The path to executive leadership is difficult, but it’s especially challenging for some demographics. Overall, it’s true that government workers are more diverse today — for instance, the federal level has more white and Black civilian employees than their respective percentages of the total U.S. population. But senior ranks are a different matter.
Nearly 76% of senior federal executives are white, nearly 12% are Black and barely 5% are Hispanic, although Hispanics account for almost 19% of the total population. Executive leadership data at the state and local levels is less available, but if governorships are any measure, diversity is a significant problem: There are only three non-white governors, in Hawaii, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
But making executive ranks more representative of the constituents they serve will be difficult. As Joelle Martinez, CEO of the Latino Leadership Institute, explained, “There are many zigzags. There are many hills to climb…”
“We know and remember the successes of others because of their success. We don’t always remember the struggles they faced, the fear they had to overcome, and their actions that followed a downfall.”
— Tim Rahschulte, CEO of the Professional Development Academy
This article appears in our guide “Conversations With CXOs: Lessons Learned in Management, Workforce and Technology.” For more insights from the C-suite, download it here: