McKinsey's Race in the Workplace report 2021 is one of the most comprehensive benchmark studies of Black Americans in the US private sector. It highlights the complexity of the challenge for Black workers by examining Black worker representation and experience.

1. CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY
Any use of this material without specific permission of McKinsey & Company
is strictly prohibited
Race in the workplace:
The Black experience in
the U.S. private sector
22 February 2021
Copyright © 2021 McKinsey & Company. All Right Reserved.

2. McKinsey & Company 2
Introductions
Moderator
Gayatri Agnew
Senior Director
Walmart Foundation
James Manyika
Chair and Director, McKinsey Global Institute
Senior Partner
McKinsey & Company
Lareina Yee
Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer
Senior Partner
McKinsey & Company
Mahlet Getachew
Managing Director, Corporate
Racial Equity & Legal
PolicyLink
Carlos Rangel
Vice President and Chief
Investment Officer
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Rick Tetzeli
Editorial Director
McKinsey Quarterly
Amy Goldfinger
Senior Vice President, Talent
Development
Walmart

3. McKinsey & Company 3
The basis of our research
perspective
Part 1: US private sector Part 2: Participating companies
Analysis of Black employee representation,
advancement, and inclusion
25k
Employees provided
responses to the Employee
Experience Survey which
includes McKinsey’s
Inclusion Assessment
50+
Black employees
participated in 90-
minute focus groups
24
Large companies in the
U.S. private sector
participated in this research
3.7M+
People employed by
participating
companies
Data sources include:
 Bureau of Labor Statistics – Occupational Employment Statistics
(OES) and Current Population Survey (CPS), 2019
 US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EEO-1 data, 2018
 The US Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), 2019
Comprehensive benchmark analysis of Black
workers in the US private sector that analyzes:
125M
Total workers in
the US private
sector
15M
Black workers in
the US private
sector (12%
representation)
~3k
All counties
across the United
States

4. McKinsey & Company 4
On the current trajectory, it will take
about 95 years for Black employees to
reach talent parity across all levels in
the private sector1
1. Talent parity = 12% Black representation as calculated for the entire US private sector; if the average promotion, attrition, and external hiring rates across the participating companies remain the same for all races, it would take about 95 years
for managerial jobs (managers, senior managers, VPs, SVPs, and executives) to reach 12% Black representation overall.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics, 2019; US Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2019; Moody’s Analytics; Race in the Workplace 2021 Participating
Company data set (representation, promotion, attrition, and hiring rates calculated as an unweighted average across companies in the data set

5. McKinsey & Company 5
Higher unemployment among Black workers
compared with other workers
Geographic mismatches between Black
workers and opportunity
Underrepresentation of Black workers in faster-
growing, higher-wage industries
Underrepresentation of Black workers in higher-
wage jobs
Underrepresentation of Black workers in the
most in-demand jobs
The disproportionate impact of technology and
future of work trends on Black workers
A double broken rung with lower odds of
advancement and higher attrition for frontline
and entry-level jobs
Low Black representation in the executive
levels
A trust deficit among Black employees toward
their company
Lack of managerial sponsorship and allyship
for Black employees
Ten key challenges to create opportunities for Black workers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

6. McKinsey & Company 6
1. Higher unemployment among Black
workers compared with other workers
19.4M
20.0M
93.9%
Black labor force
employment rate, 2019
Total Black
employment, 2019
Black employment
if at parity to rest
of labor force
Black employment
gap
96.7%
Rest of labor force
employment rate, 2019
Black employment
# of Black workers
Circumstances with the largest gap for
Black employment rates
 Age
 Education attainment
 Previous incarceration
Public
sector share1
Closing the employment
gap would result in
480,000
more Black workers in
the private sector
0.5M
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey and Occupational Employment Statistics, 2019; US Census Bureau American Community
Survey, 2019
1. Total employment gap for the Black labor force (93.9%) in 2019 relative to the rest
of the labor force (96.7%) is about 565,000 workers, of which about 85,000 are
public sector and about 480,000 are private sector (based on a 14.6%-85.4% split)

7. McKinsey & Company 7
2a. Geographic mismatches between Black
workers and opportunity
Concentration of Black labor force, % share of total1
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics, 2019; US Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2019; Moody’s Analytics
Almost 60%
of the Black labor force (11.8M
people) live in the South,
compared to 1/3 of the rest of
the private sectors
Efforts to improve Black
employment rates can have an
outsize impact if focused on
these states
1. Percentages do not sum up to 100% due to rounding
AR

