If women have it hard in corporate America, black women have it the hardest, and it will be even more difficult for them to overcome systemic barriers to advancement in a pandemic, according to Facebook Inc. Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg.
Black women are much less likely to be promoted to senior leadership roles and have interaction with senior managers than their white counterparts, according to a report released Thursday by LeanIn.org, the nonprofit organization Sandberg founded. In a world dealing with the spread of Covid-19, where so much of work is remote, there’s an even greater chance black women won’t have access to the “informal interaction” that is critical to climbing the corporate ladder, Sandberg said.
“I am especially concerned about the casual time that drives so much of performance,” she said in an interview with Bloomberg. “In a world where there’s coronavirus, how do you even start to have those relationships?”
The report was released just days after U.S. Senator Kamala Harris became the first black woman and first Asian-American on a major party presidential ticket when she was named by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as his vice presidential running mate.
“We never dreamed we would be putting this out after a black woman was nominated for vice president, but it’s a good moment,” Sandberg said. “I am excited that she is there to set that example.”
