Women hit the Black ceiling
For decades, Black women have been underestimated and overlooked at the nexus of money and power in corporate America. Ellen McGirt, senior editor and author of Fortune magazine’s Race Ahead column, calls these entrenched patterns of discrimination and exclusion that obstruct Black women s careers the Black ceiling.”
Ursula Burns, the former CEO of Xerox, was the first and only Black woman to run a Fortune 500 company. Today, none of the four Black CEOs running Fortune 500 companies is a woman.
Of the 279 most powerful executives listed in the regulatory filings of the nation’s 50 largest companies, only three, or 1%, are Black women, and that includes one executive who recently retired, according to a USA TODAY analysis.
Will Vice President Kamala Harris change how corporate America sees and treats Black women? Jessica Guynn and Charisse Jones, USA TODAY
Kamala Harris has made history as the first woman elected to be vice president in the US
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Wearing a suffragette white suit and pearls in Wilmington, Delaware, Kamala Harris sent a poignant message to Black and brown women and girls in her first speech as vice president-elect.
“While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last,” Harris, the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, said during her victory remarks on Nov. 7. “Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.”
Corporations Still Behind on Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.
Jan 18, 2021
While Martin Luther King, Jr. is most known for his leadership on securing civil rights, he was also passionate in his fight for economic justice. His stance on economic issues was summed up in one of the last speeches before his death, during which he said, “It is criminal to have people working on a full-time basis and a full-time job getting part-time income.”
Over the past year, no shortage of companies have pledged their alignment with economic and racial justice as the Black Lives Matter movement channeled the passion of millions of Americans. The events of the last two weeks, however, illustrated that many of these companies’ deeds fell far short of meeting their words.
Look to the Stars
December 18, 2020
Fifteen-time Grammy-award winner Alicia Keys joined a power-packed lineup today in delivering a message of hope and unity at the Massachusetts Conference for Women.
The virtual event, organized around the theme “Power by Purpose: Achieving Equity for All,” attracted an estimated 17,000 people at a time when the nation faces twin economic and health crises and a pivotal reckoning on racial injustice.
“What this year has taught me is how important it is to slow down and appreciate the moment and each other,” Keys said in a conversation with Ellen McGirt, a senior editor at Fortune. “This is a new time. It’s a time to reach out for what we want. It’s time to collect our blessings.”
Alicia Keys and Awkwafina keynote at Mass. Conference for Women
This yearâs event introduced a programming track devoted to racial equity and inclusion alongside its customary sessions on leadership and career advancement.
By A.Z. Madonna Globe Staff,Updated December 11, 2020, 2:14 p.m.
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Alicia Keys (left) and AwkafinaAP photos
The Massachusetts Conference for Women moved online this year, but that didnât stop around 17,000 people from signing up to spend the day on Thursday listening, networking, and learning. And this year, registrants could (and did) participate from anywhere in the world. As programming kicked off, the live chat box filled with greetings from everywhere from Boston and its surroundings to Denmark, Austria, and Poland.