8. McKinsey & Company 8
2b. Geographic mismatches between Black
workers and opportunity
Projected net job growth by community
archetype, 2017-2030
%, example communities in italics
Black representation gap1,
2019
%
Top 3 highest growth
Black private sector
workers, 2019
million
4.8M
2.7M
2.6M
0.6M
0.2M
1.2M
0.1M
0.5M
0.2M
0.9M
1.0M
0.4M
<0.1M
13%
8%
11%
-3%
6%
15%
11%
1%
9%
17%
8%
15%
3%
Urban periphery
Clayton County, GA
Trailing cities
Warner Robins, GA
Stable cities
Detroit, MI
Megacities
Chicago, IL
Distressed Americana
Coahoma County, MS
Silver cities
Prescott, AZ
College-centric towns
South Bend, IN
Americana
Findlay, OH
Independent economies
Harrisburg, PA
High growth hubs
Seattle, WA
America’s makers
Wichita, KS
Small powerhouses
Bend, OR
Rural outliers
Eureka County, NV
2.8%
2.6%
2.1%
1.9%
-1.3%
-1.8%
-1.9%
-2.7%
-2.9%
-3.0%
-3.2%
-6.5%
-6.7%
Fewer than
1 in 10
Black workers live in
the counties with the
highest projected job
growth
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics, 2019; US Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2019; Moody’s Analytics; The future of work
in America: People and places, today and tomorrow

9. McKinsey & Company 9
3. Underrepresentation of Black workers in
faster-growing, higher-wage industries
Industries by Black representation
% of Black workers, 2019
Overrepresented
industries
8 most
underrepresented
industries
Average Black
private sector
representation
= 12%
15.4%
15.3%
14.7%
12.7%
12.7%
12.7%
12.2%
9.9%
9.8%
9.6%
9.0%
8.9%
8.5%
7.5%
6.5%
Healthcare
Professional services
Finance
Personal services
Transportation
Retail
Administrative
Accom. & food service
Education
Arts, entertainment, & rec
Management
Utilities
Information
Construction
Mining
Workers making
>$30k/year, %
71%
81%
67%
36%
40%
21%
53%
95%
93%
94%
95%
95%
92%
97%
96%
Nearly 50% of all
Black workers work in
3 industries:
• Healthcare
• Retail
• Accommodations
and Food Service
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics, 2019; US Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2019; Moody’s Analytics
Bold indicates top 3 industries by Black
worker concentration1
1. 3.1M Black workers in Healthcare (21% of all Black workers across industries), 1.9M Black workers in Retail (13%), 1.7M in Accom. and Food Service (12%)

10. McKinsey & Company 10
4 | 5. Underrepresentation of Black workers in
the higher-wage and most in-demand jobs
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics, 2019; US Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2019; Moody’s Analytics
1. ManpowerGroup Talent Shortage Survey, 2020: Skilled Trades, IT, STEM, Accounting and Finance, and Construction are among the top "hardest roles to fill"
25.2%
17.5%
13.0%
12.5%
12.1%
10.9%
10.8%
9.5%
9.0%
7.4%
6.6%
6.5%
6.2%
6.2%
5.8%
5.0%
Sales and Related
Healthcare Support
Transportation and Material Moving
Legal
Educational Instruction and Library
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Computer and Mathematical
Business and Financial Operations
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Management
Construction and Extraction
Food Preparation and Serving Related
Architecture and Engineering
Office and Administrative Support
Production
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Overrepresented
occupation groups
with 1M+ Black
workers
Underrepresented
occupation groups
Mean annual
wage
$28k
$38k
$41k
$27k
$40k
$84k
$43k
$58k
$78k
$94k
$62k
$110k
$76k
$122k
$53k
$89k
Black worker representation by occupational group
%, 2019
If workers were
equally represented in
jobs across wage
levels, an additional
2 million
Black workers would
make $30,000 per
year or more
Bold indicates most in-demand jobs1

11. McKinsey & Company 11
6. The disproportionate impact of technology
and future of work trends on Black workers
The COVID-19 pandemic
has affected Black workers,
who are likely to work in
high-contact, essential
services, such as
 Psychiatric aides
 Orderlies
 Nursing assistants
 Cooks and restaurant
workers
 Pharmacy aides
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics, 2019; US Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2019; Moody’s Analytics;
The future of work in America: People and places, today and tomorrow; The future of work after COVID-19

