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Barriers to the advancement of Black women and other underrepresented minorities on senior and executive leadership teams: a promising practice study

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Barriers to the advancement of Black women and other underrepresented minorities on senior and executive leadership teams: a promising practice study

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BARRIERS TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF BLACK WOMEN AND OTHER
UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES ON SENIOR AND EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
TEAMS: A PROMISING PRACTICE STUDY

by

Omolara Babarinsa

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

August 2020

Copyright 2020 Omolara Babarinsa

ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First, I have to thank God for blessing me with the strength, determination, guidance, and
perseverance to make it through this journey. I would like to give a special thank you to my
parents, Soyemi and Sharon Babarinsa. Without your help and support this would not have been
possible. Thank you for always believing in me and doing whatever it takes to help me achieve
my goals. Without the two of you, I would be nothing. Thank you to my sister and brother, Bola
and Tunde. The support that you have shown your big sister means more to me than the two of
you will ever know. Thank you for the laughs to help me loosen up and the encouragement to
finish strong. Thank you to my son, Elijah for your patience and giving me time to work even
when it was hard for you to separate from mommy. You were a little trooper and encouraged me
to finish this process mainly for you.
Thank you to Dr. Maria Ott for your support, patience, guidance, and encouragement. I
am eternally grateful to have you serve as my chairperson. I will never forget you helping me
work through this dissertation process during the Christmas holiday. Your commitment to your
students is world-class and I will never forget everything that you have done for me on this
journey. Thank you to my committee members, Dr. William Bewley and Dr. Monique Datta.
Your feedback and guidance during this process has been fantastic and greatly appreciated.
And finally, thank you to my fellow cohort X members! Meeting all of you has been such
a blessing to my life. All of the laughs, ups, downs, shared wisdom, and gatherings helped make
this journey an incredible life-altering experience that has shaped me forever and one that I will
never forget.

iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ii
List of Tables v
List of Figures vi
Abstract vii
Chapter One: Introduction of the Problem of Practice 1
Background of the Problem 1
Organizational Context and Mission 3
Organizational Performance Status 3
Related Literature 4
Importance of a Promising Practice Study 6
Stakeholder Performance Goals 7
Description of Stakeholder Groups 8
Stakeholder Group for the Study 8
Purpose of the Project and Questions 9
Methodological Framework 9
Definitions 10
Organization of the Project 10
Chapter Two: Literature Review 11
Impact of Lack of Black Women in Leadership 11
Organizational Learning Theory 12
Narcissistic Principle and Homophily 13
Diversity and Workforce Productivity 14
Cultural Diversity Creating a Competitive Advantage 15
Barriers to Diversity in Organizations 17
Black Women Facing Barriers 18
Diversity Issues Across Industries 20
Gap Analysis Framework 22
Knowledge Influences 24
Motivation Influences 29
Organizational Influences 33
Conceptual Framework: The Interaction of Stakeholders’ Knowledge and Motivation
and the Organizational Context 40
Conclusion 43
Chapter Three: Methods 44
Participating Stakeholders 44
Interview Sampling Criteria and Rationale 44
Interview Sampling Strategy and Rationale 45
Qualitative Data Collection and Instrumentation 46
Interviews 46
Document and Artifacts 48
Data Analysis 48
Validity and Reliability 49
Credibility and Trustworthiness 50
Role of the Researcher 50

iv
Ethics 51
Chapter Four: Results and Findings 53
Participating Stakeholders 53
Determination of Assets and Needs 56
Results and Findings for Knowledge Causes 57
Factual Knowledge 57
Metacognitive Knowledge 59
Procedural Knowledge 66
Results and Findings for Motivation Causes 69
Self-Efficacy 69
Collective-Efficacy 71
Utility Value 75
Results and Findings for Organization Causes 76
Cultural Models 77
Cultural Settings 79
Summary of Validated Influences 83
Knowledge 83
Motivation 84
Organization 84
Chapter Five: Recommendations and Solutions 86
Purpose of the Project and Questions 86
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences 86
Knowledge Recommendations 87
Motivation Recommendations 92
Organization Recommendations 99
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan 105
Implementation and Evaluation Framework 105
Organizational Purpose, Need and Expectations 105
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators 106
Level 3: Behavior 107
Level 2: Learning 111
Level 1: Reaction 113
Evaluation Tools 114
Summary 115
Limitations and Delimitation 115
Future Research 116
Conclusion 117
References 118
Appendix A Interview Protocol 127
Appendix B Delayed Survey Following Mentorship Program- Mentee 130
Appendix C Delayed Survey Following Mentorship Program- Mentor 131

v
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 Organizational Mission, Global Goal and Stakeholder Performance Goals 7
Table 2 Summary of Assumed Knowledge Influences 28
Table 3 Summary of Assumed Motivational Influences 33
Table 4 Summary of Assumed Organizational Influences 40
Table 5 Knowledge Assets or Needs as Determined by the Data 83
Table 6 Motivation Assets or Needs as Determined by the Data 84
Table 7 Organization Assets or Needs as Determined by the Data 84
Table 8 Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations 88
Table 9 Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations 93
Table 10 Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations 100
Table 11 Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes 106
Table 12 Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation 108
Table 13 Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors 109
Table 14 Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program 113
Table 15 Components to Measure Reactions to the Program 114

vi
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Conceptual framework. 42
Figure 2. Gender breakdown of participants. 54
Figure 3. Race/Ethnicity of participants. 55
Figure 4. Number of years employed by Corporation Next. 56

vii
ABSTRACT
There is a disproportionately low number of individuals of color, specifically the larger problem
of Black women serving on public companies’ senior leadership teams (SLTs) and executive
leadership teams (ELTs; Martin, 2011). There has been no significant improvement in the
number of Black women in these senior and executive leadership roles despite legislation such as
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, diversity intervention programs, and affirmative action.
This study examined factors within organizational hiring practices play into the lack of diversity
representation in senior and executive leadership roles in corporate America. A qualitative study
using interviews was conducted at an organization that is currently trying to increase diverse
leadership in their North American offices. This is a promising practice organization that has
shown success in making progress towards closing the representation gap in leadership roles.
The findings from the study can provide information on hiring practices for other companies.
Participants included talent acquisition managers that have input in the final decisions on hiring
for these senior and executive leadership roles.

1
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION OF THE PROBLEM OF PRACTICE
There is a disproportionately low number of Black women and other underrepresented
minorities (URMs) on public companies’ SLTs and executive leadership teams (ELTs; Martin,
2011). Senior leadership refers to the chief information officer (CIO) and members of the top
management team, including the chief executive officer (CEO), the chief operating officer
(COO), the chief financial officer (CFO), and other senior executives responsible for key
business or functional areas (Armstrong & Sambamurthy, 1999). Executive leaders typically
oversee activities to fulfill organizational goals, strategic planning, and overall decision making
of the company, such as allocation and orchestration of resources (Martin, 2011). The fact that
only 5.3% of senior and executive leadership roles are filled by Black women in the United
States is a problem (Beckwith, Carter, & Peters, 2016). Underrepresentation of URMs is
particularly prevalent in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields.
This reality represents a national crisis given the predicated shortage of workers within different
industries that coincides with challenges in recruitment, training, retention and advancement for
URMs (Whittaker, Montgomery, & Martinez Acosta, 2015).There has been no significant
improvement in the number of Black women in these senior and executive leadership roles
despite legislation such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, diversity intervention
programs, and affirmative action (Beckwith et al., 2016).
Background of the Problem
The disproportionately low number of Black women and other underrepresented
minorities in public companies’ SLTs and ELTs is concerning. A compounding factor to the
problem is the increasingly disproportionate underrepresentation of URMs at higher and
professional administrative ranks, thus limiting the pool of potential advancement and potential

2
mentors (Whittaker et al., 2015). Numerous studies suggested it remains rare to find women at
the top of America’s largest corporations. Women of color are a force in the U.S. economy. They
are projected to make up a majority of all women by 2060, which means they will also likely
become the majority of the U.S. workforce (Pace, 2018). The problem here is that to date,
companies have not been great at promoting women of color to senior roles. It has been found
that Black women are even more likely to aspire to hold a powerful position with a prestigious
title than White women, but Black women’s advancement into leadership roles has remained
stagnant, even as the number of them in professional and managerial roles has increased (Pace,
2018). Some research has shown that women currently hold 46% of administrative, managerial,
and professional positions with only 3% of CEOs at Fortune 500 companies (Haverman &
Beresford, 2012). In 2010, there were only 15 women CEOs of the country’s Fortune 500
companies and one Black woman CEO, who was appointed in July 2009 (Brooks-Greaux, 2010).
As of January 2017, there were no Black female CEOs in any Fortune 500 company (Sawyer,
2017). As of December 2019, only four Fortune 500 companies now have a Black CEO, down
from seven a decade ago, and all of which are men (Charlton, 2019).
Current corporate efforts to bring more women into the executive ranks has seen progress
in recent years but increased racial diversity amongst this group remains stubbornly out of reach
(Charlton, 2019). In large American companies, women have higher turnover rates because of
the lack of career growth opportunities and dissatisfaction with rates of progress (Cox & Blake,
1991). Tech corporations and startups have been vocal about closing the gap when it comes to
diversity. As of 2016, 32 tech companies have signed a pledge to make their workforce more
representative and diverse (Eadicicco, 2016).

3
Research conducted by McKinsey & Company in 2012, showed that many companies
have launched worthy measures to support women in leadership roles but have not yet achieved
positive results (Bryars & Stanberry, 2018). One of the main reasons for this is that the initiatives
taken by these companies have not succeeded because they are often not well implemented.
McKinsey & Company also found during their research while speaking with CEOs of gender-
diverse companies that change takes time and that corporate culture is an important success
factor (Bryars & Stanberry, 2018).
Organizational Context and Mission
One U.S. based technology company seems to be closing the gap and making changes to
increase the number of Black women and other underrepresented minorities on SLTs and ELTs:
Corporation Next (a pseudonym). According to Corporation Next’s website, the company is
based in California, and its mission statement states it works to bring smart technology to
everyone. Corporation Next works to create a diverse workforce which follows the company’s
guiding values. One of those values is creating an inclusive, great place to work. Corporation
Next believes a productive and challenging work environment is vital to success. Creating an
inclusive place to work requires an open, candid, respectful approach to working with one
another. The Corporation Next website also says that they strive to create an inclusive work
environment fostering diversity. Ultimately, company leaders want every employee to look
forward to coming to work each day.
Organizational Performance Status
Corporation Next is taking steps to reduce the representation gap pertaining to Black
women and other underrepresented minorities on SLTs and ELTs. The organization has a
promising practice because, since 2015, the gap to full representation in their U.S. workforce

4
narrowed from 2,300 to 376 employees, an 84% improvement. This means that there are now
only 376 more White employees than other minority employees. In this case, full representation
means there is near equal representation of minority and White employees in their U.S. offices.
The decrease in the gap to obtaining full representation reflects the factors identified by Whye
(2018) that includes their efforts across hiring, retaining and progression. This promising practice
enabled the organization to meet its goal to close Black female and other underrepresented
minority representation gaps within each business group in the company by the end of 2018.
In January 2015, Corporation Next announced the Diversity in Technology initiative led
by the Vice President of human resources and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. The
objective of the initiative was to set a bold hiring and retention goal to achieve full representation
of women and other minorities in Corporation Next’s U.S. workforce by the end of 2020. The
promising practice investigated is related to the larger problem of the disproportionately low
number of Black women and other underrepresented minorities in public companies’ SLTs and
ELTs.
Related Literature
Several studies suggest the disproportionately low number of women and particularly
Black women and other underrepresented minorities in public companies’ SLTs and ELTs is a
problem. Brooks-Greaux (2010) followed a group of 14 Black women who held leadership roles
in Fortune 500 companies. Brooks-Greaux interviewed each to gather information on the
obstacles they encountered and the unique experiences they had while climbing the corporate
ladder. The research revealed companies committed to diverse environments performed better
financially, and businesses which invested in talent development were more conducive to Black
women’s career advancement (Brooks-Greaux, 2010). Census data revealed Black women hold

5
positions lower on the economic ladder, and the industry still lags in these women’s presence in
the professional, technical, and managerial levels (Aldridge, 1989).
Despite the broad goals of diversity initiatives, politics often affect leaders’ decision
making. Strategies proven effective in tackling diversity issues are usually disregarded when
facing political resistance based on differing interests and values (Kezar, 2008). The
management of cultural diversity in the workplace is critical for the success of the individual
contributors as well as for the company. The idea that cultural diversity in organizations
improves personnel and increases profitably is key in the modern workplace. Organizations
which can retain people from different cultural backgrounds may gain competitive advantage by
being seen as maintaining high-quality standards in human resources (Kezar, 2008).
Even with the passage of the Title VII Civil Rights Act of 1964, progress towards
workplace diversity is still lacking. During this current era of economic globalization, many
companies are making efforts to achieve workforce diversity. A study conducted in 2017 by the
global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company indicates that businesses with gender
and ethnic diversity outperform others. Their study revealed that diversity can enhance
performance and drive innovation. Companies that choose to adhere to the traditional business
practices of the past can cost them talented employees and loyal customers (Desvaux et al.,
2017). Globally, women represent 50% of the world’s working-age population, but generate only
37% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Desvaux et al., 2017). The global average contribution
to the GDP shows large variations among regions. In North America, the share is about 40% to
41% (Desvaux et al., 2017).
Census figures show that women made up less than 29% of the civilian workforce when
Congress passed Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting workplace discrimination

6
(Bryars & Stanberry, 2018). After passage of the law, gender diversity expanded significantly.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the percentage of women increased
from 48% in 1977 to a peak of 60% in 1999. More recently, the percentage has held relatively
steady at 57% (Bryars & Stanberry, 2018). Over the past 40 years, the total number of women in
the labor force has risen from 41 million in 1977 to 71 million in 2017. The BLS projects the
number of women in the U.S. labor force will reach 92 million in 2050 (Bryars & Stanberry,
2018). The data show a similar trend for Black, Asian, and Hispanic workers. Just before the
passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, the percentages of minorities in the official workforce
count were relatively small compared with their representation in the total population. In 1966,
Asians accounted for just 0.5% of private-sector employment, with Hispanics at 2.5% and Blacks
at 8.2% (Bryars & Stanberry, 2018).
Importance of a Promising Practice Study
The problem of the low number of Black women on SLTs and ELTs in public companies
in the United States is important to address. Research revealed a statistically significant
relationship between a diverse leadership team and corporate financial gains, which, in turn,
helps the economy (Cox & Blake, 1991). In human resources and diversity and inclusion
strategy, Black professionals are frequently conflated with all people of color. Approaches that
have worked for other marginalized groups, notably White women, are often redeployed for
Black professionals, despite the different challenges these groups face (Center for Talent
Innovation, 2019).
Domhoff and Zweigenhaft (2011) found a dynamic that showcases a diverse leadership
team reduces the shortage of people of color in a company’s senior ranks, further increasing the
diversity of those next in line for the roles of CEO and other senior titles. Hunt, Layton, and

7
Prince (2015) stated, the more diverse companies are, the better they attract top talent, improving
customer orientation and employee satisfaction, which provides a competitive advantage.
Diversity in an organization can provide tangible and intangible benefits to an organization by
employing workers with cultural and language skills that can lead to greater reach for the
business (Johnson, 2017). Diversity initiatives have several broad goals, including developing an
understanding of diversity; infusing attention to differences by race, sexual orientation, and
gender; and creating greater equity and parity in the experience and outcomes of individuals
from diverse backgrounds (Kezar, 2008).
Stakeholder Performance Goals
Table 1 shows the relationship between the organizational mission, organizational global
goal, and the performance goals for the Black female professionals, the talent acquisition
managers and the executive hiring managers.
Table 1
Organizational Mission, Global Goal and Stakeholder Performance Goals
Organizational Mission
Corporation Next has a mission statement that promises to work toward bringing smart technology to
everyone.
Organizational Global Goal
By December 2020, the goal is to achieve full representation of Black women and other
underrepresented minorities in Corporation Next’s U.S. workforce.
Stakeholder Performance Goals
By December 2020, talent acquisition managers will obtain full representation of underrepresented
minority and Black female employees hired into senior and executive leadership roles.
Black Female Professionals Talent Acquisition Managers Executive Hiring Managers
By December 2020,
underrepresented minority and
Black female professionals will
have full representation (near
equal representation of minority
and White employees) on SLTs
and ELTs at NEXT.
By December 2020, talent
acquisition managers will work
to recruit and hire an equal
number of underrepresented
minority and Black women as
White recruits for consideration
for senior and executive
leadership positions.
By December 2020, full
representation (near equal
representation of minority and
White employees) of
underrepresented minority and
Black female employees will
have been hired into senior and
executive leadership roles.

8
Description of Stakeholder Groups
This study used promising practice model, following the Clark and Estes (2008) Gap
Analysis Framework. The stakeholders in this study are the talent acquisition managers,
executive hiring managers, and black female professionals. The aim is to review the processes
they use to select candidates, where recruitment happens, and the use of staffing agencies with
specific inclusive practices. Talent acquisition managers and the executive hiring managers are
the main players since they can incorporate these changes and new practices into their
organizations through hiring decisions. The talent acquisition managers are responsible for
facilitating effective staffing processes by working with the individual department executive
hiring managers within the company to assess their hiring needs then identify and recruit talented
individuals to fill those needs. The talent acquisition managers also participate in the interview
and hiring process while the executive hiring managers make the final decisions on hiring.
Stakeholder Group for the Study
While the joint efforts of all stakeholders contribute to the overall global goal of
achieving full representation of Black women and other underrepresented minorities in
Corporation Next’s U.S. workforce by the end of 2020, it is important to focus on the people
who can contribute to this goal make significant changes, and implement practices to solve the
problem. Talent acquisition managers are the key stakeholder group, leading the efforts as the
key players in meeting this goal. Failure to meet this goal will lower employee morale and lead
to a loss of employee performance and engagement, therefore threatening productivity, success,
and the company’s guiding values and principles.

9
Purpose of the Project and Questions
The purpose of this project was to conduct a promising practice study of a public company in the
United States to determine how to close the representation gap pertaining to Black women and
other underrepresented minorities on SLTs and ELTs. While a complete study would focus on all
stakeholders, for practical purposes, the stakeholders to be focused on in this analysis were the
talent acquisition managers in the human resources department who work for the company. The
analysis focused on the talent acquisition managers’ assets in the areas of knowledge and skill,
motivation, and organizational resources. As such, three questions guided this study:
1. What is the talent acquisition managers’ knowledge and motivation related to the goal of
increasing representation of Black women and other underrepresented minorities on
senior and executive leadership teams at Corporation Next?
2. What is the interaction between Corporation Next’s culture and context and the talent
acquisition managers’ knowledge and motivation to decrease the representation gap of
Black women and other underrepresented minorities on senior and executive leadership
teams by the end of 2020?
3. What recommendations in the area of knowledge, motivation, and organizational
resources may be appropriate for solving the problem of practice at another organization?
Methodological Framework
The Clark and Estes’ (2008) gap analysis model was used as a systematic and analytical
framework to identify performance gaps between organizational and stakeholder goals and
desired outcomes. In order to understand organizational goal achievement, the model was
adapted to a promising practice study and implemented as the conceptual framework. Assumed
knowledge, motivation, and organizational assets were generated based on personal knowledge

10
and related literature. These influences were validated using interviews and document analysis.
Research-based solutions were recommended and evaluated comprehensively.
Definitions
Diversity: A characteristic of groups of two or more people who typically refers to
demographic differences of one sort or another among group members.
Executive leadership team: The team of managers who conduct activities such as setting
organizational goals, developing plans and strategic decision making and who have authority and
control over the allocation and orchestration of organizational resources.
Senior leadership team: Senior leadership refers to the CIO and members of the top
management team, including the CEO, the COO, the CFO, and other senior executives
responsible for key business or functional areas.
Organization of the Project
This study utilized the five-chapter dissertation model. This chapter provided key
concepts and terminology found in research regarding the disproportionately low number of
Black women and other underrepresented minorities on SLTs and ELTs in public companies in
the United States. The organization’s mission, goals, and stakeholders as well as the initial
concepts of gap analysis were introduced. Chapter Two provides a review of current literature
regarding the scope of the study. Topics of cultural diversity, barriers to promotions for Black
women and other underrepresented minorities, hiring practices, and career advancement are
addressed. Chapter Three details the assumed assets for this study as well as methodology in
terms of participants, data collection, and analysis. Chapter Four presents the results. Chapter
Five provides recommendations for practice based on data and literature as well as
recommendations for an implementation and evaluation plan.

