THE REAL REASON
DIVERSITY IS LACKINGAT THE TOP
By Justin Dean, John Rice, Wallrick Williams, Brittany Pineros, Daniel Acosta, Ian Pancham,and Mike SnelgroveI

t’s a persistent myth: if a company
recruits enough employees from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, asufficient number will, over time, risethrough the organization to create adiverse culture at all levels. But that is not
happening. Although efforts to recruit
employees from racially and ethnicallydiverse backgrounds have become more
effective, in many industries, these individuals, particularly Black and Latinx employees, are not advancing as successfully as
their white counterparts.
To understand why, we took an in-depth
look at our own industry: management
consulting. The study, conducted in partnership with Management Leadership for
Tomorrow (MLT), looked across the management consulting industry to understand why consultants fall off the promotion track, and we found five root causesthat impact all consultants, regardless of
their backgrounds. Of those five, two causes—a weak sense of belonging and difficulty navigating professional environments—are particularly challenging for

consultants from underrepresented racialand ethnic groups.
Unfortunately, these root causes are often
underappreciated barriers to diversity. Efforts to increase diversity typically focus on
improving recruitment and on supporting
the development of consultants from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups
with training and skill-building opportunities. But none of these efforts, nor firms’
performance management systems, address
the most significant obstacles that areblocking advancement and retention.
The result for many companies is a frustrating cycle in which significant energy iscontinuously expended on activities that
do not have an impact. Ultimately, confidence erodes that the problem can besolved.
We have identified actions that can breakthis cycle—ways that companies can address the root causes of low promotion
rates among employees from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. And whileour study focused on management consulting, the lessons learned are also relevant
for other industries, including banking andtechnology, that have faced challenges increating diversity and inclusion in the leadership ranks.

The Power of Diversity
The renewed focus on racial inequity, particularly in the US, has reinforced the commitment among many business leaders topromote diversity in the workplace. But
there is also a practical reason for companies to support greater diversity: it improves financial performance. In a 2018
study, BCG found that companies withmanagement teams with above-average diversity reported higher innovation revenue.
For those companies, sales from products
or services launched within the past three
years was 19 percentage points above thatof companies with below-average leadership diversity.
Unfortunately, statistics show that businessleadership is not growing more diverse, especially at the most senior levels; rather,
the percentages of leaders from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups have
hardly changed. In 2018, for example, Black
managers represented only 3.3% of senior
management in the US, down slightly from
3.6% in 2007. Interestingly, the percentage

of Black midlevel managers in the US has
been higher than the percentage of Blacksenior managers, but it increased only
slightly, from 7.3% in 2007 to 7.5% in 2018.
(See Exhibit 1.)
This data suggests not only that the percentage of Black leaders has stagnated but
also that Black professionals are plateauing
in middle management and not rising to
the most senior ranks. Some industries are
particularly lacking in diversity at the top:
Black executives hold only 3% of senior
management positions in finance and insurance and 2% in the IT industry.
One consequence of a lack of diversity isthat top management often doesn’t have aclear understanding of the obstacles and,
therefore, deploys ineffective solutions. A
2018 BCG study found that 33% of US employees who are from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds see significant barriers to diversity when it comes toadvancement. Only 19% of white heterosexual men aged 45 and older, a group that
accounts for a large share of top leadership
positions, had that same view.

Drilling Down on the Barriers
The field of management consulting faces
many of the same diversity challenges that
other highly competitive industries con-

Exhibit 1 | Business Leadership in the US Is Not Growing More Diverse
Black managers (%)
10

7.3%

7.5%

3.6%

3.3%

0

Middle management

Senior management
2007

2018

Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

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PUTTING CONSULTING UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
Management consultants are accustomed to coming into a company andquickly diagnosing the issues limiting
performance. In this case, BCG andManagement Leadership for Tomorrow(MLT), which prepares college andbusiness school graduates from underrepresented groups to achieve in theprivate and public sectors, turned thetables. We examined a sample of ten top
companies in the consulting industry tounderstand what is blocking the promotion pathway for consultants fromracially and ethnically diverse backgrounds.
We conducted 25 interviews with current
and former consultants, managers, andpartners from ten firms, and MLT
surveyed more than 50 alumni who are
current or former employees of thosefirms. The interviews and survey explored the types of challenges faced bythese consultants, the level of support

