Hollywood has seen an exodus in recent weeks of senior-level Black women leaving their jobs, and it could feed into a wider problem for diversity, equity and inclusion across the industry. Many of the women led #DEI initiatives, including Karen Horne, senior vice president of North America DEI at Warner Bros. Discovery ; Jeanell English, executive vice president of impact and inclusion at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ; Vernā Myers, Netflix 's first head of inclusion; and Latondra Newton, Disney's chief diversity officer and senior vice president. Additionally, Terra Potts, executive VP of worldwide marketing at Warner Bros. Multiple sources say the exits are being prompted by a mixture of frustrations over a lack of financial support and resources, unnecessary roadblocks that prevent these executives from having a meaningful impact and more importantly, an overwhelming cultural exhaustion that has plagued Black leaders. Industry sources have told Variety that more Black, Indigenous and executives of color are expected to leave or be let go in the coming weeks. Diversity work in Corporate America can itself be a recipe for burnout: Oftentimes, marginalized workers are the ones who are most invested in making workplaces more equitable, and so they're tasked with addressing discrimination and biases that have long been built into their environments. These efforts aren't always prioritized or well-funded, and pressures have only gotten worse in recent years. "DEI leaders are facing extreme fatigue and burnout," says Chandra Robinson. Half of DEI leaders say their biggest challenge is when other leaders fail to take ownership for driving diversity outcomes, and one-third say they have limited power to effectively drive change. Meaningful and lasting progress won't come until workplaces adequately support women, and Black women in particular, to succeed in positions of leadership. Black women are more likely than women overall to aspire to executive roles, according to the joint Lean In and McKinsey "Women in the Workplace" report. The report reveals that only one in four C-suite leaders is a woman, and only one in 20 (5%) is a woman of color. Many report not only wanting to drive business results, but also to make the workplace better for everyone, Rachel Schall Thomas, co-founder and CEO of LeanIn.org. “Black women are not allowed to be difficult, vulnerable, weak or challenging. We must be perfect, have unlimited understanding, and continuously validate a white person’s guilt and empty gestures on how we’re fixing things.” - One former studio executive Black women leaders are more likely to be undermined at work, and 1 in 3 Black women leaders says they've been denied or passed over for opportunities because of personal characteristics, including their race and gender. "Any Black woman who leaves is a wake-up call that we need to do more and we need to do better," Thomas says.
Emilie Dubé
1y
I believe them
CHRO | WXN Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winner | Board Member | ~20 years experience | Purpose-driven | I help organizations stay human
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