The Under-represented Role of Women in Business and Government

Cassandra Walker Pye is a senior vice president in APCO’s Sacramento office and is a former deputy chief of staff to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

February is Black History Month in the United States. Its origin can be traced back to scholar Carter G. Woodson, who, on February 7, 1926, led the first celebration of “Negro History Week” to help rectify the omission of African-Americans from history books. Today, the observance of Black History Month provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the achievements of African-Americans and to recommit to making the teaching of history more honest and inclusive.

The theme of Black History Month 2012 is “Black Women in American Culture and History.” African-American women are members of two traditionally excluded groups in the United States and have faced overwhelming odds in making their names and stories known. In spite of those barriers, the deeds of women like Harriett Tubman, Rosa Parks, Barbara Jordan and Condoleeza Rice now grace the pages of history books. There are singers and writers and poets and artists who also left their mark on American culture and who helped make this country great. But there are countless others whose stories have never been told. And, in spite of civil rights laws and affirmative acts on the part of government, employers and educational institutions to curb discrimination, African-American women continue to face obstacles on the path to the American dream.

All women are significantly under-represented in senior management for many of the largest and successful corporations, holding only 14 percent of executive officer positions at Fortune 500 companies and just three percent of CEO positions. In 2010, African-American women comprised 5.2 percent of all people employed in management roles. According to a 2010 report by Catalyst, 37 percent of African-American women saw opportunities for advancement to senior management positions decline. From the Catalyst findings: “Barriers facing African-American women in business include negative, race-based stereotypes; more frequent questioning of their credibility and authority; and a lack of institutional support. Experiencing a ‘double-outsider’ status – unlike white women or African-American men, who share gender or race in common with most colleagues or managers – African-American women report exclusion from informal networks…among the challenges they face.”

The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation recently conducted a nationwide survey which includes interviews with more than 800 African-American women and represents the most extensive collection of data and views of this segment of the U.S. population compiled in decades. The top-line data reveal that religion plays an essential role in the lives of African-American women; being in a romantic relationship does not (40 percent say getting married is important compared to 55 percent of white women). According to the Post, nearly three-quarters of those surveyed say now is a good time to be a black woman in America, yet the same proportion worry about having the resources to make ends meet. Half say racism is still a “big problem” in the United States, and nearly half worry about discrimination. Eighty-five percent say they are satisfied with their own lives but one-fifth report they are often treated with less respect than other people. The women responding to the poll said they often perceive that others think they are not smart, a perception shared by both educated and less-educated black women. Many say they still contend with the unflattering, stereotypical depictions black women have faced for decades: that we are hypersexual, loud, angry and poor.

There are bright spots within the survey:

• One-third of employed black women work in management or professional jobs
• A record number of African-American women are attending college (black females earned 68 percent of associate’s degrees, 66% percent of bachelor’s degrees and 72 percent of master’s degrees)
• Black women with college degrees earn nearly as much as similarly educated white women
• The number of businesses owned by black women has nearly doubled in the past decade to more than 900,000
• Four in 10 black women say the overall impression of black women has improved as a result of Michelle Obama’s role in the White House

I serve as a faculty member for Project 2012, a national, non-partisan effort of the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) to increase the number of women in Congress and state legislatures by taking advantage of the unique opportunities the 2012 elections hold for women. Every 20 years the U.S. presidential election coincides with reapportionment and the creation of new and open seats. Research shows women have more success winning open seats, and there is statistical proof that women are more collaborative, more willing to work across party lines and more focused on policies which benefit the lives of women. Of the 90 women serving in the 112^th Congress, 13 are African-American. Of the 71 women serving in statewide elective offices, 4 are African-American. There are 242 African-American women serving in state legislatures – of the 1,750 women serving nationwide. Project 2012 has launched a direct outreach campaign to executive-level, accomplished women in the public and private sectors who have not previously considered a run for office. Outreach to women of color is a priority.

APCO’s Diversity and Inclusion program is founded on the belief that an organization where everyone is valued and where barriers are removed to allow each of us to achieve professional success is a good business principle. I hope my colleagues will join me in acknowledging an important celebration of African-American culture and history and that you share the wisdom of one of my own heroes, Barbara Jordan: “One thing is clear to me: We, as human beings, must be willing to accept people who are different from ourselves.”

Happy Black History Month.