Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Factors Influencing the Advancement Of African American Women In Banking: “Yet None Have Advanced Into The C-Suite Of The Top Four U.S. Banks”

Bishop, Jennifer R
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2323-2942
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=casedm1649807236145307

Abstract Details

2022, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Management.
This research aims to look at the changes and inequities that minority women face in the financial services industry, specifically African American Women in Organizational Leadership. This research focuses on the differences and behavioral impact of these leaders, as well as the lack of representation at the “C-Suite” level, to better understand some of the challenges and barriers they faced that were unique from those faced by their peers, as well as success factors that allowed them to advance to senior-level management positions. Many consumers will unwittingly come across a section titled “Diversity and Inclusion” while browsing the websites of today’s leading banks. Almost every bank in the world has made it a requirement to promote this relatively new policy, which aims to ensure that employees of all genders and backgrounds have an equal chance of being hired and progressing through their organizations in a fair manner. We’ve seen some progress in women’s representation in corporate America over the last five years. Since 2015, the number of women in top leadership positions has increased. This is especially true in the executive suite, where female representation has increased from 17 percent to 21 percent. Although this is a step in the right direction, parity is still a long way off, particularly for women of color, who are underrepresented at all levels. Women’s representation gains will eventually stall unless significant changes are made early in the pipeline. Women have a significantly harder time advancing in their careers than males due to gender bias. Gender bias, on the other hand, isn’t the only roadblock to women’s career advancement. Women whose social identities differ from the dominant workplace expectations—that is, women who are not White—face additional challenges, including navigating more precarious situations, being forced to conform to cultural norms that may contradict their social identities, and encountering biases other than gender biases. In management research, Black women’s distinct and complicated experiences and challenges related to their intersecting marginalized identities have largely been ignored. Although Black women are physically visible in the sense that they are distinct from most of their colleagues, intersectional invisibility research suggests that they can also be invisible—easily overlooked or discounted—because they are non-typical members of their gender and racial identity groups. Even if corporate leaders recognize outstanding minorities, they will be unable to fully help them in their career advancement because the qualified people do not look or act like them. Rather than being allowed to add their unique perspectives, minorities are quietly encouraged to conform to a “pre-defined and dominating corporate culture.” This study is a mixed-methods design comprised of three distinct studies with a focus on the career advancement of African American women in the financial services industry, where the combination of in-depth interviews with African American women in mid-level and senior-level management, including aspects they are using and lived experiences that enabled them to excel with career advancements/promotions with minimal support, and other characteristics that would position them in the succession pipeline leading to the C-Suite level in the banking industry. We expanded the study to include multiple quantitative methods of banking by assessing the impact of several concepts of social capital and social networks on social support for instrumental and emotional reasons, perceived organizational justice, and how African American women in banking use resiliency to gain more visibility, which leads to job satisfaction, motivation for career advancement, and career advancement that will answer the research question: What factors influence African American Women’s career advancement to the C-Suite level in banking? Furthermore, this study fills a knowledge gap by investigating how these individual and organizational characteristics influence female leadership ideas and antecedents that can assist African American women in advancing in their careers. These findings have the potential to assist businesses in preparing more African American women for senior and executive positions.
Diana Bilimoria (Committee Chair)
Yolanda Freeman-Hildreth (Committee Member)
Corinne Coen (Committee Member)
Paul Salipante (Committee Member)
344 p.
African American Studies; Management; Womens Studies
Career advancement; career satisfaction; African American women; gender diversity and inclusion; resiliency; glass ceiling; social capital; visibility; organizational justice; sponsorship; banking.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Bishop, J. R. (2022). Factors Influencing the Advancement Of African American Women In Banking: “Yet None Have Advanced Into The C-Suite Of The Top Four U.S. Banks” [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=casedm1649807236145307

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Bishop, Jennifer. Factors Influencing the Advancement Of African American Women In Banking: “Yet None Have Advanced Into The C-Suite Of The Top Four U.S. Banks” . 2022. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=casedm1649807236145307.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Bishop, Jennifer. "Factors Influencing the Advancement Of African American Women In Banking: “Yet None Have Advanced Into The C-Suite Of The Top Four U.S. Banks” ." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2022. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=casedm1649807236145307

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

casedm1649807236145307
267
© 2022, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.