In research from executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates. Black tech workers moved employers every 3.5 years to advance, compared to an average of 5.2 years for non-Black tech workers. Quoting extensively from CIO Dive:
The tenure difference was more pronounced in workers with less than ten years of experience, with Black workers leaving after an average of two years, compared to an average of 4.5 years for non-Black workers. Early-career Black tech talent may have less insight into the practical considerations of moving up the ladder, Russell Reynolds said, particularly with respect to networking.
That can be seen in the larger market. Pulling from Hired’s 2021 Impact report, Black respondents with 10 to 20 years of experience in the industry cited higher dissatisfaction with employers’ performance evaluation process compared to their non-Black peers.
According to Russell Reynolds, that translated to even more negative experiences for Black respondents. Only 29% of Black talent with 10 to 20 years of tech experience were satisfied with the equality of their pay and organizational recognition, compared to 47% of non-Black talent.
White employees received a salary increase after surfacing a discrepancy 28% of the time, Black and Hispanic employees received increases 20% and 15% of the time, respectively.
Russell Reynolds found that black tech professionals with more than 20 years of experience were more likely to miss out on key experiences that would help them advance their careers. While 88% of non-Black tech workers with more than 20 years of experience had led major company initiatives, 61% of Black tech workers with equivalent experience said the same.
Why do we care?
In a hard labor market, companies reap what they sow. I continue to highlight these stories because when labor is so tight, the industry should be looking for more ways to compete and keep employees. Here’s there the right thing to do and the savvy thing to do align.