front. Although there has been a concerted
effort to improve diversity through recruitment as the industry has grown, our interviews found a consensus that the numberof partners from underrepresented racialand ethnic groups has not grown in proportion to the number of employees.
Given that the first promotion is particularly critical, often signaling whether an individual has the skills to rise in the organization, we focused on identifying the challenges that have impeded the early progress of consultants from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds. (See the sidebar“Putting Consulting Under the Microscope.”)Eight Limiting Challenges. An obvious
question is whether the advancement gap
can be explained by differences in thelevels of skills and expertise among individuals when they are hired. To address
this, we took a looked the key metrics forstudents graduating from the top 20 MBA
programs in the US in 2019. We compared

offered, and the efficacy of that support
in addressing their challenges.
The data gathered from the interviews
and survey were used to generate acomprehensive set of observable
challenges and to determine their root
causes. We relentlessly compared our
findings with those from the latest
academic research and collaborated withleading researchers in diversity to better
understand these challenges and theirroot causes.
We then tested several hypotheses to
identify which root causes may explain
the low promotion rate among consultants from underrepresented racial andethnic groups in the industry, comparedwith the rate for those who are not fromunderrepresented groups. Finally, we
identified a set of evidence-based
interventions to effectively address theroot causes.

the qualifications with those of businessschool graduates who earned their MBAs
in 2015, 2016, and 2017, participated in
MLT’s Professional Development program
for underrepresented groups, and thenwere hired by top consulting firms. The twogroups served as proxies for our analysis:
the former reflects typical entry-level
consultants at top-tier firms, and the latter
represents new consulting hires fromunderrepresented racial and ethnic groups.
The result? The profiles for the two groups
are similar: when hired, those from raciallyand ethnically diverse backgrounds had
achieved the same level of academic excellence and had comparable work experience as those from the top 20 MBA programs that generally make up the universeof new recruits. (See Exhibit 2.)
So, if the starting points are the same, why
are consultants from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups less successful at
landing promotions? From our interviews

Boston Consulting Group | The Real Reason Diversity Is Lacking at the Top 

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Exhibit 2 | The Typical Profiles of Entry-Level Consultants

Academic
background

Prior work
experience

Graduates of the top 20 MBA
programs, 20191

Graduates of MBA programs who
participated in the MLT program,
2015–20172

Undergraduate major

38% Business or economics
30% Science, technology, engineering,and mathematics
31% Social sciences or humanities

44% Business or economics
29% Science, technology, engineering,and mathematics
27% Social sciences or humanities

Undergraduate GPA

3.17–3.86 (mid-80%3)

3.00–3.80 (mid-80%4)

MBA program

100% Top 20 programs

90% Fellows in one of the top 15 MBA
programs

Score on GMAT

663–755 (mid-80%5)

630–740 (mid-80%)

Industries

44% Consulting or ﬁnance
12% Military, nonproﬁt, and government
44% Other

47% Consulting or ﬁnance
17% Military, nonproﬁt, and government
36% Other

Source: BCG analysis.
Note: MLT = Management Leadership for Tomorrow; GPA = grade point average; GMAT = graduate management admission test.
1
Class of 2019: Columbia Business School; Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business; Emory University’s Goizueta Business School; Haas
School of Business, University of California, Berkeley; Harvard Business School; Kellogg School of Management Northwestern University;
McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin; MIT Sloan School of Management; New York University Leonard N. Stern
School of Business; Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management; Stanford Graduate School of Business; Stephen M. Ross Schoolof Business, University of Michigan; Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University; Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth; UCLA
Anderson School of Management; UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School; The University of Chicago Booth School of Business; UVA Darden
School of Business; The Wharton School, The University of Pennsylvania; and Yale School of Management.
2
MLT data; n = 75.
3
Based on schools reporting the range for the middle 80% of the population: Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, New York University
Leonard N. Stern School of Business, and Yale School of Management.
4
Data isn’t limited to 2015–2017; because of incomplete grade-point-average data on MLT’s alumni, we incorporated all years for MLT alumni
in consulting (n = 291).
5
Based on schools reporting the range for the middle 80% of the population: Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business; New York University
Leonard N. Stern School of Business; Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan; UCLA Anderson School of Management;
UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School; and Yale School of Management.