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CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
Chapter Two includes a review of literature examining various influences contributing to
the disproportionately low number of Black women and other underrepresented minorities on
SLTs and ELTs in public companies in the United States. This chapter frames the literature
outlining identified influences contributing to the gap in representation. The influences are
intentionally divided into three areas: knowledge, motivational, and organizational factors. It
then introduces the conceptual framework using Clark and Estes’ (2008) gap analysis approach.
Impact of Lack of Black Women in Leadership
According to Brooks-Greaux (2010), in 2010 less than 1% of leaders of public and
private companies in the United States were Black women, making it rare to find Black women
leading from the top of these organizations. These data suggest the economy is suffering by not
developing Black women and losing top talent in these companies. Research focuses on their
development as required before assuming these leadership roles, essentially the excuse for not
hiring them. Race, gender, and class had an impact on Black professional women’s lives as they
pursued upward mobility and the strategies used to overcome these three factors’ effects
(Robinson & Mullins Nelson, 2010).
Hill, Miller, Benson, and Handley (2016) argue that achieving gender parity in leadership
is most important in order to establish a foundation of fairness. Leaders are powerful and when
women are excluded from top leadership, they are denied the power to make a difference in their
organizations and in the world at large. Hill et al. (2016) assert that leaders enjoy high status and
certain privileges that open doors for future opportunities. Leadership also often pays more than
other roles within a company. In most companies, top leaders are often the most highly

12
compensated along with managers and supervisors that tend to have higher salaries than workers
that are in non-leadership roles (Hill et al., 2016).
Organizational Learning Theory
Bensimon (2005) explained the theory of organizational learning can help explain the
inequality of educational outcomes among historically underserved groups. While Bensimon
(2005) uses organizational learning theory in an educational context, it can easily be applied to a
professional environment. Bensimon (2005) proposed the theory and processes of organizational
learning can help researchers and practitioners understand structural and cultural obstacles and
be effective in making the invisible visible and the undiscussable discussable, two conditions that
describe the status of race and ethnicity. If patterns of inequality are invisible, they will not be
discussed, and if organizational participants do not have a reason or opportunity to talk about
unequal outcomes, the problem will not be addressed directly.
Bensimon (2005) states that organizational members are more likely to view diversity as
a generalized characteristic of institutions and be blind to particular circumstances of the racial
and ethnic groups that constitute diversity. Organizational members may also be more likely to
make stereotypical attributions, such as associating deficit with Blacks and other
underrepresented minorities and achievements with Whites (Bensimon, 2005). Organizational
learning theory can help understand the nature of cognitive frames and the ways in which some
reveal patterns of unequal outcomes while others hide them. A cognitive frame is the way in
which an individual understands a situation and is important because it can also help understand
the ways in which individuals manufacture inequality as well as reduce it (Bensimon, 2005).
Bensimon (2005) states in an educational setting, when individuals are guided by
diversity as their cognitive frame, they focus their attention on demographic characteristics of

13
students, and view diversity as interracial contact and human relations. Diversity is viewed as an
institutional characteristic that promotes learning outcomes and better prepares students for an
increasingly diverse workforce and society, thus preparing Blacks and other underrepresented
minorities to thrive in a workplace environment up against their White peers (Bensimon, 2005).
Narcissistic Principle and Homophily
Ibarra’s (2015) idea of narcissistic principle of relationship building comes into play here.
Ibarra stated people are drawn spontaneously to people who are like them in ways important to
them, and they give those people the benefit of the doubt, creating conditions that increase the
likelihood of a relationship. This principle is forged around the same concept of homophily,
which explains the similarities two people perceive themselves as having (McPherson, Smith-
Lovin, & Cook, 2001). The homophily principle structures network ties of every type, including
friendship, work, advice, information transfer, and other types of relationships. The result is that
people’s personal networks are homogenous with regard to many sociodemographic, behavioral,
and intrapersonal characteristics (McPherson et al., 2001).
Ibarra (1992) argued gender homophily is the product of two mechanisms: converting
individual attributes and converting positional resources into network advantages. In a study of
the interaction patterns of men and women in an advertising firm, the researchers controlled for
gender, and, relative to women, men appeared to reap greater network returns from similar
individual and positional resources as well as from homophilous relationships. The relationship
between homophily and cultural niches is further correlated through coworker interactions. The
extent to which women are harmed because of the preference for homophily based on gender
extends into the division of power within organizations.

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Like Ibarra (1992), Schneider’s (1987) attraction-selection-attrition theory suggests
applicants who consider themselves to have similarities with individuals within an organization
are more likely to apply to that organization. Given the lack of diversity in firms where
underrepresented minorities at top professional schools seek employment, it becomes important
for organizations to generate novel ways to increase their attractiveness to potential minority
hires (Akinola & Thomas, 2008).
Diversity and Workforce Productivity
Implicit and explicit biases can hinder the recruitment and retention of top minority
candidates. Social identity theory suggests hiring managers are likely to use social categories as
an indicator of similarity and are more likely to select applicants similar to themselves (Akinola
& Thomas, 2008). According to Johnson (2017), a diverse workforce is a more productive
workforce, and a business can benefit from different perspectives and more creative ideas.
Workforce diversity can increase productivity as well as create a competitive advantage, as is
discussed later. Johnson (2017) stated employers can offer more solutions to customers with new
ideas and processes. Diversity also plays a role in increasing employee morale and more
effective and efficient output of work from a staff. Also, diversity in leadership within a firm
allows managers to bring in new skills and methods for achieving unity within their teams.
Employees from different backgrounds bring a variety of solutions to achieve a common goal,
and, as more diverse ideas are suggested, the chances of finding workable answers improve
(Johnson, 2017).
The current workplace dynamic may feature a much greater diversity showing than was
common a couple of decades prior. In many cases today, employees can no longer take for
granted that their coworkers think the same way that they do (Bryars & Stanberry, 2018). This

15
has pushed modern day workplaces to question their individual assumptions, expand their
understanding, and appreciate alternative viewpoints. This has caused the belief that diversity
may also enhance corporate decision making (Bryars & Stanberry, 2018). The Society for
Human Resource Management has found that organizational diversity now includes more than
just racial, gender, and religious differences. It also includes different types of thinking styles
and personality types, as well as other factors such as physical and cognitive abilities, all of
which influence the way people perceive the world (Bryars & Stanberry, 2018).
Cultural Diversity Creating a Competitive Advantage
The management of cultural diversity in the workplace is central to the success both of
individual contributors and the company. There is research on how managing cultural diversity
in the workplace can create a competitive advantage. Cox and Blake (1991) looked at how cost,
resource acquisition, marketing, creativity, problem solving and organizational flexibility in
organizations can create healthy competitive advantage for its advancement where management
can hone into its responsibility of cultural diversity for the betterment of business. The idea that
cultural diversity in organizations improves personnel and increases profitably of an organization
is key in the modern workplace (Cox & Blake, 1991).
Cox and Blake (1991) found, in large American companies, women tended to have
higher turnover rates because of the lack of career growth opportunities and dissatisfaction with
rates of progress. The authors reinforce that companies hiring individuals with diverse
backgrounds exceed in personnel ratings and become attractive places to work. Companies that
tend not to do this show a lower rate of workplace satisfaction. Companies with good reputations
seem to have favorable public relations. People may prefer to work for an employer who values
diversity. Job seekers are drawn to companies with diverse workforces because it proves the

16
company does not practice employment discrimination. It also creates a sense that the company
will treat their employees fairly regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender, creating an environment
with high employee morale (Johnson, 2017).
People may also prefer to purchase goods and services from companies they know also
value diversity, thus increasing the bottom line. Cox and Blake (1991) explained cultural
diversity plays a major role in consumer behavior. The article gives examples of companies
which improved the bottom line by turning around low profitability in their inner-city markets.
They put Blacks and Hispanics in positions of leadership, which, in turn, increased their markets
(Cox & Blake, 1991).
Diversity is an important factor which needs to be included and thoughtfully
implemented in any organization. Organizations must focus on diversity for all to be successful
and feel included. The evidence gathered can be true to any organization. Konrad (2003) argues
there is a developed business case for diversity amongst U.S. based organizations based on three
arguments. The first, as previously stated, is that a more diverse labor force means businesses
desiring to attract and retain high-quality talent will have to do so from diverse populations.
Second, a more diverse U.S. society plus a globalized marketplace means a more diverse
customer base, and businesses which employ a more diverse workforce will garner market
intelligence to help them sell to potential customers from a variety of cultural backgrounds
(Konrad, 2003). Third, demographically diverse groups can outperform homogeneous groups on
problem solving and creativity tasks because diverse groups contain a greater variety of
information, experience, perspectives, and cognitive styles (Konrad, 2003).

17
Barriers to Diversity in Organizations
According to Akinola and Thomas (2008), most research on diversity in organizations
focused on workforce diversity outcomes and not on enhancing diversity. While the focus on
workforce diversity has continued to grow in importance due to the growing diverse
demographics in the United States, minorities continue to be underrepresented in upper-
management ranks. This issue can be attributed to challenges in attracting, retaining, and
promoting a diverse workforce (Akinola & Thomas, 2008).
The Center for Talent Innovation is a nonprofit group that is focused on workplace
diversity and is sponsored by large companies including Morgan Stanley, Pfizer, and Disney.
The center conducted a study that surveyed 3,736 full-time professionals of all races, and found
that today’s diversity and inclusion efforts are failing Black professionals (Charlton, 2019). The
study found that only 8% of people employed in white-collar professions are Black, and the
percentages fall sharply at higher levels of the corporate ladder, especially when jumping from
middle management to the executive level (Charlton, 2019).
Another barrier facing Black women professionals is the experience of prejudice against
them in a workplace setting. The Center for Talent Innovation (2019) found during their study
that nearly 58% of the Black professional women that were surveyed said that they had
experienced some form of prejudice at work compared to 15% of their White female
counterparts. The Center for Talent Innovation (2019) also found that workplace prejudice often
shows up in subtle ways, through microaggressions: brief everyday exchanges that send
denigrating messages to people of color because they belong to a racial minority group. The
study results found that Black professionals experience microaggressions at a significantly

18
higher rate than any other racial group that was surveyed (The Center for Talent Innovation,
2019).
Black Women Facing Barriers
The American Association of University Women (AAUW) found that many barriers
prevent Black women from reaching executive leadership roles in many public and private
companies in the United States. Despite gains in every profession, women remain
underrepresented at all levels of leadership (Hill et al., 2016). Aldridge (1989) provided insight
into the financial and economic background of Black women, showing that, in general, Black
women make less money than all other gender and racial groups in the workforce, and they still
have many barriers to overcome. Aldridge (1989) also indicated that, although Black women
have gained more access to higher paying positions, they still have not achieved equality within
the economic market in choice of jobs, opportunities for advancement, ownership of businesses,
and other matters related to employment and compensation. Stereotypes and bias are among the
leading obstacles to minority women’s leadership and the only way to achieve gender and racial
parity is to have employers embrace the idea of more flexible workplaces, allowing men and
women to move in and out of the workforce as they balance careers, families, and personal goals
(Hill et al., 2016).
Minorities in general only comprise of 20% to 35% of the student population at the top
10 professional schools with Blacks accounting for 5% to 10%, Hispanics accounting for 5% to
10%, and Asians accounting for 10% to 15%. Organizations face the challenge of attracting the
best candidates (Akinola & Thomas, 2008). Robinson and Mullins Nelson (2010) interviewed six
Black women from various socioeconomic, educational, and professional backgrounds who held

19
supervisory positions. Contrary to the expected interactive effects of race, gender, and class as an
impediment to upward mobility, all six participants cited gender as their major obstacle.
Women of color continue to face career advancement issues as professionals and
managers in Fortune 500 companies. Giscombe and Mattis (2002) surveyed women in
managerial positions in 30 companies. In all, 1,735 responses were collected along with analysis
of national census data, qualitative analysis from 59 focus groups, 83 individual interviews, and
a diversity policy analysis of 15 companies. Findings showed retention of women of color was
positively correlated with supervisors’ supportive behaviors. Taking a look at aspiring Black
female executive leaders gives insight on demographics, background and experiences and
possible causes of delaying or hindering them from these roles not only in Fortune 500
companies but in educational institutions as well. This research provides more insight into the
financial and economic background of Black women. Some studies have demonstrated simply
having a Black-sounding name can affect the number of callbacks received for job interviews
compared to having a White-sounding name (Bertrand & Mullainathan, 2004).
Eagly and Chin (2010) assert that social identities generally influence our behaviors in
social and interpersonal domains and are likely to influence leader identity and behaviors.
Current leadership theories are biased in reflecting the structures and cultures of North American
organizations run by White, heterosexual men. Variations in sociocultural contexts and the lived
experiences of leaders and members may influence the nature of leader-member exchange. Lived
experiences associated with acculturation, discrimination, racism, and biculturalism may shape
the values leaders bring and the goals they pursue (Eagly & Chin, 2010).

20
Diversity Issues Across Industries
There has been no significant improvement in the numbers of Black women on SLTs or
ELTs despite legislation, diversity intervention programs, and affirmative action. Race, gender,
and class continue to affect Black professional women’s upward mobility (Robinson & Mullins
Nelson, 2010). According to Kezar (2008), diversity initiatives aim to develop an understanding
of diversity, create greater equity and parity in experience and outcomes, and infuse attention to
differences by race, sexual orientation, and gender.
The AAUW also found that in Congress, on corporate boards, and in the nation’s colleges
and universities, male leaders outnumber female leaders by considerable margins. For women of
color, leadership opportunities are even more elusive (Hill et al., 2016). Hill et al. (2016) also
found that women are much less likely than men to be considered leaders. In 2015, only 5% of
CEOs at Fortune 500 companies were women. Even in the non-profit sector, women are more
likely to be in leadership positions but remain underrepresented. In a 2015 Massachusetts study,
only 21 out of 151 nonprofit organizations were found to have boards with at least 50% women
(Boston Club, 2015).
When we take a look at the racial breakdown of women in leadership roles, Asian, Black,
and Hispanic women show a more acute problem. Fewer than 3% of board directors at Fortune
500 companies are women from these groups (Hill et al., 2016). This disparity is also found at
staff level, making promotions into leadership difficult for these groups if they are not occupying
the positions needed to move into leadership. Asian, Black, and Hispanic women make up 17%
of the workers in these Fortune 500 firms but, fewer than 4% are executive officials or managers
(Hill et al., 2016).

21
The student and faculty make-up of academic institutions does not represent national
demographics. Racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately underrepresented nationally,
and particularly at predominantly white institutions (PWIs). Although significant efforts and
funding have been committed to increasing points of access and recruitment of URM students
and faculty at PWIs, these individuals have not been recruited and retained at rates that reflect
their national proportions (Whittaker et al., 2015).
Jackson (2004) states that the study of Blacks in university administration typically
focused on lower to mid-level positions. This study was initiated out of long-standing concerns
about equity and the representation of Blacks in executive-level administrative positions which
traditionally lead to college presidency. Diversity at all levels of the education system is needed
to meet the needs of a multicultural student population. Kezar (2008) examined the role of school
presidents in advancing a diversity agenda and the role politics plays in colleges’ diversity
agenda. Presidents in higher education institutions play many important roles to help advance a
diversity agenda in that they help create institutional commitment by relating a diversity agenda
to the institutional mission or by including diversity in strategic planning and budgeting or
establishing rewards and incentives.
A few universities were surveyed regarding diversity of faculty and staff and how they
could provide a better environment so these employees are retained. The research team
conducted a series of elite interviews via phone of 27 college presidents (Jackson, 2004). Elite
interviewing is a specific research methodology, which evolved in disciplines such as sociology
and political science, used to conduct extensive analysis of documents and background work
before engaging in interviews (Jackson, 2004). The results showed a majority of the presidents
used a set of approaches for negotiating difficult politics while trying to create a more inclusive

22
environment and institutionalize a diversity agenda (Jackson, 2004). Academic institutions
largely do not represent the demographics of the national population, reflecting significant
underrepresentation of individuals from a number of ethnic and racial minority groups. This
problem has been partially attributed to a common practice of academic institutions promoting
points of access with significantly less attention to innovation, when it comes to promotion,
retention, and advancement of URMs (Whittaker et al., 2015).
There is a low number of Black women in positions of authority in America’s public
schools as well. Research found females working in organizations tend to value relationships
among coworkers more than their male counterparts. Women tend to develop closer relationships
with female coworkers by creating social support and friendships (Marecek & Johnson, 1980;
Worthington & Stern, 1985). The purpose of these relationships is to gain social benefits while
maintaining job effectiveness. The network created centers on developing coworker camaraderie,
and not job advancement. Female workers leverage male relationships to gain access to human
capital development. A lack of mentorship or sponsorship can impede promotion. Since school
administrators are predominantly White and male, older administrators select prospective
protégés for grooming as leaders while “they seek to replicate themselves” (Allen, Jacobson, &
Lomotey, 1995, p. 411). Black women confront a double bind of race and gender bias as they
seek mentors and sponsors from among the traditional network. As a result, Black women
“suffer doubly in the area of sponsorship” because White men tend to promote other White men
(Allen et al., 1995, p. 411).
Gap Analysis Framework
Clark and Estes (2008) provides a systematic gap analysis framework to measure
organizational and stakeholder performance goals and identify the gap between performance

23
levels and performance goals. The critical factors analyzed are people’s knowledge and skills,
their motivation to achieve the goal compared with other work goals they must achieve, and
organizational barriers such as lack of necessary equipment and missing or inadequate work
process (Clark & Estes, 2008).
According to Krathwohl (2002), there are four knowledge types needed for stakeholders
to achieve their performance goals: factual knowledge, conceptual knowledge, procedural
knowledge, and metacognitive knowledge. Motivational influences have three critical aspects of
our work: choosing to work towards a goal, persisting until it is achieved, and how much mental
effort one invests to get the job done. Goal achievement can be influenced by motivations such
as self-efficacy and expectancy-value theory (Rueda, 2011). Bandura (2000) stated perceived
efficacy affects behavior by its impact on determinants such as goals, aspirations, outcome
expectations, effective proclivities, and perception of impediments and opportunities in the social
environment. Lastly, organizational barriers to stakeholder performance, such as resources,
process, and organizational culture, are analyzed (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Each component of the gap analysis (Clark & Estes, 2008) addresses the knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences to meet Corporation Next’s performance goal of
achieving full representation of Black women and other underrepresented minorities on SLTs
and ELTs by the end of 2020. The first section focuses on knowledge and skills influences
required for the organization to achieve a higher percentage of Black women and other
underrepresented minorities on SLTs and ELTs. A discussion of the motivation of talent
acquisition and talent acquisition managers to decrease the gap in representation follows. Lastly,
the organizational influences on the achievement of the stakeholder goal are examined.

24
Stakeholder knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences on performance are examined
through the methodology in Chapter Three.
The following sections present the knowledge, motivational, and organizational
influences contributing to the gap in representation of Black women and other underrepresented
minorities on SLTs and ELTs. Each of the sections includes general research on the knowledge,
motivational, and organizational factors associated with the disproportionately low minority
hiring; information specific to the identified knowledge, motivational, and organizational
influences known to contribute to gaps in minority hiring; and tables to visually organize the
various knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences known to contribute to the gap in
minority representation on SLTs and ELTs.
Knowledge Influences
This dissertation is a study using a promising practice model to examine a broad set of
influences which could explain the gap in minority representation on SLTs and ELTs. The first
dimension is the knowledge required for organizational leadership to achieve a higher percentage
of Black women and other underrepresented minorities on SLTs and ELTs, which requires
assessing the knowledge influences of a key group of stakeholders: the talent acquisition and
talent acquisition managers responsible for hiring employees for the SLT and ELT roles in the
company. According to Clark and Estes (2008), people are often unaware of their own lack of
knowledge and skills or reluctant to disclose weaknesses. When it comes to diversifying SLTs
and ELTs, the stakeholders may not know the impact a diverse team can have on the overall
profitability of a company and its success.
Factual knowledge refers to the basic element’s employees must know to be acquainted
with a discipline or solve problems in it. They must have knowledge of specific terminology and

25
of specific details and elements (Krathwohl, 2002). Second, conceptual knowledge refers to the
interrelationships among the basic elements within a larger structure enabling them to function
together. The stakeholder must have knowledge of classifications and categories, knowledge of
principles and generalizations, and knowledge of theories, models, and structures (Krathwohl,
2002). Third, procedural knowledge is how to do something: methods of inquiry, and criteria for
using skills, algorithms, techniques, and methods. The key stakeholders must possess knowledge
of subject-specific skills and algorithms, knowledge of subject-specific techniques and methods,
and knowledge of criteria for determining when to use appropriate procedures (Krathwohl, 2002;
Rueda, 2011). Lastly, metacognitive knowledge is defined as the knowledge of cognition in
general as well as awareness and knowledge of one’s own cognition. The key stakeholders must
show strategic knowledge, knowledge about cognitive tasks, including appropriate contextual
and conditional knowledge as well as self-knowledge (Krathwohl, 2002; Rueda, 2011).
Based on a review of the current research, three knowledge influences on talent
acquisition managers in a public company in the United States are discussed in the next section,
followed by a categorization of these influences into one of the three knowledge types. This
categorization into types of knowledge will help determine the methodology to assess these
executives’ knowledge gaps.
Knowing the number of URM leaders in certain positions on leadership teams.
Factual knowledge is the first knowledge influence the stakeholders need to possess. Knowing
the number of URM leaders in certain positions within the company is essential in order to
determine what the exact gaps are and how to use those numbers to identify a plan of action to
close the gaps in relation to the company goals. Research shows that the more diverse companies
are, the better they attract top talent, improving their customer orientation and employee

