Ph.D., Antioch University, 2022, Leadership and Change

Corporations began hiring Black people into management positions in the 1960s and 1970s following the passage of the Civil Rights Act (1964) which made it unlawful to discriminate in hiring based on race, gender, religion, or country of origin. Black men were the first to benefit from this change in the law and Black women began to appear in entry level management roles in the 1980s. Forty years later, there have only been four Black women CEOs in the history of the Fortune 1000, the largest American companies based on reported revenues. This level of representation is closer to zero than 1 % despite over 6 % of the American population self-reporting as Black or African American women. The purpose of this study was to explore the career advancement journey of Black women who achieved the executive level in Fortune 1000 companies to identify what events were most critical in helping or hindering their career advancement. The research design was an exploratory, qualitative study using critical incident technique (Flanagan, 1954). The study consisted of 20 participants, Black women who had achieved executive level in Fortune 1000 companies with a minimum of 15 years of management experience. The analysis of the data revealed two over-arching themes across the participants: the experience of being the first and/or only woman, Black person, or Black woman and a small group of sustaining beliefs shared by the Black women. These beliefs served to sustain them over their career advancement journeys. Consistent with the critical incident methodology, the antecedents or what led to the incidents, the incidents themselves, and the outcomes of the incidents were all analyzed for themes. The study data was reviewed to identify practical implications and recommendations for Black women leaders, people who advocate for Black women in leadership, leadership in companies, and people in positions in diversity, equity, and inclusion. This dissertation is available in open (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: A.E. Lize Booysen DBL (Committee Chair); Harriet Schwartz PhD (Committee Member); Kathleen Brown PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: African Americans; Black Studies; Ethnic Studies; Gender Studies; Management; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2011, Curriculum and Instruction: Educational Technology

Mentoring programs are frequently used in companies as a systemic solution to increase the performance of employees. Although the concept of mentoring dates back to the time period of Greek Mythology, the study of mentoring and its role in the 21st century workplace is vital due to the changing business climate, which involves an expected large exodus of executives, increase in the use of technology, and global competition. This study conducted a performance gap analysis of current mentoring programs in Fortune 1000 companies using an electronic survey targeted to human resource directors. The results of the study show that significant performance gaps exist in mentoring practices and purposes of mentoring programs. Additionally, in utilizing the systems viewpoint of performance and human performance technology techniques, data from this study on the features of mentoring programs and levels of evaluation show that adjustments to mentoring programs should be made in order to achieve the desired results. A little more than half of the companies in this study were not satisfied with their current mentoring program, desiring more features, time, and support to expand mentoring within their company. Results of this study will be valuable to companies, other organizations, and human performance specialists, because this study provides companies with the data necessary to begin the process of evaluating their current mentoring program and also provides companies with data necessary to develop a mentoring program.

Committee: Robert Sullivan PhD (Committee Chair); Leigh Chiarelott PhD (Committee Member); Toni Sondergeld PhD (Committee Member); Berhane Teclehaimanot PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Management; Organizational Behavior