with managers, we found that all consultants are sliding off the promotion track ifthey are unable to meet one or more of thefollowing eight observable challenges:•• Demonstrate analytical or problemsolving skills•• Drive work independently, rather than
wait for direction•• Assert their own position in a case teamenvironment•• Ask for actionable feedback•• Fully address feedback in a timely
manner•• Request help, rather than wait until it’s
too late•• Attract the support of an advocate or asponsor, or both, for career progression•• Have mentors who are willing to invest
in their apprenticeshipTo understand the dynamics behind thesechallenges, we performed a root cause
analysis until we zeroed in on five root
causes that drive all eight challenges. (SeeExhibit 3.)•• A weak sense of belonging•• Difficulty navigating professional
environments•• The lack of a growth mindset toward
development potential•• A subpar consulting skill set

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Exhibit 3 | Five Root Causes Fuel Eight Challenges, Which Explains Why Some Consultants Are Not
Promoted
Demonstrating analytical or
problem-solving skills
Driving work independently,
rather than waiting for direction
Asserting one’s own position ina case team environment

Fully addressing feedback in atimely manner
Requesting help, rather than
waiting until it's too late

OBSERVABLE
CHALLENGES

Attracting the support of an
advocate or a sponsor, or both,for career progression
Having mentors who are willing toinvest in one’s apprenticeship

Asking for actionable feedback

ROOT CAUSES
Weak sense of
belonging

Diﬃculty navigating
professional
environments

Lack of a growthmindset toward
development
potential

Ethnically diverse consultants are impacted more

Subpar consulting
skill set

Poor mastery of
consulting toolsAll consultants are impacted the same

Source: BCG and MLT analysis.
1A sense of belonging includes feeling socially connected, supported, and respected, as well as feeling appreciated as an individual (rather thanbeing stereotyped), confident in one’s value proposition to others, and capable of advancing to the next level.
2Navigating a professional environment includes adapting to a firm’s culture and norms, power structures, internal politics, and expectations
for promotion.
3A growth mindset toward development potential includes believing that hard work leads to improvement, that intelligence is expandable, andthat adversity can be overcome.
4A consulting skill set includes expertise to solve problems, derive second-order insights, produce client-ready materials, own the answer,communicate clearly, and form client relationships.
5Consulting tools include Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, and data analysis and visualization programs.

•• Poor mastery of consulting tools
The Disproportionate Impact of Two
Causes. To understand whether some—or
all—of these five root causes disproportionately affect the success of consultantsfrom racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds, we analyzed academic researchand MLT survey data to understand how
they affect all consultants.
The analysis suggested that there is little
difference between the degree to whichskill level and tool mastery influence advancement for consultants from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups versus
for those who are not from underrepresented groups. The analysis was inconclusive
on whether maintaining a growth mindset
impacted promotions for these groups.
However, divergence between the groups
was identified on the remaining two root
causes—a weak sense of belonging and difficulty navigating professional environments.

Consider the issues around a weak senseof belonging. A robust body of academic
research suggests that feeling socially connected, supported, and appreciated as anindividual is essential to perform well.1
However, 45% of survey respondents fromunderrepresented racial and ethnic
groups reported feeling a weak sense of
belonging at their respective firms, a result that is consistent with findings acrossother professional and academic settings.
That feeling can erode individuals’ confidence in their value to their organizationand their ability to advance to the nextlevel.
The research also shows that a weaksense of belonging is a greater barrier tosuccess in highly challenging and demanding environments, such as a consulting firm. A study by Stanford University
professors Greg Walton and Geoffrey Cohen examined experiences at colleges anduniversities, casting a spotlight on thisbarrier.