26
satisfaction, which then brings competitive advantage and higher financial returns (Hunt et al.,
2015). Therefore, creating more diverse SLTs and ELTs can increase the company’s
effectiveness.
Knowing how to evaluate and reflect on the importance and impact of diversity and
equal representation. Metacognitive knowledge is the second influence the stakeholders need to
possess. Stakeholders need to know the basic facts of the benefits of diversity on a company and
also focus on the awareness and knowledge of their own cognition of the impact diversity on
SLTs and ELTs can have on a company. It is an important function for talent acquisition
managers to reflect on the issue of diversity to understand the specific data they are seeking.
Cultural diversity is key in improving personnel and increasing profitably in the modern
workplace. Executive leaders typically oversee strategic planning, overall decision making, and
orchestration of organizational resources (Martin, 2011). The talent acquisition managers need to
know the basic facts and benefits of diversity on a company and also focus on the impact of
diversity in leadership can have on a company.
Knowing how identify and reflect on potential barriers for URM advancement into
leadership roles. There are many causes that can be seen as potential barriers that Black women
and other underrepresented minorities face when it comes to advancement in the workforce.
Knowing how to identify these potential barriers and their causes can help stakeholders create
solutions to prevent these barriers. Management of cultural diversity in the workplace is central
to all employees’ success as well as to that of the company as whole. It is an important executive
function to reflect and apply these reflections towards progress to the goal. More deeply
analyzed interpreted data will potentially better guide the organization to reaching the goals they
have set. In order to overcome these barriers and for a diversity recruiting effort to achieve

27
success, everyone in the organization must understand the rationale for the effort (Shackleford,
2010). Leaders in the organization as well as the talent acquisition managers must be convinced a
diverse workforce and leadership team is a business necessity (Shackleford, 2010).
Knowing how to do it, including where to recruit and find diverse talent. The third
knowledge influence talent acquisition managers need is procedural knowledge or how and
where to recruit and find underrepresented minority and Black female candidates for senior and
executive leadership roles. Konrad (2003) stated changing the way people are managed in an
organization will require businesses to learn to recruit, motivate, and retain high-quality workers
from all demographic backgrounds to remain competitive. Talent acquisition managers also need
to know how to utilize specialized executive recruiting firms specifically focusing on Black
women and other underrepresented minorities. This knowledge is categorized as procedural
because it focuses on how to do something: how to seek talent from specific recruiting firms and
where to find these firms (Krathwohl, 2002).
Shackleford (2010) stated that, even within organizations where diversity recruiting is
recognized as a business case issue, the diversity desired or required for success is difficult to
achieve. Many hiring officials fail to realize diversity is a must in an organization’s recruitment
practices. The failure to realize the importance of diversity often results in too few minority
candidates to fill large demands. The solution to the problem often lies in recruitment
(Shackleford, 2010).
Talent acquisition managers need to know a strategic approach to diversity hiring is
essential, begins with building relationships within key sources, and requires strong strategies for
retention (Shackleford, 2010). In order to apply a strategic approach to diversity hiring,
Shackleford (2010) developed a strategic approach to diversity recruiting. The process consists

28
of five components required for success: culture shift, outreach, recruiting, retention, and
management infrastructure. For diversity recruiting, the talent acquisition manager’s goal is to
identify and attract talent from a diverse pool to ensure every candidate is treated fairly
(Shackleford, 2010). Recruiting managers should also be responsible for ensuring the application
and screening processes are bias-free and should not allow their subtle biases or cultural
sensitivity knowledge gaps to have a negative impact on hiring (Shackleford, 2010).
Table 2 illustrates how three of the knowledge influences on a public companies’
recruiting and hiring efforts, corresponding knowledge types, and methods to assess knowledge
gaps are presented in this study.
Table 2
Summary of Assumed Knowledge Influences
Organizational Mission
Corporation Next has a mission statement that promises to work toward bringing smart technology to
everyone.
Organizational Performance Goal
By December 2020, the goal is to achieve full representation of Black women and other
underrepresented minorities in Corporation Next’s U.S. workforce.
Stakeholder Performance Goals
By December 2020, talent acquisition managers will obtain full representation of underrepresented
minority and Black female employees hired into senior and executive leadership roles.
Assumed Knowledge Influence Knowledge Influence Assessments
Talent acquisition managers need to
know the number of URM leaders in
certain positions on leadership teams.
Factual

Interview to identify if they know
the correct answer.
Talent acquisition managers need to
know how to evaluate and reflect on
the importance and the impact of
diversity and equal representation on
their SLTs and ELTs.
Metacognitive Interview to identify what they
know. And if the talent acquisition
managers feel the impact of the
potential gap.
Talent acquisition managers need to
know how to identify and reflect on
potential barriers for URM
advancement to leadership roles
within Corporation Next.
Metacognitive Interview to find out what they feel
has contributed to the
disproportionately low number of
Black women and other
underrepresented minorities on the
SLTs and ELTs in the tech space.

29
Table 2, continued
Assumed Knowledge Influence Knowledge Influence Assessments
Talent acquisition managers need to
know how, including where to recruit
and find candidates for senior and
executive leadership roles that satisfy
the Black female and other
underrepresented minority population.
Procedural Interview to find out how and
where the recruiting is done and
what specific tools and tactics are
used.

Motivation Influences
Motivation is the second dimension to review to better understand how organizations can
achieve a higher percentage of Black women and other underrepresented minorities on SLTs and
ELTs. Clark and Estes (2008) stated motivation is based on people’s beliefs about themselves,
their coworkers, and their prospects for being effective. They believe motivation is a product of
an interaction between people and their work environment, and people’s motivation for work is,
therefore, controlled by whether they believe the environment provides them with work goals
and resources which can result in effectiveness (Clark & Estes, 2008).
According to Clark and Estes (2008), there are three types of motivational processes in
play in a work environment: active choice, persistence, and mental effort. They can be seen as
opportunities or potential problem areas. The first is when people choose, or fail to choose, to
actively pursue a work goal. The second is when people have many goals and distractions and
are tempted not to persist at a specific goal. The third is when people have chosen a goal and are
persisting at it through distractions but have to decide how much mental effort to invest in
achieving the goal. By assessing and addressing potential motivational problems, organizations
can assist employees in closing gaps between their current performance levels and their
performance goals. Once these gaps are closed, the organization’s ability to achieve its goals
increases (Clark & Estes, 2008).

30
For organizations to increase the number of Black women and other underrepresented
minorities on SLTs and ELTs, they must understand motivation influences. Self-efficacy,
collective-efficacy theory, and expectancy-value theory are explored in the following sections.
Goal achievement can be influenced by self-efficacy and value (Rueda, 2011). The application
of these theories to assess the motivation of stakeholders to achieve goals is discussed as well.
Self-efficacy theory. Bandura (2000) specified that perceived self-efficacy, the belief
that one can perform a behavior, affects behavior by its effect on other determinants, such as
goals and aspirations, outcome expectations, effective proclivities and perception of
impediments, and opportunities in the social environment. Efficacy beliefs influence whether
people think erratically or strategically, optimistically, or pessimistically; what courses of action
they choose to pursue; the goals they set for themselves and their commitment to them; how
much effort they put forth in given endeavors; the outcomes they expect their efforts to produce;
how long they persevere despite obstacles; their resilience to adversity; how much stress and
depression they experience in coping with taxing environmental demands; and the
accomplishments they realize (Bandura, 2000). Pajares (2006) declared individuals developed
their own self-efficacy and were therefore motivated primarily through the evaluation of their
own experiences, through social persuasions, and through emotional and psychological personal
reactions. All of these factors affect an individual’s perception of their ability, which in turn
either inhibits or promotes their motivation to act (Bandura, 2000).
Expectancy-value theory. Individuals increase their performance when they value
themselves, the work they do, and the organization in which they work (Eccles, 2006). Eccles
(2006) identified two elements that make up this theory: whether the likelihood of a particular
behavior will have a successful outcome (expectancy) and whether they are content with the

31
expected outcome of the task (value). Expectancy can be measured by an individual’s confidence
in his or her ability to achieve the desired goal (Clark & Estes, 2008).
There are four types of value that can measure the importance any given task or subject
has to an individual: attainment value, intrinsic value, utility value, and cost value (Rueda, 2011).
According to Eccles (2006), attainment value refers to the link between tasks and individuals’
own identities and preferences. As they grow up, individuals develop an image of who they are
and what they would like to be. This image is made up of many parts. Eccles conceptualizes
attainment value in terms of needs, personal interest, and personal values an activity fulfills.
Parts of an individual’s self-image which are central to self-definition should influence the value
the individual attaches to various activities (Eccles, 2006). Eccles refers to intrinsic value as the
enjoyment one feels when doing a task or the enjoyment one expects to experience while one is
engaged in the task. Intrinsic motivation is highest when individuals are doing tasks they enjoy,
as well as when they are doing personally meaningful tasks (Eccles, 2006). Utility value is
determined by how well a task fits into an individual’s goals and plans or fulfills other basic
psychological needs (Eccles, 2006). If talent acquisition managers see the utility value and
believe in the benefits of a diverse leadership team and decreasing the representation gap in
senior and executive leadership roles, then it has a better chance of happening.
Eccles (2006) explained there are three basic human needs which should influence the
attainment and utility value of any task or situation: the need for competence, relatedness, and
autonomy. Eccles (2006) argued people’s motivation to engage in the demands of any particular
situation or setting is influenced by the extent to which the setting provides opportunities to
experience those three factors. If organizations do not provide these opportunities for their staff
or hiring managers, then individuals will not become engaged with the motivation to prioritize

32
diverse leadership hiring. Another relevant value construct is the perceived cost of doing a task
or the cost value. Eccles (2006) identified one perceived cost as the loss of time and energy to do
the task or the negative aspects of engaging in the task. Companies need to perceive a low cost in
terms of loss of time and energy to research and find specialized executive hiring firms focused
specifically on hiring diverse teams. Eccles asserted cost is especially important to choose and
sociocultural processes linked to social identity formation and cultural socialization should
influence the perceived cost of any activity.
Collective-efficacy theory. An organization with a strong sense of collective-efficacy
exercises empowering and vitalizing influences on their constituents, and these effects are
palpable and evident (Pajares, 2006). Talent acquisition managers need to feel confident in their
own abilities to recruit and hire. Collectively, they need to perceive that, as a team, they can
retain and change cultures. The perception will help talent acquisition and talent acquisition
managers come together to make collective decisions on diversity hiring.
Employee motivational influence related to companies achieving their
organizational goals is collective efficacy. In the case of talent acquisition managers, it is
important to look at collective efficacy as well as self-efficacy because self-efficacy beliefs
provide the foundation for human motivation, well-being, and personal accomplishment (Pajares,
2006). Pajares (2006) stated collective efficacy is a group’s shared belief in its capability to
attain goals and accomplish a desired task. With collective efficacy, the goal is to learn whether a
group feels capable of finding the resources to hire diverse talent in their SLTs and ELTs. A
group’s attainments are the products of shared knowledge and skills of different members and
also of interactive, coordinative, and synergistic dynamics of their transactions (Bandura, 2000).

33
Table 3 illustrates the assumed motivational influences on the goal of increasing the
number of Black women and other underrepresented minorities on SLTs and ELTs.
Table 3
Summary of Assumed Motivational Influences
Organizational Mission
Corporation Next has a mission statement that promises to work toward bringing smart
technology to everyone.
Organizational Global Goal
By the end of 2020, the goal is to achieve full representation of Black women and other
underrepresented minorities in Corporation Next’s U.S. workforce.
Stakeholder Performance Goals
By December 2020, talent acquisition managers will obtain full representation of
underrepresented minority and Black female employees hired into senior and executive
leadership roles.
Assumed Motivation Influences Motivational Influence Assessment
Self-Efficacy: Stakeholders need to believe
they are able to find and recruit diverse talent
for SLTs and ELTs.
Interview question: What is your level of
confidence in your ability to find and recruit
diverse leadership talent?
Collective-Efficacy: Stakeholders, as a team,
need to feel confident in the company that
they can hire diverse talent in leadership
roles.
Interview question: What is the level of
confidence in the hiring managers when it
comes to how confident they are to commit to
a diverse work environment?
Expectancy Value: Talent acquisition
managers need to believe in the likelihood
to achieve the desired goal of closing the
representation gap in SLT and ELT hiring
and that it will have a successful outcome.
Interview question: How confident are the
stakeholders in achieving the goal of closing
the representation gap in SLT and ELT
hiring?
Utility Value: Stakeholders need to feel
diverse hiring has high value for the success
of individuals as well as the company.
Interview question: What value do the
stakeholders feel diverse hiring in leadership
bring to the organization and the individuals
within the organization?

Organizational Influences
This section focuses on organizational influences and what is needed to increase the
percentage of Black women and other underrepresented minorities on SLTs and ELTs in public
companies in the United States. Brooks-Greaux (2010) found companies committed to diverse
environments performed better financially. Businesses that invest in talent development are more

34
conducive to the career advancement of Black men and women. The upward mobility for non-
traditional managers, such as Black women, remains a challenge.
Organizational Theory. This study will look at a broad set of instances to explain the
gap in minority representation on SLTs and ELTs. Along with knowledge and motivational
influences, organizational factors influence attainment of an organization’s performance goals. In
this case, achieving a higher percentage of Black women and other underrepresented minorities
on SLTs and ELTs will rely on an organization’s cultural influences. Work culture is present in
the conscious and unconscious understanding of who people are, what they value, and how they
do what they do as an organization (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Knowledge and motivational influences are affected by organizational influences.
Organizational influences are the organization’s cultural settings and models. Culture shapes the
core values and norms of its members. These values are shared and transmitted from one
generation to another through social learning processes of modeling and observation as well as
through individual actions (Bandura, 1986). As per Schein (1992), culture is defined as what a
group learns over a period of time as it solves its problems of survival in an external environment
and its problems of internal integration. Rueda (2011) argued once the cultural models and
settings in an organization are clear, it is easier to understand why people in that context think
and behave and respond the way they do. A cultural setting is defined as occurring whenever two
or more people come together, over time, to accomplish something. A cultural model is defined
as a shared mental schema or normative understanding of how the world works, or ought to work
(Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). This section first examines the influences of cultural settings
in an organization.

35
Organizational support of diverse hiring. The cultural setting at Corporation Next
focuses on the degree to which the organization supports talent acquisition managers in hiring
diverse candidates for SLT and ELT roles. As stated by Bowen, Ledford, and Nathan (1991),
conventional practices are geared toward hiring employees whose knowledge, skills, and abilities
(KSAs) provide the greatest fit with clearly defined requirements for specific jobs. A new model
of selection is emerging geared toward hiring a person who will fit well into the specific
organization’s culture. This type of selection process reflects a fundamental reorientation of
selection toward hiring people and not just KSAs. This allows for more diverse candidate pool
(Bowen et al., 1991).
Diversity is celebrated by many organizations and, despite the attention diversity
receives, the concept is neither clearly defined nor well understood (Unzueta, Knowles, & Ho,
2012). Organizations may strategically construe the concept of diversity consistent with their
desire to preserve or reduce inequality along socially important dimensions, such as race. It is
often used as a malleable concept capable of serving opposing social agendas (Unzueta et al.,
2012). It is important for organizations to support diversity in hiring because an organization
deemed as lacking in diversity may serve as support for policies which may remedy inequality
(Unzueta et al., 2012). Unzueta et al. (2012) showed lack of clarity in diversity’s meaning within
an organization may cause the meaning to shift in accordance with people’s social motivations
rather than creating a more welcoming environment for underrepresented minorities and their
attempts to achieve equitable racial representation.
Human resources management and hiring policies which promote diversity.
According to Choi and Rainey (2010), the U.S. workforce has been increasingly diversified by
greater access to jobs for women and minorities when it comes to non-managerial positions.

36
Diversity and representation integrate a diverse nation with a measure of legitimacy and
enhances awareness of social justice. Effective diversity management enhances the effects of
diversity on organizational performance. Human resources management and hiring policies
which promote diversity can enhance the diversity-performance relationship (Choi & Rainey,
2010). Organizational justice helps explain individuals’ attitudes towards perceived fairness of
hiring procedures and outcomes. Diversity programs are voluntary programs initiated by
organizations to assure people from differing backgrounds can work together to be productive
individually and as a group. Programs freely implemented by companies to enhance diversity
hiring involve integrating a traditionally White male work force with new organizational
participants, such as ethnic and racial minorities, women, and the physically handicapped.
Human resource managers tend to select race more frequently than any other component as the
focus of diversifying the workplace (Richard & Kirby, 1999).
Diversity has been defined as inclusion of all groups at all levels in a company. Recent
evidence suggests a sense of acceptance, or inclusion within one’s organization, is a necessary
precursor for minority retention. Diversity should be a priority because it enhances
organizational performance and increases the quality of organizational life. Diversity, set as a
sub-goal for many industries and organizations, has been neglected and, more recently, often
addressed poorly (Gilbert & Ivancevich, 2000).
A culture of acceptance and focus on diversity hiring. As previously stated, a cultural
model is defined as a shared mental schema or normative understanding of how the world works,
or ought to work (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). The cultural models for this study focus on
the organization’s history of diverse hiring for these leadership roles. According to Rivera
(2012), there is an ongoing argument about the effects of diversity programs when it comes to

37
hiring. Rivera (2012) argues diversity programs are largely impression management activities
designed to appease the masses, while others found diversity programs can result in concrete
gains for women and minorities.
Rivera (2012) also found diversity programs can potentially exacerbate inequalities in
firms by making a more salient basis of evaluation and generating backlash among Whites and
males who disproportionately hold positions of power in organizations. Analyzing the relative
effectiveness of diversity programs can provide employers with insight necessary to reduce
gender and racial inequalities in organizations. Understanding this issue is important with respect
to access to managerial and professional tracks because, despite significant educational and labor
market gains over the past half century, women and racial minorities remain significantly
underrepresented in positions of high pay, prestige, and authority across industries in the United
States (Rivera, 2012).
As said by Hur and Strickland (2015), diversity management has become a critical human
resource management tool to respond to a changing workforce. The term diversity management
generally refers to organizational efforts to aggressively recruit, hire, and retain individuals from
a variety of backgrounds and facilitate good working relationships among them. As many private
and public sector companies are aware of the benefits of a diverse workforce, managers in both
sectors experimented with incorporating diverse practices to address cultural diversity in the
workplace. Hiring managers use a diverse design to blend organizational structure with
recognition of cultural diversity and representation through training, mentoring, and diversity
advocacy initiatives (Hur & Strickland, 2015).
According to Gilbert and Ivancevich (2000), as more women and people of color have
entered the U.S. workforce, managing diversity has been a focus of research. When workforce

38
diversity is addressed, it is often in terms of responding to governmental mandates rather than
proactively creating programs which add organizational value. The rationale for managing
demographic diversity includes moral, ethical, and results-based reasons such as fairness,
upholding the dignity of every person, and optimizing the full range of skills and abilities of the
workforce. Despite the important motives and good intentions, many organizations have
difficulty embedding the management of diversity into their daily practices and procedures
(Gilbert & Ivancevich, 2000).
A culture of belief in a diverse leadership team. Diversity means different things to
different people, and the belief in having a diverse organization and leadership team varies
amongst populations. The term diversity is generally defined as race, ethnicity, class, gender,
sexual orientation, age, religion, and disability differences among people (Wyatt-Nichol &
Antwi-Boasiako, 2008). However, another term relevant to diversity hiring is cultural
competence. Wyatt-Nichol and Antwi-Boasiako (2008) state that cultural competence is the
ability to effectively interact with individuals different from oneself. Cultural competence is
essential in today’s society as the population is diversifying. Wyatt-Nichol and Antwi-Boasiako
found the minority population in America has doubled since the 1950s and contended
approximately 120 million people will be added to the current American population by 2050,
with ethnic and racial minorities possibly comprising more than 90% of these new U.S. citizens.
These statistical predictions provide a probability of how society needs to prepare for diversity in
the future.
Wyatt-Nichol and Antwi-Boasiako (2008) assert that the American workforce has also
become more diverse. The labor force participation of women is 59%, and that of Blacks is 11%.
Evidence of a changing society and workforce creates an imperative to educate and prepare

39
people to work in diverse organizations and communities. Cultural diversity has been ranked by
public officials as an essential skill for employees at all levels in all industries. Recognizing and
believing in cultural diversity is critical for hiring managers to prepare work environments to
become more diverse (Wyatt-Nichol & Antwi-Boasiako, 2008). The expanded concept and
definition of diversity incorporates the language of social equity. One step toward generating
social equity in leadership is to expose future leaders within a given field to a variety of
discourses from historically marginalized groups (White, 2004).
Gilbert and Ivancevich (2000) found, even though many organizations implemented
policy and/or training initiatives to focus on diversity, the initiatives do not translate into changes
in the quality of work life for employees. Greater acceptance of diversity is achieved by using
multiple efforts, constant reinforcement, and broad scale change initiatives. Rather than simply
making a commitment to valuing diversity, creating an atmosphere of inclusion requires change
on many fronts, including fairness, empowerment, and openness to support all diversity
initiatives. Table 4 illustrates the different cultural settings and cultural models examined in this
study.

40
Table 4
Summary of Assumed Organizational Influences
Organizational Mission
Corporation Next has a mission statement that promises to work toward bringing smart
technology to everyone.
Organizational Global Goal
By the end of 2020, the goal is to achieve full representation of Black women and other
underrepresented minorities in Corporation Next’s U.S. workforce.
Stakeholder Performance Goal
By December 2020, talent acquisition managers will obtain full representation of
underrepresented minority and Black female employees hired into senior and executive
leadership roles.
Assumed Organizational Influences Organization Influence Assessment
Cultural Setting Influence 1:
The organization needs to support diverse hiring
of the SLTs and ELTs.

Interview talent acquisition managers to see how
supportive they feel their organization is with
diversifying at the senior and executive
leadership level.
Cultural Setting Influence 2:
The organization needs human resources
management and hiring policies which promote
diversity.
Interview the talent acquisition managers to find
out their level of confidence that diverse
recruiting can be done.
Cultural Model Influence 1:
The organization needs a culture of acceptance or
willingness to focus on diversity hiring on SLTs
and ELTs.

