May 10, 2004

It's a white, white, white world
Posted by diane@downtownwomensclub.com">Diane Danielson at 12:34 PM -

Two articles today focus on the lack of diversity at the top. First the New York Times features an interview with Rakesh Khurana, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School and the author of "Searching for a Corporate Savior: The Irrational Quest for Charismatic C.E.O.'s," who argues that business schools, executive search firms and corporate boards all limit the diversity of candidates for chief executive. Khurana discusses not only the poor representation of women, but also African and Asian-Americans (male or female).

But pity the poor woman who is not only female (obviously) but also an ethnic minority in a white man's world. The Boston Globe's Diane E. Lewis reported on a conference last week which explored "Inequality among women."

Research shows that African-American, Asian, and Latina women professionals and managers continue to trail white men and women in compensation and promotions, said Carol J. Evans, chief executive and president of New York-based Working Mother Media, which convened the meeting.

One measure of the difference between white and minority women is pay. White females earn 73 cents for every dollar earned by a white male, according to a study released last month by the Institute for Women's Policy Research in Washington, D.C. By contrast, Asian women earn 68 cents, African-American women, 64 cents, Native American women, 58 cents, and Latina women earn 51 cents per dollar. The study included executives and frontline workers.

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