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Specifically, the study found that Black students were likely to interpret challenges
and adversity as signals that they didn’t belong in that environment. As a result, theirsense of belonging declined as adversity
increased. However, white students didn’t
have the same reaction; their sense of belonging was unaffected by the daily challenges. Importantly, this study also showedthat well-designed programs can help
Black students maintain their sense of belonging, improving their academic performance and their ability to make connections in the college community.
Similarly, consultants from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds disproportionally struggle with navigating the professional environment created by their firms.
Our work uncovered two contributing factors to this root cause:•• First, a wealth of research finds that

employees from underrepresented
racial and ethnic groups find it morechallenging to create networks that
support their professional growth.2•• Second, these professionals are more

likely to be first-generation college
graduates than their peers. Consequently, they have less exposure to theunspoken and unwritten rules that
impact career trajectory, including how
to build relationships that will advancetheir career and how to promote
themselves.

The disparity among first-generation graduates exists at the top universities where
many consulting firms recruit. For example, in 2019, 27% of Harvard University’s
students from underrepresented racial andethnic groups were the first in their family
to attend college, compared with 13% of
students from other backgrounds.
In many industries, consulting included,
there are tremendous advantages to skillfully navigating the organization. It can lead tohigher-quality feedback, better assignments,
access to more-effective managers, andgreater support for professional opportunities, such as graduate school sponsorship.

Currently, the consulting industry does notappear to be aggressively tackling the root
causes of weak promotion and retention
rates for employees from underrepresented
racial and ethnic groups. When consultantsfrom diverse backgrounds were asked
about support mechanisms that were already in place across the consulting ecosystem (which includes MLT and similar organizations, academic programs, and firms), respondents cited assistance in developing
consulting skills and mastering tools—essentially the hard skills—as the most available. Specifically, training programs on Microsoft Excel, basic modeling, and slide
writing are offered throughout the ecosystem. However, companies do not invest as
much effort and resources into building aculture that creates a sense of belonging or
into helping consultants learn how to navigate the professional environment. The
consultants surveyed noted that they tend
to rely on the network aspect of MLT andtheir firm’s affinity groups to provide asense of belonging and guidance on navigating their firm.

Actions to Promote
Advancement and Retention
Consulting firms and other companies inindustries with similar diversity challenges
should take a comprehensive approach tosupporting the advancement and promotion of employees from underrepresented
racial and minority groups. Such efforts
must do more than improve recruitment
and support the development of new skills
and expertise.
To move the needle, employers should takeaim at the root causes that limit the advancement of all employees, tailoring assistanceand support to the specific background andstarting point of the employee. At the sametime, companies need to pay particular attention to the two root causes that disproportionately hinder employees from raciallyand ethnically diverse backgrounds.
We recommend five actions:•• Improve employees’ sense of belonging. Although belonging is a complex

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6topic because it means different things
to different people, there are provenapproaches to improving and encouraging a sense of belonging. These include
helping employees from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups to build
a robust support network and tointerpret daily challenges as commonand surmountable.
Creating an inclusive work environment—one in which employees feelvalued, respected as individuals, andfree from bias and prejudice—is also
critical to encouraging a sense of belonging. An important institutional lever to advance belonging in an organization is proximity training for whitemanagers. This approach grounds thosemanagers in the realities of how employees from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds experience the organization differently, even if they attended the same schools and worked
previously in the same organizations.

•• Support employees in navigating thefessional, safe-place coaching that isnormally reserved for senior executives
during crucial transitions. Such coaching should take place during the firstyear at the firm (when a high-performer
narrative is established) and the year
before the promotion window (to clarify the requirements for advancement
and the decision-making process).

•• Instill a growth mindset. During

entry-level training programs, companies should highlight the processes andbest practices for giving and receiving
feedback. They should also coachmanagers on how to provide constructive feedback that highlights areas ofstrengths, frames areas for development
as both common and manageable, andoutlines tactical actions for addressing
those areas for development. In addition, companies should highlight andreward managers who excel at developing talent within their teams, while
coaching managers who are less adept
in this area and helping them improve.

professional environment. According
to the academic research and our own
findings, improving outcomes for
employees from racially and ethnicallydiverse backgrounds will require
programs that enhance their networking abilities and make them comfortable navigating the professional environment.

•• Help employees enhance their skills.

Improving outcomes will also require
structures and processes that promote
equity. For example, companies withstaffing processes that are heavily reliant on networking should develop
structured approaches that ensure employees from underrepresented racialand ethnic groups are staffed on marquee client teams (which are often led
by the highest-performing managers) as
frequently as their white peers.