Interview talent acquisition managers and HR
staff and find out how committed they are to the
diversification of the SLTs and ELTs. Interview
other employees as well to see if diversity is an
organizational norm.
Cultural Model Influence 2:
The organization needs a belief in cultural
diversity in the organization as a whole at all
levels from entry level positions all the way up to
SLTs and ELTs.
Interview the talent acquisition managers to find
out if they are on board and believe that
diversifying the organization at all levels will be
good for company culture. Interview other
employees as well.

Conceptual Framework: The Interaction of Stakeholders’ Knowledge and Motivation and
the Organizational Context
Maxwell (2013) indicates that the primary purpose of the conceptual framework is that it
is a conception or model of what is out there that you plan to study, and of what is going on with
these things and why. It is a tentative theory of the phenomena that you are investigating. The
function of this theory is to inform the rest of your design to help you assess and refine your
goals, develop realistic and relevant research questions, select appropriate methods, and identify

41
potential validity threats to your conclusion (Maxwell, 2013). Merriam and Tisdell (2016) argue
that a conceptual framework is the underlying structure, the scaffolding or frame of your study
and is derived from the orientation or stance that you bring to your study.
The purpose for providing a conceptual framework for this study was to propose the
researcher’s theory for how talent acquisition managers’ knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences interact and/or relate to one another to promote diversity and inclusion
of the SLTs and ELTs. While each of the knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences
were presented above, they were done so independent of each other and recognize that they do
not remain in isolation from each other. This section will examine the interaction of the
identified knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that are necessary to close the
representation gap on SLTs and ELTs.
Figure 1 provides a visual for how the knowledge, motivational, and organizational
influences interact with one another to increase the representation of Black women and other
underrepresented minorities on SLTs and ELTs. The green circle includes the knowledge and
motivational influences, which are closely connected to one another, impacting the decisions of
talent acquisition and talent acquisition managers when it comes to diverse hiring at the SLT and
ELT level.

42

Figure 1. Conceptual framework.
The knowledge and motivational influences are also impacted by the organizational
influences, which is represented by the blue circle. The organizational influences speak to the
cultural settings and culture models of the organization. The yellow rectangle represents the
stakeholder goal. The cultural settings at Corporation Next focus on the degree of the
organization supporting talent acquisition managers to hire diversely for the SLT and ELT roles.
The cultural models focus on the organization’s history of diverse hiring for these leadership
roles. The conceptual framework provides an understanding of how knowledge and motivation
plus the organization impact diverse hiring of Black women and other underrepresented
minorities into SLT and ELT roles. The combination of the talent acquisition managers’
knowledge and motivational influences with the organizational influences will help promote the
decrease in the representation gap in leadership roles and achieving the specific goal of
increasing the percentage of underrepresented minorities and Black women on SLTs and ELTs
by the end of 2020. The blue and green circles touching the yellow rectangle represents the

Stakeholder Goal
By the end of 2020, the goal is to achieve full representation of Black
women and other underrepresented minorities in Corporation Next’s
U.S. workforce.
Stakeholder Knowledge

Number of URM leaders in certain
positions: Factual
Importance, impact, and reflection of
culture on company: Metacognition
Identification and reflection of potential
barriers: Metacognition
Process to recruit and find qualified
candidates: Procedural

Stakeholder Motivation
Self-Efficacy
Collective-Efficacy
Expectancy Value
Utility Value
Cultural Settings
The organization needs to support
diverse hiring of the SLTs and ELTs.
The organization needs human
resources management and hiring
policies which promote diversity.
Cultural Models
The organization needs a culture of
acceptance or willingness to focus on
diversity hiring on SLTs and ELTs.
The organization needs a belief in
cultural diversity in the organization
as a whole at all levels from entry
level positions all the way up to SLTs
and ELTs.

43
interaction of the knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences on the stakeholder
goal.
Conclusion
This review of current scholarly research focused on what is needed to increase the
percentage of Black women and other underrepresented minorities in SLTs and ELTs in public
companies in the United States. To inform this study, this chapter reviewed the literature related
to the challenges, barriers, and history of these populations in reaching senior and executive
leadership roles.
The literature review led to the identification of the assumed knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences specifically related to the achievement of the stakeholder goal and the
closing of the representation gap on these leadership teams. The knowledge influences include
factual knowledge because the stakeholders need to know the basic facts of the benefits of
diversity for a company and the impact diversity may have on SLTs and ELTs. The motivation
influences pertained to self-efficacy, collective efficacy, and value to showcase the stakeholders’
beliefs when it comes to a diverse leadership team. Finally, the organizational influences include
the nature of support the company gives when it comes to diverse hiring at the senior and
executive leadership level and the effect on overall company culture. Chapter Three presents the
study’s methodological approach.

44
CHAPTER THREE: METHODS
The purpose of this project was to conduct a promising practice study to understand the
larger problem of public companies in the United States to determine how to close the gap in
representation of Black women and other minorities on SLTs and ELTs. A gap analysis
examining the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences was used to explore the
organizational performance goal of closing this representation gap.
Participating Stakeholders
The stakeholder group for this study was talent acquisition managers at Corporation
Next. They were selected because they are most likely to provide insights about knowledge,
motivational, and organizational factors influencing hiring decisions. These managers are
responsible for interviewing candidates for senior and executive leadership roles and making
final decisions on who is placed in these positions. The talent acquisition managers have the
most insight with respect to achieving the goal of closing the representation gap on SLTs and
ELTs. Document analysis of company job descriptions and annual reports were also used to
provide insight on the knowledge, motivational, and organizational factors that influence hiring
decisions. The analysis of the talent acquisition manager job description triangulates the data by
confirming the talent acquisition manager’s position in the recruiting and hiring process.
Interview Sampling Criteria and Rationale
Criterion 1. Participant must be a talent acquisition manager who is responsible for
interviewing candidates for senior and executive leadership roles at Corporation Next. The
researcher chose this criterion because the study is focused on the reasons why Black women and
other underrepresented minorities are not chosen for SLT and ELT roles, and candidates make
their first impression on the talent acquisition managers. This is the stage where a decision is

45
formulated as to whether a candidate is qualified for a position, so it is natural to include a talent
acquisition manager directly interviewing candidates who can provide specific feedback on each
interview.
Criterion 2. Participant must be a final decision maker or provide input regarding who is
selected for the senior and executive leadership roles at Corporation Next. This criterion is in
place because the study is focused on the outcome of Black women and other underrepresented
minorities ultimately obtaining SLT and ELT roles. The talent acquisition manager has input in
the final say on who is employed, so it is imperative to speak with this manager to learn why
certain individuals are chosen for leadership roles.
Interview Sampling Strategy and Rationale
The interviews consisted of open-ended questions. These are also called depth interviews
because they yield in-depth information about a participant’s thoughts, beliefs, knowledge,
reasoning, motivations, and feelings about a topic (Johnson & Christensen, 2014). The sampling
method was a non-random and purposive or purposeful. Non-random sampling methods are
logical as long as the researcher expects to use the data to solve qualitative problems, such as
discovering what occurs, the implications of what occurs, and the relationship linking
occurrences (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Purposeful sampling assumes the investigator wants to
discover, understand, and gain insight. Therefore, the researcher must select a sample from
which the most can be learned (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
According to Merriam and Tisdell (2016) non-random sampling is the method of choice
for most qualitative researchers. Qualitative researchers are interested in understanding how
people interpret their experiences, how they construct their worlds, and what meaning they
attribute to their experiences (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Creswell and Creswell (2018) stated

46
qualitative research is also an approach for exploring and understanding the meaning which
individuals or groups ascribe to a social or human problem. The question of how many people to
interview is novel to a qualitative researcher. What is needed is an adequate number of
participants to answer the research questions (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The number of
participants should be determined by informal considerations, and, as the purpose is to maximize
information, the sampling is terminated when no new information is forthcoming to the point of
saturation and redundancy (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Qualitative Data Collection and Instrumentation
Since this is a qualitative study focused on talent acquisition managers in Corporation
Next, the non-random, purposeful sample consisted of 10 participants.
Interviews
Creswell and Creswell (2018) stated interviews are appropriate to use because the
researcher can interact with participants individually or engage in small focus groups generally
involving few semi-structured, open-ended questions intended to elicit views and opinions from
the participants to generate meaning. The rationale for conducting one-on-one interviews has
usefulness when participants cannot be directly observed, participants are more likely to provide
historical information, and they allow the researcher to control the line of questioning (Creswell
& Creswell, 2018). The interview questions and responses were grouped into three different sets
where each set helped examine knowledge, motivation, and organizational factors. All of the
interview responses were used to answer all three research questions.
Interview protocol. Appendix A provides a full set of interview questions that consisted
of semi-structured, open-ended questions. Open-ended questions are broad and general and allow
participants to fully express their views and opinions on the phenomenon being studied

47
(Creswell & Creswell, 2018). In addition, follow-up questions and interview probes were used
based on responses. This method is best for this study because it consists of a set of questions
carefully worded and arranged with the intention of taking each respondent through the same
sequence and asking each the same questions with the same words (Patton, 2002).
The first set of questions were related to diversity, and factors contributing to the
representation gap. The questions in this grouping pertained to the respondent’s knowledge of
the problem and helped explain the knowledge influences, including what interviewees knew
about diverse hiring and its effect on the company’s culture. For example, one of the questions
asked specifically if the respondent believes there is, in fact, a representation gap in senior
leadership. The second set of questions was geared toward how well the respondents think their
organization has been doing in creating a diverse leadership environment and addressed some of
the motivational and organizational influences informing the study. One of the questions asked
the respondents how confident they were in their ability to hire diverse candidates for these
leadership roles. The final set of questions highlighted the potential added value of a diverse
leadership team for their organization. Some questions referred to the ways the organization
currently incorporates diversity and its effect on the company’s culture and everyday workings.
The responses can potentially help the organization reach the goal of closing the representation
gap.
Interview procedures. Data collection took place via Zoom video conference. The talent
acquisition managers were located in their various locations, in early Fall of 2019. Each
interview was recorded on a handheld audio recording device as well as the video platform. All
audio recordings were transcribed by the video software and the researcher. The researcher then
cleaned the data and analyzed the data by hand coding and identifying various themes throughout

48
the transcripts. The researcher accommodated the respondents’ location and time zone to
guarantee participation.
Interviews took place one at a time and only one time with each participant. No follow-up
to responses were necessary. There were 10 respondents and each interview was scheduled for
one hour. The estimated time spent on all interviews was 11 hours, which accounted for
interviews that extended past the one-hour mark. All participants received an overview of the
purpose of the study, the role of the researcher, and an explanation of informed consent. After
acknowledgement of understanding of the informed consent and obtaining permission to audio
record, the interview began the questioning. The researcher took minimal typed notes to keep
track of important statements as a backup to the recordings.
Document and Artifacts
Merriam and Tisdell (2016) state that document and artifacts are most typically a natural
part of the research setting and do not intrude upon or alter the setting in ways that the presence
of the investigator might when conducting interviews or observations. Documents and artifacts
are a ready-made source of data easily accessible to an investigator. These types of data sources
can exist in both a physical setting and an online setting (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Documents
and artifacts can help to triangulate data derived from the study to increase reliability and
validity (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). The researcher used the company website, annual reports,
and job descriptions to perform document analysis for the triangulation of the data. The findings
from the document analysis are presented in Chapter Four.
Data Analysis
The stakeholder group for this study consisted of 10 participants that served as talent
acquisition managers at Corporation Next. At the conclusion of all interviews, the transcripts

49
were transcribed using the Zoom platform and then imported into Microsoft Excel 2016. The
data were then reviewed and coded by the researcher for any common themes amongst the
participants. Coding refers to the process of organizing data into sections and assigning specific
words that represent different categories (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). After the data was coded,
the researcher was able to identify themes related to the study’s conceptual framework as well as
those themes that addressed the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences
represented in the framework. Some examples of the themes that were identified were diversity
and inclusion implementation methods, internal and unconscious biases, societal and racial
barriers to minorities and education in STEM fields, and hiring challenges and retention amongst
Blacks and other URMs.
Validity and Reliability
All research is concerned with providing valid and reliable knowledge in an ethical
manner (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Research studies must be rigorously conducted where
validity and reliability can be approached through careful attention to a study’s conceptualization
and the way in which the data are collected, analyzed, and interpreted (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016). Validity is one of the strengths of qualitative research and is based on determining
whether the findings are accurate from the standpoint of the researcher, the participant, or the
readers (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). The researcher planned to triangulate the data with
interviews and document analysis by examining company documents such as annual reports, job
descriptions, and the company website to build a coherent justification of themes. Creswell &
Creswell (2018) assert that if themes are established based on converging several sources of data
or perspectives from participants, then this process can be claimed as adding to the validity of a
study.

50

Credibility and Trustworthiness
The credibility of the researcher along with rigorous methods as essential components
and the trustworthiness of the data are tied directly to the trustworthiness of those who collect
and analyze the data. The training, experience, and intellectual rigor of the researcher determines
the credibility of the qualitative research study (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Creswell and
Creswell (2018) recommend the use of multiple strategies to check the accuracy of the findings
of qualitative researchers as well as convincing readers the information is as close to accurate as
possible.
For this study, the researcher planned to use two primary strategies to assess such
findings. The first is rich, thick description to help transport readers to the setting and give the
discussion an element of shared experiences. Second, clarifying the bias of the researcher
provides a self-reflection creating an open and honest narrative to resonate with readers.
(Creswell & Creswell, 2018). A potential bias of the researcher could have been that the
researcher identified as one of the underrepresented minority groups and would naturally want
the talent acquisition managers to hire diversely. Consequently, the researcher had no connection
to the company that was being studied and only acted as a researcher. Last, an Institutional
Review Board reviewed the entire project.
Role of the Researcher
The researcher planned to incorporate Merriam and Tisdell’s (2016) suggestion to use
rich, thick descriptions of the setting, the organization, and the participants of the study as well
as a detailed description of the findings with adequate evidence presented in the form of quotes
from participant interviews and field notes from the researcher as a strategy to enhance the
trustworthiness of the study. The researcher has included information on their transformative

51
worldview to provide a critical self-reflection regarding assumptions, biases, theoretical
orientation, and relationship to the study which may affect the investigation (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016).
Ethics
The hope is the research can propel the problem to the forefront and lead to changes
throughout the technology industry’s leadership teams. To do this, it is important to make ethical
decisions when conducting the study due to most of the data deriving from interviews of human
subjects. Merriam and Tisdell (2016) asserted an interviewer can ask several types of questions
to stimulate responses from an interviewee. All research is concerned with producing valid and
reliable knowledge ethically (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). To ensure participants were protected
from harm, the researcher adhered to the code of ethics observed by the institutional review
board. According to Merriam and Tisdell, the protection of subjects from harm, the right to
privacy, the notion of informed consent, and the issue of deception all need to be considered
ahead of time, but, once in the field, issues have to be resolved as they arise. All participants
received informed consent forms at the beginning of the interviews. Glesne (2011) states
informed consent is necessary to ensure participants are aware their participation is voluntary,
their responses will be confidential, and they can withdraw at any point without penalty. The
researcher reminded the participants there were no incentives to participate in the study as not to
coerce participation. The researcher verbally thanked each participant at the end of the interview
for taking the time to participate in the study. To protect the privacy of the participants, the
interviews were recorded on a handheld recording device which was locked in a file cabinet
when not in use. The researcher was the only person with access to the key and the file cabinet.

52
The researcher identifying as a member of an underrepresented minority group and the
researcher’s transformative worldview research focused on inequities based on gender, race, and
ethnicity, which result in asymmetric power relationships was accounted for while conducting
the study. Transformative research also uses a program theory of beliefs about how a program
works and why problems of oppression, domination, and power relationships exist (Creswell &
Creswell, 2018). As the researcher, I had no immediate connection to Corporation Next, and my
role to the interviewee was only that of an investigator researching a phenomenon. The validity
and reliability of a study can depend on the ethics of the investigator. The credibility of the
researcher along with rigorous methods are essential components, and the trustworthiness of the
data is tied directly to the trustworthiness of those who collect and analyze them. The training,
experience, and intellectual rigor of the researcher determines the credibility of the qualitative
study (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The interviewer must establish trust and rapport, making it
easy for the interviewee to provide information about their beliefs and inner world (Johnson &
Christensen, 2014).

53
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND FINDINGS
This chapter summarizes the results regarding how Corporation Next is taking steps to
close the representation gap of Black women and other underrepresented minorities on SLTs and
ELTs. This promising practice study utilized the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis framework
to assess the assumed knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences necessary to reach
the overall organizational performance goal. As mentioned in Chapter Three, interviews were
conducted and used to collect qualitative data. The Corporation Next annual diversity report was
also used to support findings from the interview responses. The stakeholder participants were
asked to participate in a semi-structured interview. Each section will discuss the results of the
interviews. The data collected for the identified influences, or themes, were then analyzed to
determine patterns. The patterns revealed a culture that is committed to the diversification of the
workforce at all levels and a talent acquisition team that is confident in their ability to find,
recruit, and hire diverse talent at all levels in the company including the SLT and ELT. The
results were organized into the assumed knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences.
Due to the schedule of employees and locations spread across the organization’s
geographical sites, the interviews took about one month to complete. There was no specific
order, as each interview was scheduled based on the participant’s availability.
Participating Stakeholders
Talent acquisition managers that conducted interviews of potential candidates and had
input in final decisions on new hires and promotions within the company were the primary
stakeholders during this study and were the stakeholders who participated in the interviews. The
participants were told that their participation would be confidential; therefore, limited
demographic information was collected. The researcher sent the interview criteria to the head of

54
the talent acquisition department at Corporation Next who utilized the criteria to identify 10
potential participants. Interview participants had to have the title of talent acquisition manager
and make or have input on the final decisions of new hires or promotions within the company. Of
the 10 stakeholders who had the opportunity to volunteer to participate, all 10 completed the
interview.
One of the first demographic questions asked by the interviewer was the participant’s
location. While still maintaining confidentiality, participant location was important to note
because where an office is located plays a role in the diversity of eligible candidates. Eight
participants were located on the west coast of the United States. One person was located in the
southern part of the United States and one was located in Central America.
The next demographic question asked what gender the participants identified with. Figure
2 shows the gender breakdown of the participants. Six participants identified as female and four
identified as male. While predominantly female, the group was almost equally balanced in this
category.

Figure 2. Gender breakdown of participants.

55
The next question asked what race or ethnicity the participant identified with. Nine
participants identified as White and one participant identified as a Latino. This was important to
note because, while the study is focused on diverse hiring, the staff does not represent a diverse
population. Figure 3 shows the race/ethnicity breakdown of participants.

Figure 3. Race/Ethnicity of participants.
Figure 4 shows the number of years the participants have been employed at Corporation
Next. One participant has been there for under 5 years, one has been there between 6–11 years,
two have been there for 12–17 years, three have been there for 18–22 years, and three have been
there for 22+ years.