12. McKinsey & Company 12
7a. A double broken rung with lower odds of advance-
ment and higher attrition for frontline & entry-level jobs
Representation by role, by race1
% of employees
1 June 2020 snapshot, aggregated data across 23 companies 2 Other employees of color include Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, Indigenous (e.g.,
Aboriginal, First Nation, Native American), and people who identify as two or more races 3 VP = Vice President 4 SVP = Senior Vice President
Average Black
representation
in the private
sector = 12%
Frontline
representation
is higher than
12%; entry-level
is at 12% parity
Source: Race in the Workplace 2021 Participating Company data set, McKinsey analysis (Average representation calculated as an unweighted average of representation by
demographic group at participating companies)
Frontline representa-
tion for Black
employees is higher
than 12%; entry-level
is at 12% parity
Management level
representation range
from 4-7% for Black
employees

13. McKinsey & Company 13
7b. Gender parity is closer for Black employees, with
standout results among managers
Source: Race in the Workplace 2021 Participating Company data set, McKinsey analysis (Average representation calculated as an unweighted average of representation by
demographic group at participating companies)
Black women
represent
45%
of all Black employees,
compared to 34-37%
for all other groups

14. McKinsey & Company 14
8. Low Black representation at the executive
levels
There are
3
current Black CEOs
in Fortune 500
companies, but at
parity, we would
expect to see
60
Potential additional Black CEOs at 12% Black representation
CEOs in the Fortune 5001
1. Black CEOs include: Roz Brewer, Marvin Ellison, Rene Jones. This does not include Ken Frazier and Roger Ferguson, Jr., who announced that they were stepping down in 2021
Source: “Where are the Black CEOs?” Fortune, February 4, 2021, fortune.com; Race in the Workplace 2021 Participating Company data set

15. McKinsey & Company 15
9. A trust deficit between Black employees
and their companies
Key challenge #9
It’s a transactional
trust; we focus on
getting the work done,
but we don’t actually
build genuine
relationships.
% of employees
Agree that employees welcome diverse
perspectives (diversity of thought,
opinions, ideas, etc.)
80%
56%
Black White
Source: Race in the Workplace 2021 Participating Company survey (n = 24,842 employees), McKinsey analysis based on a representative sample of
employees across all demographics at participating companies
% of employees
Agree that employees are treated fairly
I don't share my life,
because I feel that
others are going to
use it against me.
56%
Black
77%
White

16. McKinsey & Company 16
10. Lack of managerial sponsorship and
allyship for Black workers
I find myself lacking in
getting the coaching. There’s
been only one Black leader
who has taken the interest in
my advancement.
I really think a lot of our allies
just really found out what
allyship means this year.
Source: Race in the Workplace 2021 Participating Company survey (n = 24,842 employees), McKinsey analysis based on a representative sample of
employees across all demographics at participating companies
Key challenge #10
87% of companies report
having a sponsorship program
33% of Black employees
report having 1 or more
sponsors
23% of Black
employees feel ‘a lot’ or
‘quite a bit’ of support at
their company to advance
Access to sponsorship / support
% of Black employee respondents

17. McKinsey & Company 17
Companies should take
no-regrets actions internally
Share best practices on
effective programs
Commit to continued
investment and research
Pursue collaborative efforts
to galvanize collection action
1
2
3
4
5
… and collaborate to effect
systems-change externally
Define your company’s aspiration for
advancing racial equity
Understand your company’s current
state of DE&I
Strategically prioritize
interventions
Reinforce what works—and
reimagine what doesn’t
Track progress to increase
accountability

18. McKinsey & Company 18
Addressing the major barriers that
hold back the advancement of Black
employees could cut that duration to
about 25 years.1
1. Talent parity = 12% Black representation as calculated for the entire US private sector; if promotion, attrition, and external hiring rates were best-in-class at each level across the participating companies, it would take about 25 years for
managerial jobs (managers, senior managers, VPs, SVPs, and executives) to reach 12% Black representation overall.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics, 2019; US Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2019; Moody’s Analytics; Race in the Workplace 2021 Participating
Company data set (representation, promotion, attrition, and hiring rates calculated as an unweighted average across companies in the data set

19. Read the full report:
http://www.mckinsey.com/raceintheworkplace