Companies should support employees
in excelling in the use of critical tools,
such as Microsoft Excel and data
analysis and visualization tools. Suchsupport could include developing
on-demand online-learning modules so
employees can access training programs
when it is convenient.

Companies also should do more thanformalize sponsorship and mentoring
programs for employees from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups; companies should provide the kind of pro-Companies must ensure that managers
are clearly modeling what good performance looks like. In addition, entrylevel training programs should include
guidance on how to structure one’s
work, how to team with clients, andhow to communicate effectively.

•• Enable recruits to master tools.

In addition to these steps, companies needto ensure that they have sufficient internal
capacity to tackle these issues. They musthave the right leadership and talent within
the organization to set a strategy for addressing the root causes of diversity challenges and for rigorously measuring theoutcomes. Then human resources must

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support line managers with the resources,
expertise, and capacity to execute, and it
must hold them accountable for progress. It
isn’t realistic to ask line managers to figureout how to implement the strategy andmeasure outcomes using only a small percentage of their time.

O

ur research on the consulting industry has implications for a variety ofhighly competitive industries where diversity gains at the top remain elusive. Although recruitment remains a crucial way
to improve diversity and inclusion, filling
the pipeline with more highly qualified
employees from diverse backgrounds won’t
solve the problem.

racial and ethnic groups. Certainly, academic institutions and outside programs,
such as the one offered by MLT, can help
ensure that people from diverse backgrounds are as prepared as possible for ademanding and intense professional environment. But if companies don’t dig in tounderstand what is blocking the success of
those individuals, their efforts to create diverse and inclusive workplaces will comeup woefully short.

Notes
1. See Mindset Scholars Network, “Belonging,”
accessed October 22, 2020.
2. Herminia Ibarra, “Race, Opportunity, and Diversityof Social Circles in Managerial Networks,” Academyof Management Journal, June 1995.

Companies must instead focus on why they
are not able to retain and promote manybright employees from underrepresented

About the Authors
Justin Dean is a managing director and partner in the Washington, DC, office of Boston Consulting Groupand a core member of the firm’s Energy practice. You may contact him by email at dean.justin@bcg.com.
John Rice is the founder and CEO of Management Leadership for Tomorrow, a nonprofit organization thathelps prepare men and women of color for high-trajectory, postcollege jobs.
Wallrick Williams is a principal in BCG’s Washington, DC, office and a core member of the firm’s Insurance, Transformation, and BCG TURN practices. You may contact him by email at williams.wallrick@bcg.com.
Brittany Pineros is a project leader in the firm’s Washington, DC, office. You may contact her by email atpineros.brittany@bcg.com.
Daniel Acosta is a managing director and partner in BCG’s Los Angeles office and an expert in strategy
and organizational challenges for both the public and private sectors. You may contact him by email atacosta.daniel@bcg.com.
Ian Pancham is a managing director and partner in the firm’s New York office and a core member of
BCG’s Technology Advantage and Financial Institutions practices. You may contact him by email at
pancham.ian@bcg.com.
Mike Snelgrove is a diversity and inclusion manager in BCG’s Washington, DC, office and an expert inapplied behavioral science. You may contact him by email at snelgrove.mike@bcg.com.

Acknowledgments
The authors thank Accenture, Kearney, Bain & Company, Booz Allen Hamilton, The Bridgespan Group,
Deloitte, EY-Parthenon, McKinsey & Company, and Strategy& for their participation in the interviews andsurvey used in this research.
Boston Consulting Group partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important
challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. BCG was the pioneer in business strategy when it was

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8founded in 1963. Today, we help clients with total transformation—inspiring complex change, enabling organizations to grow, building competitive advantage, and driving bottom-line impact.
To succeed, organizations must blend digital and human capabilities. Our diverse, global teams bring deepindustry and functional expertise and a range of perspectives to spark change. BCG delivers solutions
through leading-edge management consulting along with technology and design, corporate and digital
ventures—and business purpose. We work in a uniquely collaborative model across the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization, generating results that allow our clients to thrive.
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