56

Figure 4. Number of years employed by Corporation Next.
Determination of Assets and Needs
This study utilized two data sources, interviews and document analysis, as the criteria for
determining assets and needs of Corporation Next in relationship to the assumed causes.
Observations and surveys were not used. The assumed causes, description of the interview,
review of company documents are discussed at length in Chapter Three. To protect the identity
of the participants, each participant will be referred to as P and the participant number (i.e. P1).
The findings from the interviews and document analysis provided the criteria for determining the
assets and needs of the assumed knowledge, motivation, and organization influences.
The interviews were an hour long utilizing the Zoom online platform. The following
criteria were used to determine if the assumed causes were an asset or a need. An influence was
deemed an asset if 70% of the participants’ interview responses indicated a positive response and
consistent with the other participants about knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influences. An influence was deemed a need if fewer than 70% of the other participants’
responses indicated a negative response and were inconsistent with the other participants. The

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specific criteria for validation of the knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences are
explained in the next sections.
Results and Findings for Knowledge Causes
Talent acquisition managers’ knowledge was assessed through interviews and document
analysis. The following sections will discuss the results and findings for each of the assumed
causes in categories of factual, metacognitive, and procedural knowledge. Results from
interviews and document analysis assisted in determining asset or need based on the data that
were collected thus far in the study. The findings from the interviews are coded and analyzed for
specific themes.
Factual Knowledge
Interviews and document analysis were used to assess the talent acquisition managers’
factual, procedural and metacognitive knowledge. The participants were asked a question on the
factual knowledge necessary to determine knowledge related to the company outcomes and goals
of diverse hiring and closing the representation gap in senior and executive leadership within
Corporation Next. Results have been organized and evaluated to assess whether or not there is a
gap regarding assumed causes.
Factual Knowledge Influence 1. Talent acquisition managers know the number of
URM leaders in certain positions.
Interview findings. Ensuring individual and company expectations are made transparent
increases the success rate for achieving desired high levels of employee engagement and
participation (Clark & Estes, 2008). This section identifies the results of the findings for this
factual knowledge influence. Interview participants were asked if they knew what the percentage
of increase of diverse hiring had been in the last two years. Of the participants, 40% were able to

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quantify the percentage of diverse hires in the last two years. The remaining 60% stated without
prompt that they knew the organizational goal of getting to full representation within the
company by the end of 2020. Out of the four participants that were able to identify the correct
percentage, three participants were aware of the company goal change of focus. For example,
P10 stated:
Our focus on diversity began in 2015 with a goal of having a U.S. diverse talent pool of
employees that matched the market benchmarks to parity. The goal was to get there by
2020 but we reached that by 2018, so the goal then changed to the company closing the
representation gap by reaching full representation of Black women and other
underrepresented minorities by the end of 2020.
As a result of only 40% of the participants being able to identify the percentage of increase in
diverse hiring, this influence is deemed as a need.
Document analysis. Corporation Next has made it one of their core pillars for the last
few years that closing the representation gap and increasing the amount of URM employees was
a top priority for the company. Management is constantly messaging the importance of achieving
full representation and making sure that all employees are aware that it is the overarching
organizational goal year after year. It is written on their company website, displayed on walls
throughout all offices, and spoken about at all company gatherings, meetings, and written in
annual reports.
Summary. The assumption was that the talent acquisition managers knew the percentage
of diverse hires in the company within the last two years. Although 90% of the participants were
aware of the organizational goal of closing the URM representation gap and were aware of the
initiatives and steps the company has begun to take to reach that goal, only 40% of the

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participants knew the exact percentage of increase in URM hires. This influence is deemed as a
need because the cutoff would need to be at 70% of the talent acquisition managers’ knowing the
exact numbers that need to be reached to close the gap. It is a necessity to know these figures in
order to continue to be successful in hitting the desired benchmarks.
Metacognitive Knowledge
Interviews were used to assess the talent acquisition managers’ metacognitive
knowledge. The participants were asked questions on the metacognitive knowledge necessary to
determine knowledge related to the factors that contribute to the lack of diverse hiring and
closing the representation gap in senior and executive leadership within Corporation Next, how
their impact has contributed to meeting the organizational goals, and any barriers they think have
been contributors to the gap. Results have been organized and evaluated in order to assess
whether or not there is a gap regarding assumed causes.
Metacognitive Knowledge Influence 1. Talent acquisition managers know how to
evaluate and reflect on the importance and their impact of diversity hiring within the
company.
Interview findings. Participants were asked, “How would you evaluate your impact of
diverse hiring on the culture of your company?” A majority of the participants (80%) felt that
they had a large impact on hiring diverse candidates because they were passionate about it and
they had more incentive to do so because their annual bonus packages were tied to their results.
Participant 7 reported, “I believe I have had an impact on diverse hiring, especially when it
comes to hitting personal goals. We receive bonuses based on the percentage of increase in
diverse categories.” However, it was noted by P7 and other participants that it is difficult to
measure their individual impact. Participant 7 reported, “it’s hard to measure an individual’s

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impact. It’s a lot easier to measure it from the overall organization scope and from the
organizations that have supported their contribution to that overall impact.” Additionally, a
number of participants felt that measuring individual impact was difficult because of factors such
as unconscious bias and being thoughtful about hiring practice. For example, P9 stated, “it’s such
a complex challenge, and I wholeheartedly believe that our company is made up of the vast
majority of people who are well-intended. But the human condition is that we have unconscious
bias.”P10 reported,
The trick with diverse hiring is that you really need to be thoughtful about what you focus
on because solving one problem can create another problem, meaning that we can’t just
say we had to focus on representation of minority hiring, but we had to focus on closing
gaps. You can’t get so laser focused on solving the problem that you’re not at parity with
the diverse talent pool and one specific group, because it gets into the exclusionary hiring
practices. If I want to go and fix that problem, I want to do it as fast as possible.
Summary. The assumption is that talent acquisition managers know the impact of their
diversity hiring and the impact it has on the company. Eighty percent of the participants felt that
their efforts had a major impact on the company. After reflecting on their individual work and
contributions to the department, they all expressed a certain passion towards the work they do
each day. This influence is thus deemed as an asset to the company.
Metacognitive Knowledge Influence 2. Talent acquisition managers know and can
identify and reflect on potential barriers to advancement.
Interview findings. Participants were asked, “What do you feel has contributed to the
disproportionately low number of Black women and other underrepresented minorities on the
SLTs and ELTs in the tech space?” There were a few themes amongst participants that seemed to

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contribute to the problem when it came to Corporation Next as a company and in the tech space
in general. Although 80% of the participants believe their individual efforts impacted diverse
hiring practices on the culture of the company, the impact of unconscious bias was a common
theme. Participants noted that there was often a struggle between deciding between a new,
qualified, diverse candidate to meet the URM hiring goal, and a candidate that they already had a
relationship with, had interviewed previously for a role and was qualified for the position, but
did not meet the diversity qualification. P9 stated,
The human condition is that we have unconscious bias. I think one of the challenges
we encounter as a department is that we do recognize the need for inclusivity but we
often are comfortable with people that are just like us.
Further, P10 noted that they had to be very thoughtful about hiring:
You can get so focused on solving one problem like making sure the hire is an URM, but
then not look at all available talent because they do not meet the URM qualification and
that gets to, in my opinion, exclusionary hiring practices. We should be including more
people in the hiring decisions, more people that don’t look like us, people that are from
different backgrounds that are going to have a different perspective on the different
candidates that are being brought to the table.
Another theme that emerged from participants is the societal and racial barriers to
minorities and the notion of the location of not only Corporation Next, but that of most of the
major tech companies in the United States. Participants felt that it is difficult to recruit diversely
due to a lack of available and qualified diverse candidates. A hurdle that is faced by the talent
acquisition managers is when they end up successfully recruiting URMs from the East Coast or
other parts of the country, the recruits do not tend to stay long and retention rates are low due to

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the lack of diversity and sense of community of diverse people in the parts of the country where
the tech companies are located. P9 stated,
A big frustration for me personally is that we are very much a West Coast based
company. If you think about the demographics in this country, if we were to set up a
factory in Philadelphia, or in Atlanta, our ability to attract more underrepresented
minorities would be exponentially bigger than it is today because of where we’re located.
The population of African American Black people is so small here relative to other
countries and cities of the same size, it’s just unreasonable to think that we can attract
people who will agree to uproot their families and relocate someplace where there just
aren’t going to be a lot of people who look just like them.
P10 responded similarly:
One of the biggest issues is that we don’t have a large African American presence on the
west coast. And that is where most of the tech companies are located. I truly feel that is
probably the single biggest driver of why there’s a lack of women in technology who are
African American. A large percent of the hires were relocations from the East Coast. We
had to do a lot of research, reach out to people in places where the challenge existed. Part
of what we’re struggling with right now from a retention standpoint is that we have such
great talent that was brought in through those efforts, but their families aren’t here, and
they don’t have a community of people that shares the same culture here on the west
coast, and that’s usually problematic.
There were a few other factors that the participants agreed played into the reasoning
behind the gap in representation. All participants noted that a major roadblock for URMs getting
into the tech space is the lack of education available. To work at Corporation Next and many

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other tech companies, you must possess a technical degree in the fields such as computer or
electrical engineering, computer science or computer software. The majority of the pipeline for
senior leadership roles comes from college recruits. 15–20 years prior, the pipelines out of
colleges were not diverse which has made it difficult to feed the leadership positions now. P5
stated,
Many of the top tech companies go to the top 10% of universities in the country to
recruit new hires and, unfortunately those universities tend not to be very diverse in their
student populations. This then becomes challenging for talent acquisition managers to
find diverse talent that are qualified for the roles available and for the desired
management levels that are open and waiting to be filled.
Three of the participants noted that a lack of mentorship within the field also contributed to the
representation gap. They felt that if there were not any role models for URMs to help them
navigate their way through the industry, there was no possibility to learn and thrive in those
fields. All of the participants agreed that Corporation Next has worked hard to fix the problem
and change the trajectory of the diversity pool in leadership. Corporation Next set out to fix the
problem from the root: the college students. P5 noted that the company decided to support
technical programs around the country at many different universities- specifically Historically
Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Five years ago, Corporation Next pledged $300M to
support the diversity mission while working closely with these universities to help them attract
more diverse students into their engineering and technical degree programs.
All 10 participants said that Corporation Next has benefited the most from this new focus
on closing the URM and Black female representation gap. Corporation Next employees have
benefitted because it helps with the diversity design. P4 noted,

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If it were too homogenous it wouldn’t reflect the customers. There are some programs
that Corporation Next has created that benefit at technical and leadership levels. There
are programs that are good for technical folks (engineers), to develop their skills within
the company and for executive leaders, there are programs for them as well. Corporation
Next does a really good job for asking their leaders to speak publicly and encourage
others to be interested in us.
Corporation Next communicates that focusing on making their workforce more diverse is
not only the right thing to do, but having a diverse staff will also allow the company to better
understand the customer base that it serves and enables the company to continue to thrive. With
different fields of thought coming into the company, serving all different population groups
around the world, Corporation Next is able to stay on top and continue to be innovative and lead
in the tech space.
The sentiments expressed by the participants that geography plays a role in the selection
of URM is validated by the facts that the top five technology companies in the United States are
headquartered in the Pacific North and Northwest of the United States. Washington and
California dominate the tech industry. According to the U.S. Census (2018), Washington is home
to a population of 7.54 million people. The current ethnic composition of the population of
Washington State is comprised of 67.8% White residents, 12.9% of Hispanic or Latino residents,
8.7% Asian residents, 4.9% of two or more races, 3.74% Black residents, 1.08% American
Indian and Alaska Native residents, and the remaining listed as other races. The World
Population Review listed the diversity and racial composition statistics of Portland, Oregon
which is the most populated city in the state. The breakdown is 77.1% White residents, 9.00%
Hispanic/Latino, 8.06% Asian residents, and 5.76% Black residents.

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There were a few other factors that the participants agreed played into the reasoning
behind the gap in representation. All 10 participants noted that a major roadblock for URMs
getting into the tech space is the lack of education available. To work at Corporation Next and
many other tech companies, you must possess a technical degree in the fields such as computer
or electrical engineering, computer science or computer software, and other related fields. The
majority of the pipeline for senior leadership roles comes from college recruits. 15–20 years
prior, the pipelines out of colleges were not diverse which has made it difficult to feed the
leadership positions now. P5 stated,
Many of the top tech companies go to the top 10% universities in the country to recruit
new hires and, unfortunately those universities tend not to be very diverse in their student
populations. This then becomes challenging for talent acquisition managers to find
diverse talent that are qualified for the roles available and for the desired management
levels that are open and waiting to be filled.
Document analysis. The company’s annual diversity report was used to triangulate the
data with the interview findings. Many of the participants noted that one of the causes in the lack
of Black female representation on SLTs and ELTs has been attributed to lack of Black women
studying STEM fields in college as well as the fact that women in general tend to leave the
workforce when starting families or tend to fall into non-technical leadership roles. Corporation
Next has worked hard to fix this gap and find and recruit Black female talent as well as increase
URM representation at all levels within the company.
Statistics from the Corporation Next annual diversity report (2019) state that the company
is continuing to focus on extending their inclusion initiatives to the entire workforce. The report
also lists their key findings and changes from 2018 to 2019: First, within their U.S. workforce,

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representation for both technical employees and overall employees improved for all of their
underrepresented populations: Latinx, African American, and Native Americans. Second, overall
underrepresented employee representation has increased from 14.6% to 15.8% in the past year.
This reflects a 561-person increase in the Latinx employee population, from 9.2% to 10% of the
U.S. workforce. Third, with a slight decline of overall female U.S. representation from 26.8% to
26.5%, overall worldwide representation of women has increased by 0.1% from last year and
women in director level positions have increased by 0.6% due to this past year’s focus on global
leadership representation.
Summary. The assumption with this influence is that the talent acquisition managers
know how to evaluate the importance and their impact of diverse hiring and equal representation
throughout the company as well as in leadership. Many themes were discovered during the
interview process that allowed for the participants to explain what they felt were barriers and
roadblocks to the diverse hiring of URMs. The participants also identified what the company has
done well and the successes that they have had in recruiting diverse talent in the tech industry by
putting the issue at the forefront of the company to make a change for the better. The company
realized that having a diverse employee network better served their customers and allowed the
company to thrive economically as well as creating a space for talented URMs to thrive, grow,
and advance their careers in a field that is largely not diverse and typically shows little area of
advancement for URM representation in the field of tech in general. Thus, this influence is
deemed as an asset to the company.
Procedural Knowledge
Interviews were used to assess the talent acquisition managers’ procedural knowledge.
Participants were interviewed on the procedural knowledge necessary to know how and where to

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recruit diverse candidates for senior and executive leadership roles that satisfy the Black woman
and other underrepresented minority populations.
Procedural Knowledge Influence 1. Talent acquisition managers know how and
where to recruit and find diverse talent for SLTs and ELTs.
Interview findings. Participants were asked to explain some of the recruitment tools and
tactics that they use to attract diverse talent and of those tools and tactics, which ones proved to
yield the best results. One hundred percent of the participants agreed that they used the same
tools and tactics across the board. Some of these tactics include attending targeted professional
minority conferences around the country such as the National Society of Black Engineers, using
social media to target diverse candidates by showcasing URM senior leaders that are currently
holding these roles within the company, hold recruiting fairs at HBCUs, and hosting a series of
red-carpet networking events across the country where URM candidates can come and meet
talent acquisition managers and senior executive-level employees where they can engage in
informal, one-on-one conversations. Eighty percent of the participants agreed that the red-carpet
events were the best tool that the team uses to recruit diverse talent for the company because of
the one-on-one engagement, candidates feel connected to senior leadership and want to aspire to
be in their position one day. Most of the candidates that are recruited via the red-carpet events
tend to move forward with accepting employment offers from Corporation Next.
One problem that the talent acquisition managers encounter often is that when they are
reviewing applications before speaking or meeting with a candidate, if the candidate does not
self-identify as a URM, it is difficult to know if they belong to that population which in turn
makes it difficult to jump right into some of their diverse recruiting tactics if they are unsure if
the candidate is diverse. P7 stated,

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It can be very difficult to know initially which recruitment tactic to apply off the bat and
target an URM if they choose to not self-identify. There is a stigma from a candidate’s
perspective of not wanting to let companies know that you are a member of a URM in
fear that it will reduce their chances of getting hired.
Participants were then asked what specific hiring channels are used to ensure that an
equal representation of candidates are presented for each available position. Eighty percent of the
participants agreed that the process begins with looking at data from the government on what the
market research has said is the make-up of the population in the U.S. of that particular URM
group, Corporation Next then looks at their population and looks for gaps that they need to close
by getting to that number. The talent acquisition managers then identify for every category of
each job and work to close the gaps. The talent acquisition managers also go through extensive
diversity training to ensure hiring practices are fair and that the company is doing the right thing.
The actual hiring process for any position does not start until they have a diverse pool of
candidates available. A task force is set up as a check and balance to ensure that all hiring
managers are doing the right thing.
Next, participants were asked to explain their process when using specific tools to recruit
diverse talent and were asked to walk through the steps that were used to implement their tools
and tactics. Most of the participants provided similar answers when asked what tools and tactics
were used. A common theme again was targeting HBCUs, professional conferences, and red-
carpet events. Another tactic that a majority of the participants start with is looking on social
media sites such as LinkedIn to search for candidates that fit the profile of the open positions that
the talent acquisition managers are looking to fill. P6 explained the process that they follow
when starting a search for a diverse candidate:

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The objective is to give the hiring managers a diverse number of candidates (6
candidates, may not all be diverse but want you to pick the best). Legally when there is a
gap at the director level, and the number is below the U.S. market research number, they
can let the hiring managers know that they can give advantage to a diverse candidate
because there is a gap. Once the gap is closed, then the hiring is done for that position.
Summary. The assumption was that talent acquisition managers know how and where to
recruit diverse talent to fill senior and executive leadership roles within Corporation Next. One
hundred percent of the participants identified tactics commonly referred to as best practices that
have proven to be successful procedures for recruiting diverse talent and continuing to close the
representation gap of Black women and other underrepresented minorities on SLTs and ELTs at
Corporation Next. Furthermore, 80% of the participants were also in agreement that specific
checks and balances are in place to ensure there is an equal amount of representation of URM
candidates for each position that is being filled. This is an asset to the organization.
Results and Findings for Motivation Causes
Talent acquisition managers’ motivation was assessed through interviews. Participants
were interviewed on their belief that they indeed were able to find and recruit diverse talent that
would enable them to close the representation gap in senior and executive leadership. Results of
the interviews were used to determine if the assumed causes were a need or an asset to the
organization.
Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy was assessed through interviews. Participants were interviewed on the self-
efficacy necessary to determine if they are able to find and recruit diverse candidates to close the
representation gap in senior and executive leadership.

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Self-efficacy motivation Influence 1. Talent acquisition managers believe that they
are able to find and recruit diverse talent to close the representation gap in senior and
executive leadership.
Interview findings. Participants were asked, “How confident are you when it comes to
having the motivation to hire diversely?” Seven out of 10 participants said they were highly
motivated to hire diversely. Two discoveries came from their responses. First, most were highly
motivated because they expressed that they are passionate about diversity and believe that the
workforce should exhibit equal opportunities for all people. The other was that they were also
given monetary incentives/bonuses for hitting established benchmarks. P4 responded:
I am highly motivated as well as the team. I used to be mission driven but now after
looking at research, I believe it is all about design. The organization needs to reflect the
demographics of the customer base. Our technology touches basically everyone in the
world and we need to include those people in the products that we are developing.
Similarly, P3 stated:
The company as a whole is very motivated. Some talent acquisition managers really
believe in it and some just want to make sure their positions are filled. Rewards and
incentives are given to folks that exhibit inclusive behaviors and in doing so, you help the
workforce understand what is valued at the company which in turn reinforces the
importance of recruiting and hiring diverse talent.
One of the respondents answered that they felt some were motivated and some were not. The
interviewer followed up by asking why they felt some were not motivated. P1 responded with:
“In some cases, you are asking someone to do something and be motivated by something that
they do not necessarily believe in. Everyone has biases.”

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Next, the participants were asked to give an example of when they were confident in their
ability to find and recruit diverse talent. Seven out of the 10 participants were able to articulate
an example of their accomplishment. Finally, the participants were asked what impact their
recruiting outcomes had on their overall long-term confidence in their continual ability to recruit
diversely. All participants agreed that since they have seen such positive outcomes with the
numbers, talent, and growth of the company due to their continued focus on a diverse workforce,
they are confident that they will be able to continue the momentum and motivation for the long-
term to ensure diverse recruitment remains a high priority.
Summary. The assumption is that talent acquisition managers believe that they are able to
find and recruit diverse talent in leadership roles within Corporation Next. Seventy percent of the
participants feel that they are motivated and confident in their ability to find and recruit diverse
talent, and that it is a process that will be continuously used and reinforced for the long-term
success of the organization. This motivation influence is thus deemed as an asset to the
organization.
Collective-Efficacy
Collective efficacy was assessed through interviews. Participants were interviewed on the
collective-efficacy of the team’s confidence in the organization that they can recruit and hire
diverse talent in senior and executive leadership and close the representation gap within five
years.
Collective-efficacy motivation Influence 1. Stakeholders as a team feel confident in
the company that they can hire diverse talent in leadership roles.
Interview findings. Participants were asked, “What is the level of confidence that you
believe the hiring managers have in the talent acquisition managers as a team when it comes to

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how motivated they are to commit to a diverse work environment?” All participants responded
that they believe the hiring managers are confident in their ability as a team to recruit diversely.
P3 stated: “The hiring managers are motivated by us [talent acquisition managers] because they
have a lot of pressure on them to get their roles filled with diverse candidates and get their
products developed and delivered on time.” P5 responded,
The proof is in the pudding. The hiring managers look at their team’s performance and
evaluate the quality of hires that were provided by the talent acquisition team by
surveying the direct managers. They found that as diversity has increased on teams, the
quality of the product has increased and the survey scores from the direct managers of the
hires have increased. There hasn’t been a negative impact and when you look at the
growth of the company in the last few years, it’s the best that has been done and they
continue to grow.
Summary. The assumption was that the hiring managers were confident in the talent
acquisition managers and their ability to continue to recruit and hire diverse talent for their
teams. One hundred percent of the talent acquisition managers responded that they did in fact
feel that the hiring managers were confident in their abilities to recruit diversely based on the
feedback, and continued growth of the company’s revenue. Thus, this influence is deemed an
asset.
Expectancy-Value motivation Influence 1. Talent acquisition managers believe in
the likelihood to achieve the desired goal of closing the representation gap and a successful
outcome.
Interview findings. Participants were asked, how likely they felt that the representation
gap in leadership would be closed within the next five years. The results here were interesting as

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the answer was split between the participants. Fifty percent of the participants noted that closing
the representation gap in leadership would be very likely to be achieved and 50% felt that it
could potentially be achieved but it may be a challenge to get there. P5 responded,
This is very likely since the company has already done this. The diversity initiative to
close the representation gap in URMs in leadership was originally announced in 2015
with a goal to reach full representation by 2020. Corporation Next actually reached the
goal by the end of 2018, two years early. A new goal was set to increase, stay at or above
full representation by the end of 2020.
P1 responded with, “It will be a challenge. With only making a 1% improvement last year, it is
not likely that it will close in 5 years.”
Next, participants were asked, “How confident are you in identifying the right hiring
firms to fill senior and executive leadership positions with Black women and other
underrepresented candidates?” Six out of 10 of the participants agreed that while the company
does use outside firms sometimes, they are not regularly used to help recruit diverse candidates.
When they are used, they work closely with the Corporation Next Talent Acquisition team to
determine which candidates they bring to the table that would be the best fit as a hire for the
company. P1 stated: “Outside recruiting firms are only used when the senior staff is not
confident that the in-house team can find the right talent. In most cases, these are mostly only
used for C-suite level hires and diversity is almost never part of the conversation.” Furthermore,
P5 stated,
Ninety to 95% of hiring is done in-house. About 5% may come through an outside
agency or search firm. Objective of the group is to do 100% of the executive-level hiring
when management is not confident the talent acquisition team can find the right fit. Both

