Edited by Julia Hanna and Jen McFarland Flint; illustrations by Rose Wong

Can you name a handful of measurable initiatives that your organization is actively pursuing to address racial inequities? If not, chances are good that third-degree racism is alive and well in your organization, says John Rice (MBA 1992), CEO and founder of Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT). Unlike the in-your-face brand of first-degree racism, that of the third degree occurs when organizations and institutions fail to weed out the practices that disadvantage people of color. Most well-meaning white leaders don’t even realize it’s happening, Rice says, but it means that people of color can’t compete on equal footing for career mobility. Doing nothing to fix systemic disadvantages is “fundamentally racist, not to mention cancerous to our economy and inconsistent with the American dream,” Rice wrote in the Atlantic.

To make workplaces a true meritocracy, leaders need to adopt the same kind of systematic approach that they apply routinely to every other area of the business—a process that MLT has outlined in its Black Equity at Work Certification program.

Define the problem.

When it comes to racial equity, Rice says, we’re not well informed about how the experiences of people of color differ from their white peers; and because those conversations are considered charged, we rarely ask. We also have deeply flawed assumptions about the recruiting pipeline. In order to tackle racial inequities, you have to start by establishing clarity on the problem, Rice explains. This is a deep-dive process to examine the specific policies or behaviors that led to this point and the effect they have on the workplace.

Demand rigor.

Next, identify what success would look like three to five years after tackling those challenges. Quantitatively and qualitatively, define the standard of what “good” looks like, and then commit to bringing the same standard of rigor with which organizations approach any other aspect of the business, such as ESG or strategy execution in general. “We are compromising excellence in our approach to diversity and inclusion when the commitment isn’t there,” Rice observes.

Assign accountability.

Five years ago, the tech sector experienced a racial awakening, realized it wasn’t doing well on this metric, and made some proclamations, Rice says. “In that time they haven’t actually moved the needle at all.” Accountability is what will differentiate an insipid pledge from real progress. The objective is to define what progress looks like in practice. “There’s a basic framework for this, that organizations apply to every other area of the business almost without thinking,” Rice notes.

John Rice is the CEO and founder of Management Leadership for Tomorrow, a national nonprofit that equips underrepresented minorities with the tools to become high-impact leaders. Its Black Equity at Work Certification program creates standards and a road map for employers to address persistent inequities.

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