won’t want to miss. Register for the event today here.