Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
Whose meritocracy is it, anyway?
Diversity & Inclusion | Retail
August 18, 2021 – “Black is cool now, but what if in a few years racial equity is not at the top of my employer’s concerns? Will they tell me that I can go now?” Many Black employees believe that the moves companies are taking will not result in permanent change. Black students agreed, saying that Black culture is trendy right now; their view is that brands are trying to capitalize on these trends. These students have real concerns about entering the fashion industry during this moment.
To explore the interactive, see “Voices and viewpoints of fashion students and emerging designers,” July 20, 2021.
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Visual form
Two-panel icon-array comparison chart.
Layout / body structure
The chart is split into two side-by-side panels, each containing a white-employee group and a Black-employee group. Read the left panel first for reported improvement in racial or ethnic diversity, equity, and inclusion, then move to the right panel for beliefs about whether the best opportunities go to the most deserving employees.
What is being compared
The chart compares white employees and Black employees across two workplace-perception questions: whether DEI has improved at their organization and whether the best opportunities go to the most deserving employees.
Measurement system
Each group is shown as a 100-person-style icon array, with the large number above the icons giving the exact percent. Colored figures mark the reported share and gray figures mark the remainder.
Visible structure inside the graphic
The left panel contains two icon blocks under the headline about improved racial or ethnic diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the right panel mirrors that layout under the headline about opportunity and merit. The white-employee groups sit on the left side of each panel, the Black-employee groups on the right, and each block fills only part of the field with colored icons to show the share visually.
Main takeaway from the visual
Black employees report less confidence than white employees on both questions, and the gap is visible in both panels rather than in only one measure. The shorter blue block for Black employees on the right side of each panel makes the confidence shortfall immediately visible.
Key standout values or extremes
On the DEI-improvement question, 77 percent of white employees report improvement versus 57 percent of Black employees, a 20-point gap. On the meritocracy question, 62 percent of white employees say the best opportunities go to the most deserving employees, compared with 47 percent of Black employees, a 15-point gap.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
This is a static chart image with no in-chart controls to operate.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the chart image is the full visual on this page.