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will work on the hire. Corporation Next expects the firms to bring forth a diverse slate of
candidates but not as well as the in-house team can.
These responses show that even though the participants did not feel that outside firms were able
to do sufficient diversity hiring without the help of the in-house team, they are confident in their
ability as a team to produce successful outcomes.
Next, the participants were asked “Do you feel that your leadership team is diverse or
equally represented by all ethnic backgrounds?” Twenty percent of the participants said that they
felt that their leadership team was diverse. Thirty percent of the participants said they felt that it
is somewhat diverse but could always improve. Fifty percent of the participants felt that the
leadership team was not diverse. Two out of the 10 participants noted that the biggest gap in
leadership was the Black female group. They noted that this is a noticed problem and they make
it a priority to close this gap. P6 responded,
There’s always room to make improvements. Corporation Next puts a strong emphasis on
role modeling at the top and always tries to hire the best person in the role. They do look
at it from a diverse perspective but it can always get better. They do a good job at the
awareness piece. It ebbs and flows of who is the best fit.
P8 responded with, “It has improved, but not fully represented. There are still some gaps, but
certainly improvement over the years.”
Summary. The assumption was that the talent acquisition managers were confident in the
likelihood that they would be able to achieve the desired goal of closing the representation gap in
leadership with continued successful outcomes. Overall, the consensus was that the gap in
leadership could be closed within 5 years whether it be easy or difficult, it was likely to happen.
While the participants did not fully expect the outside recruiting firms to attract diverse talent at

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the leadership level, participants did believe in the likelihood of successful outcomes of their
own in-house ability. With 20% of the participants fully agreeing that they felt current leadership
was diverse and represented all ethnic backgrounds well, and the increase in diverse hires year-
over-year, there is still a need for improvement in the diversity of the current leadership. This
influence will be labeled as an asset since there is a belief in the likelihood that full
representation in leadership can be achieved.
Utility Value
Utility Value was assessed through interviews. The talent acquisition managers’ utility
value was measured to see if there was a high value for reaching the desired goals for themselves
and the organization.
Utility Value motivation Influence 1. Talent acquisition managers feel diverse hiring
has high value for the success of individuals as well as the company.
Interview findings. Participants were asked, “What value do you feel diverse hiring in
leadership brings to the organization and the individuals within the organization?” All 10
participants used the exact same term “diversity of thought.” The main theme from all
participants was the idea that the diversity of thought and different perspectives is truly valuable
for the organization. P1 stated: ”diversity of thought for the individual shows a path that it is
possible. P2 added, “different perspectives and ideas and different framing of thought represents
what our customers look like outside and bring that innovation in.”
Next, the participants were asked, “How do you feel about the strength of diversity hiring
practices and the opportunities for those underrepresented minorities to advance within your
organization?” The main theme from the respondents on this question was that confidence is
high and has a high value for the company and the individuals that get the roles. P3 stated:

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“Confidence is high because there is so much focus on it and a lot of focus on retention.
Employee groups and leadership groups make it a high priority.” P4 continued,
I feel good about it. It’s great when we have programs like the Blueprint because it gives
diverse candidates an opportunity for a lot of learning that happens outside of school on
how to be a leader, how to manage people, how to interact, business acumen, mind of the
investor/stock holder, etc. that folks coming from diverse backgrounds may not have
been exposed to.
Another theme here was that what makes the team so confident is that the company has
always been very transparent about their practices and processes for hiring. P1 stated: “It’s about
what you do in the system and how it is enabled. Just hiring alone will not do anything. Being
super transparent about how you move up and systems in place available for everyone.” P2
stated: “There’s always room for improvement. Reflect and look at the processes yearly, and
make changes. Look internally to ensure we are promoting those within and helping them
achieve that level of success.”
Summary. The assumption was that there was a high value for the talent acquisition
managers to feel that their diverse hiring efforts created high value for individuals as well as the
company. Ninety percent of the participants agreed that Corporation Next is doing a good job at
setting the idea of diverse hiring being a high value to the company with some improvements
needed. Therefore, this influence is deemed as an asset.
Results and Findings for Organization Causes
Talent acquisition managers’ perception of Corporation Next and the diversity policies
for hiring were assessed through interviews. Results of the interviews are presented for each

77
assumed cause within the categories of cultural models and cultural settings. Results of the
interviews are used to determine whether or not assumed gaps are present.
Cultural Models
Talent acquisition managers responded to interview questions that were used to assess
their perception of Corporation Next’s cultural model. Interviews were used to discuss whether
or not the participants felt that the organizational focus was committed to a culture of diverse
hiring and closing of the representation gap in leadership.
Organizational cultural model Influence 1. Corporation Next has a culture of
acceptance or willingness to focus on diversity hiring on SLTs and ELTs.
Interview findings. With a majority of the participants already expressing that they were
very committed and passionate about the process of diversifying leadership throughout the
interview process, the researcher only asked two out of the 10 participants this question. The two
participants were asked “How committed are you to the diversification of the SLTs and ELTs?”
Both responded that they were very committed. P2 expressed: “I am very committed. People like
to see their leaders look like them. Everyone has a responsibility to ensure a diverse workforce.”
P8 expressed: “I am very committed due to the value it brings to all.” Throughout the interview
process, each participant expressed their commitment to diversification. P5 noted,
I have a passion and am very committed to seeing minorities in leadership roles. I have
adopted two African American children and we want their growth and opportunities to be
the same as everyone else. I feel that the more diverse a company’s leadership is, the
better they are for everyone.

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P6 also expressed their commitment, “personally, I am committed because I get to witness the
process in action. I get to see the new hires transform into leaders within the company and that is
what we are here to do.”
Summary. The assumption was that Corporation Next has a culture of acceptance and
willingness to focus on diversity. Participants were asked how committed they were to this
culture of acceptance and the diversification of the leadership teams at Corporation Next. With
100% of the participants expressing their commitment to the process throughout the interview
process, this is seen as an asset to the organization.
Organizational Cultural Model Influence 2. Corporation Next promotes diversity
throughout the organization at all levels from entry level to senior leadership.
Interview findings. Participants were asked, “As a talent acquisition manager, do you
believe that diversifying the organization at all levels will be good for company culture? Do you
believe that will even make an impact?” All 10 participants agreed that diversifying the
organization throughout all levels is good for the company and will provide a positive impact for
not only the company, but for the customers as well. P5 stated,
Yes, diversity at all levels will be good for the culture of the company. The current
CEO has put a lot of emphasis on taking the company from good to great and D&I is
a huge part of it. He believes that diversity and inclusion drive business growth.
Next, the participants were asked “What are some ways the organization currently
incorporates diversity at all levels of the company?” All participants shared a list of things that
Corporation Next is doing that promotes diversity efforts. Some of the initiatives that were
mentioned were Employee Resource Groups- global diversity and inclusion team leverage, focus
on community building events, on-boarding training, cultural leadership councils featuring

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Black, Vets and, Latinx leadership councils. The company also celebrates Black history month,
Latino history month, and disability groups. The idea is that all employee groups feel like they
have awareness of other populations and incorporate diverse backgrounds. Make sure they
continue to celebrate all cultures and allow folks to feel a sense of community and belonging.
Summary. The assumption was that Corporation Next promoted diversity throughout the
organization at all levels. Participants were asked if they believed that the organization was in
fact doing this and if they felt the efforts were making an impact. All 10 of the participants
agreed that Corporation Next is taking diversity seriously, incorporating it at all levels of the
organization, and making different cultures and backgrounds visible for the entire company to
learn about and feel a sense of community and connection to the organization. This influence is
thus deemed as an asset to the organization.
Cultural Settings
Talent acquisition managers responded to interview questions that were used to assess
their perception of Corporation Next’s cultural setting. Interviews were used to discuss whether
or not the participants felt that the organization was supportive of diverse hiring and if policies
and procedures were set in place that promote those efforts.
Cultural Setting Influence 1. Corporation Next supports diverse hiring of SLTs and
ELTs.
Interview findings. Participants were asked, “How supportive do you feel your
organization is with diversifying at the senior and executive leadership level?” All 10
participants responded that the company is supportive and committed as this is a priority for the
CEO and senior leadership. P1 stated: “Corporation Next is committed. It’s a priority and goals
have been set in place to make it happen.” P3 stated: “Very supportive, the CEO speaks about it.

80
It is woven through culture; performance bonus is tied to it. The whole ecosystem is all
conducive to inclusion.” Although all participants agreed that the organization has made
diversity and closing the representation gap a priority, two of the participants expressed the
concern that more still needs to be done in order to fully reach the goal of closing the gap by the
end of 2020. P5 stated,
For the former CEO it was a focused effort and goal. The current CEO, has similar
intention towards diversity but now the focus is on parity and pay equity and more so at
the leadership level of diverse candidates. It has taken some time to develop into solid
programs and how that will affect the senior level employees.
P7 echoed P5 in stating that more needs to be done:
The messaging is there and a lot of the backing it up is there, but it is not all there. We are
moving in the right direction, maybe just the wrong speed. There definitely needs to
be more accountabilities put in place. Maybe tie it to an incentive and drastic changes to
get the ball moving faster.
One issue that stood out was the fact that within Corporation Next, the company legacy played a
major role in the gap for almost 50 years of its history. P7 responded,
My opinion is that the vast majority of reasoning behind it is because of internal bias
and, especially, internal bias of people who wrote the company charter, that was in
effect. And also, I think confirmation bias plays a part in that too. If you look at the
majority of boardrooms of major tech companies, they were White male dominant.
And because of that culture along with internal bias and confirmation bias it just
creates a culture of people who internally subconsciously think that the best person
for a job is more than likely going to be somebody who looks like them. And so,

81
when you have a culture that’s set up like that for that long, it’s very difficult to
change everything about that culture, but it is definitely something which is better
than nothing to see that companies are actually now paying attention and doing
something about it like Corporation Next.
P8 responded,
Definitely a legacy of the company history of many years not focusing on diversity
within the company as well as leadership. Also, a history of not encouraging other
underrepresented groups to study the technical fields needed for folks to work in the
tech industry going back to the high school and college levels. Could have been
discrimination honestly.
Next, the participants were asked, “What does diversity in an organization mean to you?”
The main theme from the participants was that it meant a culture of having a diversity of design,
different perspectives, and different backgrounds of people working together toward a common
goal. All participants agreed that in order for an organization to be successful, diversity is an
absolute necessity.
Summary. The assumption was that the current leadership of Corporation Next support
the efforts and commitment to hiring a diverse workforce. All 10 participants agreed that they
felt that leadership including the CEO makes diversity of the employee population a top priority.
While all participants agreed that this is indeed a focus, they do feel that more can be done to
reach the goal and that a break in the system could have been caused due to the legacy of the
company in the past. A suggestion was to focus on specifically diversifying leadership as coming
from the top down would be best for the organization to continue to thrive. This influence is thus
deemed as an asset to the organization.

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Cultural Setting Influence 2. Implementation of human resource and hiring policies
that promote diversity.
Interview findings. Participants were asked: “How impactful do you feel the
implementation of diversity efforts has been on the culture of the company thus far?” All
participants agreed that the implementation of the organizational goal and focus to close the
representation gap in leadership and from leadership has had a huge and positive impact on the
company and the way it approaches diversity. P7 gave an example of how the implemented
policies affected them and their team immediately. P7 stated,
I’ve seen with my own eyes the impact of some of the diverse people that I’ve worked
with. I don’t just mean from diverse cultures or backgrounds, but I mean from diverse
jobs or industries. An example, a colleague of mine, a Black woman, came from the
manufacturing industry to work here at Corporation Next in the HR department. Her
addition to our team was a catalyst for us, because we didn’t have any Black people on
our team but we were the diversity team. And so, her perspective, really helped us think
about things that we weren’t thinking about before. And it wasn’t just our perspective on
how we approached African American people but really her personality affected how we
approached women in general, and especially women of color. She made us think
differently, and just bought a bunch of new ideas to the table that we never had before.
P8 concurred, stating,
One of the success stories of the buy-in, implementation, and focus on diversity from
management at all levels is by seeing the people and their interactions every day. You can
see it in the lobbies, the hallways, and how we have changed for the better. I would say

83
you can see more diverse groups socializing and the energy level is higher. I don’t know
how to measure that but it’s just perceived.
Summary. The assumption was that the implementation of the diversity policies from
leadership and human resources has had an impact on the culture of the company. All of the
participants agreed that it has been a positive impact that has allowed different groups of people
to begin to interact and understand one another in a way that was not happening before diversity
became a company focus. This new culture has created a sense of community and belonging
amongst the Corporation Next employees thus making this influence an asset to the organization.
Summary of Validated Influences
Tables 5, 6 and 7 show the knowledge, motivation and organization influences for this
study and their determination as an asset or a need.
Knowledge
Table 5
Knowledge Assets or Needs as Determined by the Data
Assumed Knowledge Influence Asset or
Need
Factual
Talent acquisition managers need to know the number of URM leaders in certain
positions.
Need
Metacognitive
Talent acquisition managers need to know how to evaluate and reflect on the
importance and the impact on the company of diversity and equal representation
has on their SLTs and ELTs.
Asset
Talent acquisition managers need to know and identify and reflect on the potential
barriers for URM advancement to leadership roles within Corporation Next.
Asset
Procedural
Talent acquisition managers need to know how, including where to recruit and find
candidates for senior and executive leadership roles that satisfy the Black female
and underrepresented minority population.
Asset

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Motivation
Table 6
Motivation Assets or Needs as Determined by the Data
Assumed Motivation Influence Asset or
Need
Self-Efficacy
Stakeholders need to believe they are able to find and recruit diverse talent for
SLTs and ELTs.
Asset
Collective Efficacy
Stakeholders, as a team, need to feel confident in the company that they can hire
diverse talent in leadership roles.
Asset
Expectancy-Value
Talent acquisition managers need to believe in the likelihood to achieve the desired
goal of closing the representation gap in SLT and ELT hiring and that it will have a
successful outcome.
Asset
Utility Value
Talent acquisition managers need to feel diverse hiring has high value for the
success of individuals as well as the company.
Asset

Organization
Table 7
Organization Assets or Needs as Determined by the Data
Assumed Organization Influence Asset or
Need
Cultural Model
The organization needs a culture of acceptance or willingness to focus on diversity
hiring on SLTs and ELTs.
Asset
The organization needs a belief in cultural diversity in the organization as a whole
at all levels from entry level positions all the way up to SLTs and ELTs.
Asset
Cultural Setting
The organization needs to support diverse hiring of the SLTs and ELTs. Asset
The organization needs human resources management and hiring policies which
promote diversity.
Asset

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Chapter Five describes proposed solutions and recommendations for each cause. The
proposed solutions utilize evidence-based recommendations identified through academic
literature. Proposed solutions will be shared with the Corporation Next Talent Acquisition team.

86
CHAPTER FIVE: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SOLUTIONS
Purpose of the Project and Questions
This research project conducted a promising practice study of a public company in the
United States to determine how to close the representation gap pertaining to Black women and
other underrepresented minorities on SLTs and ELTs. This chapter discusses recommendations,
implementation, evaluation, and limitations of future research. Chapters One through Four
focused on the background of the problem, literature review, methodology, and findings to
address the first two research questions that will guide this study:
1. What is the talent acquisition managers’ knowledge and motivation related to the goal of
increasing representation of Black women and other underrepresented minorities on
senior and executive leadership teams at Corporation Next?
2. What is the interaction between Corporation Next’s culture and context and the talent
acquisition managers’ knowledge and motivation to decrease the representation gap of
Black women and other underrepresented minorities on senior and executive leadership
teams by the end of 2020.
This chapter addresses the final research question: What recommendations in the area of
knowledge, motivation, and organizational resources may be appropriate for solving the problem
of practice at another organization?
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences
Influences in Tables 8, 9, and 10 represent a complete list of assumed knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences. Based on data analysis, certain influences were
validated as a gap and given a priority based on the most frequently mentioned influences on
achieving the stakeholders’ goal during informal interviews. For each influence listed, an

87
evidence-based principle was identified along with a context-specific recommendation for
improving performance. Although recommendations were given to those areas that were
validated as having a gap, in order to continue to have success in each area, the researcher
provides additional recommendations that can be used by Corporation Next if needed for a select
few of the influences.
The implementation and evaluation plan were guided by the New World Kirkpatrick and
Kirkpatrick (2016) model. The model includes administering four levels of implementation and
evaluation in reverse order: Level 4 (Results), Level 3 (Behaviors), Level 2 (Learning), and
Level 1 (Reaction).
Knowledge Recommendations
Introduction. Clark and Estes (2008) suggest that factual knowledge is about
information that is the “what or why.” Whereas, procedural knowledge is information on “how
and when” (Clark & Estes, 2008). As indicated in Table 8, factual knowledge was validated as a
gap and has a high priority for achieving the stakeholders’ goal. Although metacognitive
knowledge was not validated as a gap, based on the findings, it is determined to be a high
priority in achieving the stakeholder goal. In this case, talent acquisition managers need factual
knowledge such as recruiting goals and actual numbers of URM hires in certain positions,
company goals and expectations, and company policies and procedures to be able to reflect on
the importance and the impact on the culture of the company and their SLTs and ELTs of
diversity and equal representation. Table 8 also shows the recommendations for these highly
probable influences based on theoretical principles.

88
Table 8
Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Knowledge
Influence

Validated as a
Gap?
Yes, High
Probability or No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Talent acquisition
managers need to
know the number of
URM leaders in
certain positions. (F)
V Y How individuals
organize
knowledge
influences are how
they learn and
apply what they
know (Schraw &
McCrudden, 2006).
Provide training on
the company history,
annual reporting
numbers, and
company goals and
expectations.
Talent acquisition
managers need to
know how to evaluate
and reflect on the
importance and the
impact of diversity
and equal
representation on their
SLTs and ELTs. (M)
N Y Information learned
meaningfully and
connected with
prior knowledge is
stored more quickly
and remembered
more accurately
because it is
elaborated with
prior learning
(Schraw &
McCrudden, 2006).
Provide a training
where individuals
have an opportunity
to make connections
and discuss how their
new knowledge of
diversity in the
workplace is different
from the information
that they have learned
in the past about
diversity and equal
representation in a
work environment.
Talent acquisition
managers need to
know how to identify
and reflect on the
potential barriers for
URM advancement to
leadership roles within
Corporation Next. (M)
N N Information learned
meaningfully and
connected with
prior knowledge is
stored more quickly
and remembered
more accurately
because it is
elaborated with
prior learning
(Schraw &
McCrudden, 2006).
Not validated as a
gap or a high priority.

89
Table 8, continued
Assumed Knowledge
Influence

Validated as a
Gap?
Yes, High
Probability or No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Talent acquisition
managers need to
know how, including
where to recruit and
find candidates for
senior and executive
leadership roles that
satisfy the Black
female and
underrepresented
minority population.
(P)
N Y To develop
mastery,
individuals must
acquire component
skills, practice
integrating them,
and know when to
apply what they
have learned
(Schraw &
McCrudden, 2006).

Acquiring skills for
expertise frequently
begins with
learning declarative
knowledge about
individual
procedural steps
(Clark & Estes,
2008).

Allow shadowing of
other talent
acquisition managers
during recruitment
fairs and events to
show the steps and
processes taken while
recruiting diverse
candidates for
available positions.
Allow practice for the
shadowers in
conducting
interviews during the
fairs and give
adequate feedback on
their interviews.

Provide a job aid that
includes a step-by-
step guide of what is
done during each of
the recruitment
fairs/events so that
they can follow the
same steps the next
time they are at a
fair/event on their
own. The job aid
should provide a
detailed guide on the
expectations of what
to do during each
event.

Talent acquisition managers need to know the number of URM leaders in certain
positions. The results and findings of this study indicate that only 40% of the talent acquisition
managers that were interviewed knew the exact percentage of diverse hires within the last two
years. Learning theory can be used as a conceptual framework to explain how individuals can

90
learn the process of identifying and recruiting diverse talent. Alexander, Schallert, and Reynolds
(2009) state that learning is a process and because of that, change transpires in time and over
time. The learning process itself is affected by where the learner is in a progression to increasing
expertise and acquisition of knowledge in a domain. Alexander, Schallert, and Reynolds (2009)
research shows that individuals learn differently at different ages, and the process of learning
changes, reflecting the accumulation of experiences that give rise to more complex
understanding and more intricate relationships among individuals or the relations between
persons and environment. The recommendation would be to provide training on the history of
the company, including information about annual recruiting goals and actual numbers, company
goals and expectations, as well as company policies and procedures. The talent acquisition
managers will then learn how to utilize these resources to develop competencies to lead diversity
efforts that promote selecting, organizing, and integrating the diversity efforts within the
company.
Talent acquisition managers need to know how to evaluate and reflect on the
importance and the impact on the culture of the company of diversity and their SLTs and
ELTs of diversity and equal representation. The results and findings of this study indicate that
talent acquisition managers understand the importance and the impact on the culture of a
company, and have reflected on the issue of diversity and equal representation of Black women
and other underrepresented minorities on SLTs and ELTs to understand the data that they receive
and how to use that information to do their jobs. The following recommendation is rooted in the
information processing system theory to close the metacognitive knowledge influence. Schraw
and McCrudden (2006) state information learned meaningfully and connected with prior
knowledge, is stored more quickly and remembered more accurately because it is elaborated with

91
prior learning. Information processing system theory provides a conceptual model which
explains the different functions and constraints on human memory and postulates a three-
component model of information processing (Schraw & McCrudden, 2006). The information
processing system is consistent with empirical findings and provides an excellent framework for
understanding principles of effective learning (Schraw & McCrudden, 2006). Therefore, training
that further develops the talent acquisition managers’ prior knowledge on diversity hiring
practice would be ideal to recommend.
Education and training will need to be provided that helps with the selection and
recruitment process of these specific groups of candidates. The recommendation would be to
provide a training where individuals have an opportunity to make connections and discuss how
their new knowledge of diversity in the workplace is different from the information that they
have learned in the past about diversity and equal representation in a work environment and
reflect on how their knowledge of the importance of the diversity hiring has impacted the
company and the company goals.
Talent acquisition managers need to know how, including where to recruit and find
candidates for senior and executive leadership roles that satisfy the Black female and
underrepresented minority population. The results and findings of this study indicate that
talent acquisition managers know and felt that their efforts had a major impact on the company.
After reflecting on their individual work and contributions to the department, they all expressed a
certain passion towards the work they do each day. Again, Schraw and McCrudden (2006) state,
to develop mastery, individuals must acquire component skills, practice integrating them, and
know when to apply what they have learned. As indicated in Table 8, specific principles and
recommendations rooted in informational processing theory are considered in an effort to close

92
the procedural knowledge gap. A recommendation would be to allow shadowing of other talent
acquisition managers during recruitment fairs and events to show the steps and processes taken
while recruiting diverse candidates for available positions. Also, allow practice for the
employees that are shadowing while conducting interviews during the fairs and events and
provide adequate feedback on their interviews.
The information processing model provides a conceptual model which explains the
different functions and constraints on human memory. Part of this is explained by cognitive load
theory. Cognitive load theory is used to explain how different instructional and learner
constraints affect optimal information processing (Schraw & McCrudden, 2006). Research
shows that cognitive load theory has been especially helpful in terms of planning instruction and
developing learning materials. Reducing cognitive load enables individuals to learn with less
overall mental effort (Schraw & McCrudden, 2006). Clark and Estes (2008) suggest that
acquiring skills for expertise frequently begins with learning declarative knowledge about
individual procedural steps. This step would suggest that talent acquisition managers would
benefit from a job aid. Job aids provide informational and procedural steps that enable
individuals to complete a task independently (Clark & Estes, 2008). The recommendation would
be to provide a job aid to the talent acquisition managers that includes a step-by-step guide of
what is done during each of the recruitment fairs and events so that they can follow the same
steps the next time they are at a fair or event on their own. The job aid should provide a detailed
guide on the expectations of what to do during each event.
Motivation Recommendations
Introduction. The motivation influences in Table 9 represent a complete list of assumed
influences and whether they were validated as a gap or not, and if the influence was recognized

93
as a priority to address in order to achieve the stakeholders’ goal during informal interviews and
supported by the literature review and the review of motivation theory. Clark and Estes (2008)
suggest that there are three indicators of motivation in task performance: choice, persistence, and
mental effort. Choice is going beyond intention to start a task. Persistence is continuing to pursue
a goal in the face of distractions. Mental effort is seeking and applying new knowledge to solve a
problem or perform a new task. As such, as indicated in Table 9, none of the four motivational
influences have been validated as a gap but all of the influences have a high priority for
achieving the stakeholders’ goal. Table 9 also shows the recommendations for these influences
based on theoretical principles.
Table 9
Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations
Assumed
Motivation
Influence*
Validated as a
Gap
Yes, High
Probability, No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and Citation Context-Specific
Recommendation
Talent acquisition
managers need to
believe they are able
to find and recruit
diverse talent for
SLTs and ELTs.
(Self-efficacy).
N Y Learning and motivation
are enhanced when
learners have positive
expectancies for success
(Pajares, 2006).
Self-efficacy is
increased as individuals
succeed in a task
(Bandura, 1997).

Receive positive
individual
feedback from
their superiors on
current recruiting
practices and
place emphasis on
the achievements
they have made in
their role.
Have talent
acquisition
managers set
achievable
recruiting goals or
milestones for
themselves
weekly.

94
Table 9, continued
Assumed
Motivation
Influence*
Validated as a
Gap
Yes, High
Probability, No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Stakeholders, as a
team, need to feel
confident in the
company that they
can hire diverse
talent in leadership
roles. (Collective-
efficacy).
N Y Foster groups’
motivational
commitment to
their mission,
resilience to
adversity, and
performance
accomplishments
(Bandura, 2000).

Talent acquisition
managers to engage in
group training to provide
opportunities for them to
interact with each other
and senior talent
acquisition managers
and develop steps
needed for a talent
acquisition manager to
go out to find URM
employees that possess
the required skills to be
hired and ready for
advancement into
specific SLT roles.
Talent acquisition
managers need to
believe in the
likelihood to achieve
the desired goal of
closing the
representation gap in
SLT and ELT hiring
and that it will have
a successful
outcome.
(Expectancy-Value)
N Y Goals motivate
and direct
students
(Pintrich, 2003).

Individuals are
more likely to
engage in an
activity when it
provides value to
them (Eccles,
2009).
Provide examples in
the job aid showing
how the desired
outcome of closing the
representation gap
could successfully
impact the company
outcomes and in turn
positively impact the
individual.

Implement a system of
recognition when a
URM is hired or
promoted. Tie it to the
delivery of continued
success towards the
company’s goal of
closing the
representation gap.

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Table 9, continued
Assumed
Motivation
Influence*
Validated as a
Gap
Yes, High
Probability, No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Talent acquisition
managers need to
feel diverse hiring
has high value for
the success of
individuals as well
as the company.
(Utility Value)
N Y Focusing on
mastery,
individual
improvement,
learning, and
progress promotes
positive
motivation
(Yough
& Anderman,
2006).

Use training for
individual departments
to highlight success
stories of other
URM’s and how they
move through the
ranks in the company.

Talent acquisition managers need to believe that they are able to find and recruit
diverse talent for SLTs and ELTs. The results and findings of this study indicate that 70% of
the participants feel that they are motivated and confident in their ability to find and recruit
diverse talent for SLTs and ELTs at Corporation Next. Pajares (2006) posits that learning and
motivation are enhanced when learners have positive expectancies for success. Bandura’s (1997)
research reveals that self-efficacy is increased as individuals succeed in a task. Therefore, the
recommendation is that talent acquisition managers set achievable recruiting goals and
milestones for themselves weekly and receive individual positive feedback from their superiors
on current recruiting practices and place emphasis on the achievements they have made in their
role.
Social cognitive theory explains that people form intentions that include action plans and
strategies for realizing their intentions (Bandura, 2005). Research has shown that people set
goals and anticipate likely outcomes of prospective actions to guide and motivate their efforts. A
future cannot be a cause of current behavior because it has no material existence, but by being

96
represented cognitively in the present, visualized features serve as current guides and motivators
of behavior (Bandura, 2005).
Stakeholders, as a team, need to feel confident in the company that they can hire
diverse talent in leadership roles. One hundred percent of the talent acquisition managers
responded that they as a group have a shared belief that they were confident in their abilities to
recruit diverse talent in leadership roles. Pajares (2006) stated collective efficacy is a group’s
shared belief in its capability to attain goals and accomplish a desired task. With collective
efficacy, the goal is to learn whether a group feels capable of finding the resources to hire diverse
talent in their SLTs and ELTs. A group’s attainments are the products of shared knowledge and
skills of different members and also of interactive, coordinative, and synergistic dynamics of
their transactions (Bandura, 2000). Clark and Estes (2008) state the positive emotional
environments that support motivation are needed to increase collective efficacy. The
recommendation would be to have talent acquisition managers engage in group training to
provide opportunities for them to interact with each other and senior talent acquisition managers
to develop steps needed for a talent acquisition manager to go out to find URM employees that
possess the required skills to be hired and ready for advancement into specific SLT roles.
Self-efficacy theory extends the conception of agent causality to people’s belief in their
collective efficacy to produce desired outcomes (Bandura, 1998). Additionally, social cognitive
theory, perceived efficacy is embedded in a theory of human agency. People make causal
contributions to their lives through mechanisms of personal agency with the most pervasive
being people’s judgement of their efficacy. Unless people believe they can produce desired
effects by their actions they have little incentive to act. Efficacy belief then becomes the
foundation of action (Bandura, 1998). Bandura (1998) states that people work together to

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produce the results they desire. Social cognitive theory extends the analysis of mechanisms of
human agency to collective agency. Peoples’ shared beliefs in their collective power to produce
desired outcomes is a crucial ingredient of collective agency. Group performance is the product
of interactive and coordinative dynamics of its members. Therefore, perceived collective efficacy
is not just the sum of efficacy beliefs of individual members, but as an emergent group member
attribute (Bandura, 1998).
Talent Acquisition Managers need to believe in the likelihood to achieve the desired
goal of closing the representation gap in SLT and ELT hiring and that it will have a
successful outcome. One hundred percent of the participants felt that they had the confidence in
the likelihood of the team to achieve the desired goal of closing the representation gap in the
SLTs and ELTs. According to Pintrich (2003), goals motivate and direct students. Therefore, a
job aid would be beneficial for the Talent Acquisition Managers to follow to obtain the desired
outcomes. The recommendation is to provide examples in the job aid showing how the desired
outcome of closing the representation gap could successfully impact the company outcomes and
in turn positively impact the individual.
A majority of the interviewees stated that they are motivated by the success of the
company because it reflects their hard work- recruiting diverse talent brings a new wave of
thought and innovation to their products. With 20% of the participants fully agreeing that they
felt current leadership was diverse and represented all ethnic backgrounds well, and the increase
in diverse hires year-over-year, there is still a need for improvement in the diversity of the
current leadership. Individuals are more likely to engage in an activity when it provides value to
them. (Eccles, 2006). Research has shown that individuals also increase their performance when
they value themselves, the work they do, and the organization in which they work (Eccles 2006).

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Clark & Estes (2008) state that effective organizations ensure that organizational messages,
rewards, policies and procedures that govern the work of the organizations are aligned with or
are supportive of organizational goals and values. The recommendation is to implement a system
of recognition when a job is well done.
Talent Acquisition Managers need to feel diverse hiring has high value for the
success of individuals as well as the company. Ninety percent of the participants agreed that
Corporation Next is doing a good job at selling the idea of diverse hiring being a high value to
the company with some improvements needed. Yough and Anderman (2006) state that focusing
on mastery, individual improvement, learning, and progress promotes positive motivation. The
recommendation rooted in goal orientation theory is for Talent Acquisition Managers to use
training for individual departments to highlight success stories of other URMs and how they
moved through the ranks in the company. If Talent Acquisition Managers see the utility value
and believe in the benefits of a diverse leadership team and decreasing the representation gap in
senior and executive leadership roles, then it has a better chance of happening. While the success
of the company is important to most employees, the success of the individual is all very
important for employees. Talent Acquisition Managers need to feel that diverse hiring has high
value for the success of individuals as well as the company.
Gilbert and Ivancevich (2000) found, even though many organizations implemented
policy and/or training initiatives to focus on diversity, the initiatives do not translate into changes
in the quality of work life for employees. Greater acceptance of diversity is achieved by using
multiple efforts, constant reinforcement, and broad scale change initiatives. Rather than simply
making a commitment to valuing diversity, creating an atmosphere of inclusion requires change
on many fronts, including fairness, empowerment, and openness to support all diversity

99
initiatives such as highlighting efforts via job aids in training courses on diverse hiring (Gilbert
& Ivancevich, 2000).
Organization Recommendations
Introduction. The organizational influences in Table 10 represent a complete list of
assumed influences and whether they were validated as a gap or not, and if the influence was
recognized as a priority to address in order to achieve the stakeholders’ goal. Along with
knowledge and motivational influences, organizational factors influence the attainment of an
organization’s performance goals. In this case, achieving a higher percentage of Black women
and other underrepresented minorities on SLTs and ELTs will rely on an organization’s cultural
influences. Work culture is present in the conscious and unconscious understanding of who
people are, what they value, and how they do what they do as an organization (Clark & Estes,
2008).

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Table 10
Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations
Assumed
Organization
Influence*

Validated as a
Gap
Yes, High
Probability, No
(V, HP, N)
Priorit
y
Yes,
No
(Y, N)
Principle and Citation

Context-Specific
Recommendation
(Cultural Setting
Influence 1)
The organization
needs to support
diverse hiring of
the SLTs and
ELTs.

N Y Effective change begins by
addressing
motivation influencers; it
ensures the group
knows why it needs to change.
It then
addresses organizational
barriers and then
knowledge and skills needed.
(Clark and Estes,
2008).

Work culture is present in the
conscious and unconscious
understanding of who people
are, what they value, and how
they do what they do as an
organization (Clark and Estes,
2008).
Begin by training by
providing access to the
current numbers and
percentages to the
organization’s diversity
in leadership
breakdown, publish
hiring stats and make
available for employees
to see.

Provide a training with
information on the
accomplishments of the
diverse team and the
benefits that have come
from them to increase
motivation to support
diverse hiring.
(Cultural Setting
Influence 2)
The organization
needs human
resources
management and
hiring policies
which promote
diversity.
N Y Effective leaders demonstrate a
commitment
to valuing diversity through
inclusive action.
They promote an
organizational culture that
promotes equity and inclusion
and cultivate
an atmosphere where diversity
is viewed as
an asset to the organization and
its stakeholders.
Related Research:
Prieto, Phipps & Osiri (2009)
Begin with HR
implementing new
policies that state the
company’s goals for
closing the diversity
gap that is accessible
for all employees and
promoted to be an
important principle in
the company.

Form a diversity
committee to support
the organization’s
commitment of
ensuring high-level
positions represent
diversity, equity, and
inclusion to strengthen
cultural beliefs in the
diversity of hiring.

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Table 10, continued
Assumed
Organization
Influence*

Validated as a
Gap
Yes, High
Probability, No
(V, HP, N)
Priorit
y
Yes,
No
(Y, N)
Principle and Citation

Context-Specific
Recommendation
(Cultural Model
Influence 1)
The organization
needs a culture of
acceptance or
willingness to
focus on
diversity hiring
on SLTs and
ELTs.

N Y Effective change begins by
addressing
motivation influencers; it
ensures the group
knows why it needs to change.
It then
addresses organizational
barriers and then
knowledge and skills needed.
(Clark and Estes,
2008).

Implement diversity
days for all ethnic
groups so that
employees can learn
about the cultures and
backgrounds of their
peers and fellow
coworkers.
(Cultural Model
Influence 2)
The organization
needs a belief in
cultural diversity
in the
organization as a
whole at all
levels from entry
level positions all
the way up to
SLTs and ELTs.
N Y Effective organizations insure that
organizational messages, rewards,
policies
and procedures that govern the
work of the
organization are aligned with or are
supportive of organizational goals
and values (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Put in a system that
verifies that
positions are
equally offered to
everyone and all
qualified
candidates are
considered.

Reward the groups
that obtain the
highest percentage
of URMs hired
with incentives like
extra vacation
days, or work from
home days.

Cultural Setting Influence 1: Support for diverse hiring of SLTs and ELTs. Data
analysis revealed that 100% of Talent acquisition managers at Corporation Next believe that the
organization’s leadership including the CEO fully supports diverse hiring at the SLT and ELT
level. This influence is deemed as a high priority because leadership from the top down is
important to successfully implement an idea throughout the entire organization. A
recommendation rooted in organizational change theory is used to address this influence. Clark
and Estes (2008) state effective change begins by addressing motivation influencers; it ensures
the group knows why it needs to change. It then addresses organizational barriers and then

102
knowledge and skills needed. Therefore, the following recommendation would be to provide
access to the current numbers and percentages to the organization’s diversity in leadership
breakdown and publish data describing the organization’s diversity hiring stats and make it
available for employees to see. Also, provide information on the accomplishments of the diverse
team and the benefits that have come from them to increase motivation to support diverse hiring.
This reassures employees that personnel at the highest levels are trained and prepared adequately
to lead the organization.
Cultural Setting Influence 2: Human resource management and hiring policies
which support diversity. The results of the study indicated that all 10 participants agreed that
they felt that leadership, including the CEO, makes the diversity of the employee population a
top priority. According to Clark and Estes (2008), effective leaders demonstrate a commitment to
valuing diversity through inclusive action. They promote an organizational culture that promotes
equity and inclusion and cultivates an atmosphere where diversity is viewed as an asset to the
organization and its stakeholders. Therefore, the recommendations would be, 1) to begin with,
HR should implement new policies that state the company’s goals for closing the diversity gap,
published to be accessible by all employees and promoted to be an important principle in the
company; and 2) form a diversity committee to support the organization’s commitment to
ensuring high-level positions represent diversity, equity, and inclusion to strengthen cultural
beliefs in the diversity of hiring.
According to Bowen, Ledford, and Nathan (1991), conventional practices are geared
toward hiring employees whose KSAs provide the greatest fit with clearly defined requirements
for specific jobs. A new model of selection is emerging geared toward hiring a person who will
fit well into the specific organization’s culture. This type of selection process reflects a

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fundamental reorientation of selection toward hiring people and not just KSAs. This allows for a
more diverse candidate pool (Bowen, Ledford, & Nathan, 1991). Kezar (2001) states that the
main assumption of organizational change theory is that change is a response to external
circumstances, situational variables, and the environment faced by each organization. Certain
change models assume that organizations are purposeful and adaptive. Change occurs because
leaders, change agents, and others see the necessity of change. Research has shown that change
is linear, as in evolutionary models, but individual managers are much more instrumental to the
process (Kezar, 2001).
Cultural Model Influence 1: A culture of acceptance and focus on diversity hiring.
Data analysis revealed that 100% of the participants expressed that they are fully committed to
doing the work to make diversity a priority within the company and in leadership. Effective
change begins by addressing motivation influencers; it ensures the group knows why it needs to
change. It then addresses organizational barriers, and then knowledge and skills needed (Clark
and Estes, 2008). A recommendation rooted in organizational theory is needed to address this
gap.
According to Rivera (2012), there is an ongoing argument about the effects of diversity
programs on hiring. Rivera (2012) argues diversity programs are largely impression management
activities designed to appease the masses, while others found diversity programs can result in
concrete gains for women and minorities. Therefore, the recommendation would be to implement
diversity days for all ethnic groups. Employees will have an opportunity to learn about their
peers’ cultures and backgrounds to develop a level of understanding of their peers and respect;
while gaining a sense of how diversity of thought is an asset to the success of the company and
individual employees.

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Cultural Model Influence 2: A culture of belief in a diverse leadership team. Data
analysis revealed that 100% of the participants expressed their commitment and belief in creating
a diverse leadership team. An organization needs a belief in cultural diversity in the organization
as a whole at all levels from entry level positions all the way up to SLTs and ELTs. Clark and
Estes (2008) state that effective organizations ensure that organizational messages, rewards,
policies and procedures that govern the work of the organizations are aligned with or are
supportive of organizational goals and values. A recommendation rooted in organizational theory
would be to ensure that the opportunity for advancement is available to all URMs regardless of
level within the company. Put in a system that verifies that positions are equally offered to
everyone and all qualified candidates are considered. Reward the groups that obtain the highest
percentage of URMs hired with incentives like extra vacation days, or work from home days to
show that the organization is serious and supportive of the organizational goal to implement an
increased number of diverse hires in leadership.
In organizational change theory, change is also tied to social-cognition models described
as changes being tied to learning and mental processes such as sensemaking and mental models.
Research shows that change typically occurs because individuals see a need to grow, learn, and
change their behavior (Kezar, 2001). Clark and Estes (2008) state that effective organizations
ensure that organizational messages, rewards, policies and procedures that govern the work of
the organization are aligned with or are supportive of organizational goals and values. Therefore,
the recommendation would be to ensure that the opportunity for advancement is available to all
URMs regardless of level within the company.

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Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan
Implementation and Evaluation Framework
The following implementation and evaluation plan is based on Kirkpatrick and his
Kirkpatrick (2016) New World Kirkpatrick model. The purpose of this promising practice study
was to examine how Corporation Next has successfully implemented diversity in leadership in
order to close the representation gap on their SLTs and ELTs. The proposed implementation and
evaluation framework plan follow the New World Kirkpatrick Model which includes four levels
of evaluation: reaction (Level 1), learning (Level 2), behavior (Level 3), and results (Level 4)
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). The original written Kirkpatrick Four Level Model of
Evaluation laid out the levels in sequential order and they were meant to build upon each other
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2006). With the New World Kirkpatrick Model, the
recommendation is to begin in reverse order starting with Level 4 which explains results. This
level explains the degree to which targeted program outcomes occur and contribute to the
organization’s highest-level result (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Organizational Purpose, Need and Expectations
The mission of Corporation Next is to bring smart technology to everyone. Corporation
Next is working hard to close the representation gap and make changes to increase the number of
Black women and other underrepresented minorities on SLTs and ELTs. Corporation Next
works to create a diverse workforce that follows the company’s guiding values. The organization
also strives to create an inclusive work environment fostering diversity.
Corporation Next has an overall global goal to increase the percentage of Black women
and other underrepresented minorities on SLTs and ELTs by the end of 2020. Since 2015,
Corporation Next continued to reduce the gap to full representation in their U.S. workforce. The

106
purpose of this promising practice study is to develop recommendations in the areas of
knowledge, motivation, and organizational resources that can help close the representation gap in
leadership at other organizations.
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators
Level 4 results are the degree to which targeted outcomes occur as a result of the
training. Level 4 is some combination of organizational purpose and mission, combined with the
financial reality of sustained existence and success (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Using
leading indicators to bridge the gap between organizational results and individual initiatives is
recommended by Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016). Leading indicators are short-term
observations used to predict what critical behaviors are forecasted to produce favorable impacts
on performance results (Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick, 2016). Table 11 indicates the internal and
external leading indicators accompanied by the metrics and methods to track to the degree at
which Corporation Next is achieving the goal of closing the representation gap on the SLTs and
ELTs.
Table 11
Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes
Outcome Metric(s) Method(s)
External Outcomes
Increase the number of
diverse candidates hired
into leadership positions.
Percentage of URM hires,
publish numbers publicly.
Results reported in a quarterly
hiring report.
Increase Corporation Next
presence at diversity
recruiting events and
HBCU.
Percentage of recruits attended. Results reported in a quarterly
hiring report.

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Table 11, continued
Outcome Metric(s) Method(s)
Internal Outcomes
All employees on board
with the mission and goal
to want to help recruit
diverse candidates in
leadership and at all
levels.
Attach incentives for all levels
of diverse recruiting (bonus
when goals are hit). One bonus
per quarter based on individual
goals.
Employee survey results.
Increase the number of
Employee Resource
Groups.
Number of groups added each
year.
Employee survey results.
Increase diversity events
held by each group to
involve the entire
company.

Increase the number of events
each year.

Employee survey results.

Level 3: Behavior
Critical behaviors. Level 3 is described as the degree to which participants apply what
they have learned during training when they are back on the job. The New World Level 3
Behavior consists of critical behaviors, required drivers, and on-the-job learning (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016). Critical behaviors are the few, specific actions, which, if performed
consistently on the job, will have the biggest impact on desired results (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016). In this study, talent acquisition managers are expected to implement training
and specific strategies for diverse recruiting in order to attain the goal of closing the
representation gap on SLTs and ELTs within the Corporation Next leadership teams. Table 12
shows the critical behaviors, metrics, methods, and timing needed to be implemented.

108
Table 12
Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation
Critical Behavior Metric(s)
Method(s)
Timing
1.Engage role models
from the top, talent
acquisition managers
identify and match
potential candidates
with diverse leadership
in a mentor/mentee
relationship.
Two meetings
dedicated to matching
candidates or new
hires with top diverse
execs.
Review of leadership
execs and compliments to
new hires/candidates.
Quarterly
2.Work to change the
culture: produce
awareness of
difference in thought
of different types of
people and the value
add to the company.
Create cultural events
for all employees to
partake in to encourage
knowledge transfer of
diverse backgrounds.
(F,P)
Presentations of
different backgrounds
and cultural diversity
days to learn about all
of the represented
groups in the
company. One
presentation per
quarter.
List of employees that
have engaged in the
diversity events.
Quarterly
3. Talent acquisition
managers need to
consistently hit the
targeted goals of URM
hires company-wide
and in leadership.
Address any goals that
are not being
consistently hit and
reevaluate metrics if
needed.
Reward meeting
specific goals that get
closer to closing the
representation gap in
diverse leadership
teams within the
company. (Cultural
Model)
Run a quarterly report
to ensure that goals are
being met.
Run reports and data based
on hires and their ethnicity
backgrounds (those that
self-identify as an URM).
Quarterly

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Required drivers. Required drivers are processes and systems that reinforce, monitor,
encourage, and reward performance of critical behaviors on the job (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick,
2016). Required drivers are the key to accomplishing the desired on-the-job application of what
is learned during the training. According to Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016), common
examples of required drivers include job aids, coaching, work review, pay-for-performance
systems, and recognition of a job well done. Table 13 shows the required drivers needed.
Table 13
Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors
Method(s) Timing
Critical Behaviors Supported
1, 2, 3 Etc.
Reinforcing
Training: Discuss Diversity and
Inclusion strategies and
knowledge.
Quarterly 1,4
Shadowing: Establish an
opportunity for shadowing and
Q&A so other employees can
understand what other
departments and people at the
company are working on and
how they think about and go
about the work that they are
doing.
Monthly 2
Practice: Conduct interviews and
receive feedback.
Monthly 2
Job Aid: Step-by-step guide for
recruitment fair process
Quarterly 2,3
Encouraging
Presentation to provide examples
of successful URMs in SLT
roles. Provide steps to take
towards advancement into SLT
roles. Individual departments
highlight the success of URM
impact on the company.
Quarterly 1,2,4

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Table 13, continued
Method(s) Timing
Critical Behaviors Supported
1, 2, 3 Etc.
Encouraging
Show desired outcomes of
closing the representation gap
Quarterly 3
Goal-setting: Hiring managers
set achievable goals and weekly
milestones.
Weekly 1

Rewarding
Public acknowledgement:
provide public, company-wide
recognition of an URM leader
and what they have contributed
to the company.
Quarterly 4
Performance Incentive: provide
incentives for talent acquisition
managers with the most URM
leadership hires that are with the
company for 90+ days.
Ongoing 4
Monitoring
Consistent review of data to
ensure the representation gap is
closing and meeting the goal of
the market value set by senior
leadership.
Quarterly 1,3
Information Sharing: Leadership
to provide access on hiring stats
as well as information on the
accomplishments of the
diversified teams.
Quarterly 1
Implementation of new policies:
announce company goals for
potential rewards for closing the
representation gap.
Quarterly 2
New Programming: Implement
new cultural/diversity days for
employees to learn about the
different diverse cultures within
the company.
Monthly 3
Form Diversity Committee:
support the company committee
to diversify at all levels
Quarterly 4

Organizational support. In order for Corporation Next to meet their goal of closing the
representation gap in leadership, talent acquisition managers will need to ensure that all critical

111
behaviors are met in a timely and well-organized fashion. Corporation Next will need to allocate
resources and time in order to implement the organizational change plan. Senior leadership will
need to ensure that time is built into quarterly and monthly schedules to allow for the
recommended mentorship meetings and cultural events to occur. Additionally, organizational
policies and operations need to be realigned in order to prioritize and enforce the importance of
these activities. The formation of a diversity committee to support the organization’s
commitment of ensuring high-level positions represent diversity, equity, and inclusion to
strengthen cultural beliefs in the diversity of hiring will be a key addition to accomplishing the
organization’s goal.
Level 2: Learning
Learning goals. Learning is the degree to which participants acquire the intended
knowledge, skills, attitude, confidence, and commitment based on their participation in the
training (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). After completing the recommended solutions, Talent
acquisition managers at Corporation Next should be able to:
Knowledge:
1. Indicate information on company history, annual reporting numbers, and
company goals and expectations. (F)
2. Apply steps from job aids and training on how to and where to recruit diverse
candidates for SLT and ELT roles. (P)
3. Provide examples of successful URMs in leadership roles in the company and
match them with new URM hires to start a mentor/mentee relationship. (P)
Motivation:
4. Indicate confidence that the company can recruit and hire diverse talent in SLT
and ELT roles. (Collective-efficacy)

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Organization:
5. Implement human resource management and hiring policies that reinforce
diversity. (Cultural Setting)
Program. The learning goals in the above section will be achieved through training and
development that will increase the knowledge and motivation of talent acquisition managers to
close the representation gap of URMs on SLTs and ELTs at Corporation Next. Talent acquisition
managers will begin by identifying URM executive leaders that want to participate in a
mentorship program. All SLT and ELT leaders will be sent a survey asking if they would like to
participate. Once they have self-identified as an URM that would like to participate in the
program, the talent acquisition managers will begin their process to match the executive with
new URM hires based on their department of hire.
The mentor program will be ongoing and will meet either in person or face-to-face via
video conference at a minimum of once per quarter. During the mentor sessions, which would be
grounded in research and application from previous studies, the conversation will start with basic
training discussing diversity and inclusion training and knowledge. The mentees will be provided
with electronic job aids that lay out step-by-step processes for diversity recruiting. They will also
have the opportunity to shadow their mentor during recruitment fairs and events and be given the
opportunity to interview candidates and receive immediate feedback on their performance from
the senior talent acquisition managers.
Evaluation of the components of learning. Evaluation of learning at Level 2 involves
summative and formative feedback on the training of the new development of knowledge and
skills (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Table 14 summarizes strategies for Level 2 evaluation
and the timing of completion for each activity.

113
Table 14
Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program
Method(s) or Activity(ies) Timing
Declarative Knowledge “I know it.”
Knowledge evaluations during trainings During
Evaluations After
Survey After
Procedural Skills “I can do it right now.”
Participants share feedback during training During and After
Group activities to check understanding During
Survey After
Attitude “I believe this is worthwhile.”
Temp checks: discussion of how the training or
activity is going for them.
During
Survey After
Confidence “I think I can do it on the job.”
Survey Before and After
Feedback During and after
Commitment “I will do it on the job.”
Discussion on follow-up and feedback During and After
Pre and post survey Before and After
Creation of an action plan During

Level 1: Reaction
Level 1: Reaction is the degree to which participants find the training favorable,
engaging, and relevant to their jobs (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). It is also necessary to
incorporate formative evaluation methods to obtain confirmation of the quality and relevance of
the implementation of the training and the program. Table 15 lists the timing of methods used to
measure the reaction of the evaluation activities.

114
Table 15
Components to Measure Reactions to the Program
Method(s) or Tool(s) Timing
Engagement
Feedback survey After each mentor session/training
Observation and immediate feedback During the session/training
Monitor recurring attendance Ongoing: during and throughout
Course evaluation End of each quarter
Relevance
Quick check-ins/pulse check (online and in
person)
During and After
Feedback survey After
Customer Satisfaction
Survey Immediately After
Overall course evaluation A week after

Evaluation Tools
Immediately following the program implementation. Both the mentors and the
mentees will be asked to evaluate the impact the program had on their knowledge, motivation,
and participation within the organization. Level 1 will be assessed by feedback surveys that will
be completed after each mentoring session, observations and immediate feedback during the
sessions, quick check-ins online and/or in person during the duration of the program, and an
overall course evaluation one week after the end of the mentoring program.
Delayed for a period after the program implementation. One month after the first
mentoring session, both the mentor and mentee will be sent a delayed evaluation survey of the
program. The survey will consist of Likert-scale and open-ended questions to assess Level 1
(reaction), Level 2 (learning), Level 3 (behavior), and Level 4 (results). The evaluation survey
will be presented in Appendix B and Appendix C.

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Data Analysis and Reporting
The administrator of the evaluations will collect the responses from the surveys and use
the data collected to make changes/improvements to the mentor program as needed. The
administrator of the surveys will also be responsible for continuous follow-up to ensure they are
being done and handed in. The survey should be administered one month after each new
mentor/mentee pair begin their work together. Each year, the administrator should compile and
analyze the data that were collected in order to measure the impact that the mentees have gained
as well as track their progression within the ranks of the company.
Summary
The implementation and evaluation plan for this study was designed using the 2016 New
World Kirkpatrick Model. The plan identifies and addresses internal and external outcomes,
metrics, and methods to measure the desired outcomes. Level 3 explored critical behaviors that
the talent acquisition managers need in order to perform and measure behaviors. Level 2 focused
on the outcomes of the training that the talent acquisition managers must learn as they move
through the program in order to become successful at diverse recruiting. Level 1 explores the
reaction that the participants found the training favorable, engaging, and relevant to their jobs.
The implementation of the program will allow Corporation Next to consistently monitor changes
and the impact over time and allow leaders to adjust the training that will allow talent acquisition
managers to better recruit diversely and close the representation gap.
Limitations and Delimitation
Limitations and delimitations were present during this study. Limitations refer to
influences that are not in the researcher’s control (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Limitations of this

116
study included the small sample size. The main source of the data collected was interviews. Ten
participants were asked to volunteer for the study and all 10 participated.
Part of the limitation with the small sample size was that it did not represent the entire
department. Additionally, the participants may not have fully engaged by answering honestly and
with full transparency due to the subject matter, limiting generalizations from the data.
Delimitations refer to certain boundaries that the researcher has set for the study
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Talent acquisition managers were the only stakeholder group
consulted during the study. Therefore, only one department that works on diversity hiring gave
their thoughts and opinions towards the study and questions asked. Had there been a wider range
of participants representing various titles and roles within the company, a more comprehensive
look into diversity hiring practices could have been shared with the researcher. Additionally, the
researcher chose to follow a scripted interview design which did not leave any space for anything
else that the participants may have felt relevant to share with the researcher.
Future Research
Future research will need to be conducted by other organizations if they wish to
implement sustainable practices surrounding diversity hiring and creating diverse workforces and
leadership teams. Research will help organizations see the value of diverse leadership teams and
the benefits that can come to the company for implementing such a change. More research and
implementation of diverse hiring practices can help relieve and solve the problem of having
disproportionately low numbers of URM employees in leadership and allow minority retention
rates in companies to thrive and thus begin to reverse the decline evident in current data.
For Corporation Next, although the research shows numbers to be thriving year-over-year
when it comes to diversity hiring, there are still some areas that need more attention in order to

117
maintain their commitment to diverse hiring and increase growth of their URM leaders. Further
research on how to continue to enable concentration on diversifying leadership from the top
down would be an ideal place for the organization to focus their efforts. While this study solely
focused on the talent acquisition managers, future research should include all stakeholders that
play a role in hiring diverse employees so that the range of thought and implementation can
engulf a larger perspective and a larger pool of recommendations and practices to be
implemented in the hiring process.
Conclusion
This promising practice study found 11 out of 12 knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences to be validated as an asset to the company. These influences were
validated by interview data collected from the stakeholder group and triangulated with document
analysis. These validated influences show that each of these influences played a role in creating
and continuing the practice of closing the Black female and URM representation gap in senior
and executive roles at Corporation Next. A mentorship program was recommended to continue
the momentum of diversity hiring practices and will hopefully lead to closing the gap completely
in the upcoming years.
Corporation Next is ready to continue making significant change. They are setting the
example for corporate America to take charge and embrace diversity in leadership and in the
overall American workforce. Diversity needs to be at the forefront of our economic spaces and
needs to become the norm rather than the exception. This research revealed many barriers to the
advancement of Black women and other underrepresented minorities. It is time to do the work to
remove those barriers and create a space of equality in the US workforce where leaders can be
appointed based on their skills, and not judged by the color of their skin.

118
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127
APPENDIX A
Interview Protocol
Assumed Knowledge Influence Interview Questions
Talent acquisition managers
need to know the number of
URM leaders in certain
positions on the leadership
teams.
Factual In the last 2 years, what is the
percentage increase in
diverse hiring on leadership
teams?

Talent acquisition managers
need to know how to
evaluate and reflect on the
importance and the impact of
diversity and equal
representation on their SLTs
and ELTs.
Metacognitive How would you evaluate
your impact of diverse hiring
on the culture of your
company?

Talent acquisition managers
need to know how to identify
and reflect on potential
barriers for URM
advancement to leadership
roles within Corporation
Next.

Metacognitive What do you feel has
contributed to the
disproportionately low
number of Black women and
other underrepresented
minorities on the SLTs and
ELTs in the tech space?

Probe question: Who has
benefited the most from the
impact of your recruiting
efforts?

Probe question #2: What do
you feel has contributed to
the impact?
Talent acquisition managers
need to know how, including
where to recruit and find
candidates for senior and
executive leadership roles
that satisfy the Black female
and underrepresented
minority population.
Procedural What are some recruitment
tactics that you use to attract
diverse talent?

Probe question: Of those
tactics, which one is the best
at recruiting diverse talent?

How do you know these
specific outlets will produce
a diverse recruitment pool?

128
What recruiting tools do you
use?

Can you explain the criteria
you used to pick those
recruiting tools?

Probe question: What
specific hiring channels are
used to ensure equal
representation of candidates
are presented for a SLT or
ELT role?

Can you explain a time when
you used your recruiting
tools to recruit diversely?

Walk me through the steps
you use to find diverse
candidates.

Assumed Motivation Influences Interview Questions
Self-Efficacy: Talent acquisition managers
need to believe they are able to find and
recruit diverse talent for SLTs and ELTs.
How confident are you when it comes to
having the motivation to hire diversely?

Tell me about a time when you were
confident in your ability to find and recruit
diverse leadership talent?

Probe question: What impact did that
outcome have on your overall long-term
confidence in continually being able to recruit
diversely?
Collective-Efficacy: Stakeholders, as a team,
need to feel confident in the company that
they can hire diverse talent in leadership
roles.
What is the level of confidence that you
believe the hiring managers have in the talent
acquisition managers as a team when it comes
to how motivated they are to commit to a
diverse work environment?

Expectancy-Value: Talent acquisition
managers need to believe in the likelihood to
achieve the desired goal of closing the
How likely do you think it is to close the
representation gap in leadership within 5 of
years?

129
representation gap in SLT and ELT hiring and
that it will have a successful outcome.

How confident are you in identifying the right
hiring firms to fill senior and executive SELF
leadership positions with Black women and
other underrepresented minorities?

Probe question: Do you feel that your
leadership team is diverse or equally
represented by all ethnic backgrounds?
Utility Value: Talent acquisition managers
need to feel diverse hiring has high value for
the success of individuals as well as the
company.
What value do you feel diverse hiring in
leadership brings to the organization and the
individuals within the organization?

Probe question: How do you feel about the
strength of diversity hiring practices and the
opportunities for those underrepresented
minorities to advance within your
organization?
Assumed Organizational influences Interview Questions
Cultural Model Influence 1:
The organization needs a culture of
acceptance or willingness to focus on
diversity hiring on SLTs and ELTs.

As a talent acquisition manager, how
committed are you to the diversification of the
SLTs and ELTs?

Cultural Model Influence 2: The organization
needs a belief in cultural diversity in the
organization as a whole at all levels from
entry level positions all the way up to SLTs
and ELTs.

As a talent acquisition manager, do you
believe that diversifying the organization at
all levels will be good for company culture?
Do you believe that will even make an
impact?

Probe question: What are some ways the
organization currently incorporates diversity
at all levels of the company?
Cultural Setting Influence 1:
The organization needs to support diverse
hiring of the SLTs and ELTs.

How supportive do you feel your organization
is with diversifying at the senior and
executive leadership level?

Probe question: What does diversity in an
organization mean to you?
Cultural Setting Influence 2:
The organization needs human resources
management and hiring policies which promote
diversity.

How impactful do you feel the
implementation of diversity efforts has been
on the culture of the company thus far?

130
APPENDIX B
Delayed Survey Following Mentorship Program- Mentee
Please select the response that best correlates to your experience. There will be two open-ended
questions at the end:
5- Strongly Agree
4- Agree
3- Neutral
2- Disagree
1- Strongly Disagree
1. The program was engaging. 5| 4| 3| 2| 1
2. The program meeting frequency was sufficient. 5| 4| 3| 2| 1
3. You learned something new from your mentor. 5| 4| 3| 2| 1
4. Your mentor provided you with job aids and training that help you with your day-to-day
responsibilities. 5| 4| 3| 2| 1
5. You found shadowing at events beneficial to your development. 5| 4| 3| 2| 1
6. The program was useful. 5| 4| 3| 2| 1
7. You liked the structure of the program. 5| 4| 3| 2| 1
8. You feel that you can go to your mentor for help and guidance at work. 5| 4| 3| 2| 1
9. What did you like most about the program?
10. What if anything can be improved/implemented/removed from the program?

131
APPENDIX C
Delayed Survey Following Mentorship Program- Mentor
Please select the response that best correlates to your experience. There will be two open-ended
questions at the end:
5- Strongly Agree
4- Agree
3- Neutral
2- Disagree
1- Strongly Disagree
11. The program was engaging. 5| 4| 3| 2| 1
12. The program meeting frequency was sufficient. 5| 4| 3| 2| 1
13. You taught your mentee something new. 5| 4| 3| 2| 1
14. You provided your mentee with job aids and training that will help them with their day-
to-day responsibilities. 5| 4| 3| 2| 1
15. You found shadowing at events beneficial for your mentee’s development. 5| 4| 3| 2| 1
16. The program was useful. 5| 4| 3| 2| 1
17. You liked the structure of the program. 5| 4| 3| 2| 1
18. You feel that your mentee feels comfortable coming to you for help and guidance at
work. 5| 4| 3| 2| 1
19. What did you like most about the program?
20. What if anything can be improved/implemented/removed from the program?

Abstract (if available)

Abstract There is a disproportionately low number of individuals of color, specifically the larger problem of Black women serving on public companies’ senior leadership teams (SLTs) and executive leadership teams (ELTs

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Examining the underrepresentation of African Americans in the Senior Executive Service within the United States federal government’s civilian workforce

Asset Metadata

Creator Babarinsa, Omolara (author)

Core Title Barriers to the advancement of Black women and other underrepresented minorities on senior and executive leadership teams: a promising practice study

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Publication Date 07/19/2020

Defense Date 06/16/2020

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag barriers to advancement,diversity,OAI-PMH Harvest,senior leadership teams,underrepresented minorities

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Ott, Maria (committee chair), Bewley, William (committee member), Datta, Monique (committee member)

Creator Email larababarinsa@gmail.com,larababarinsa@yahoo.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-335889

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