Recommend working at Walmart? Never, say Black managers in survey

A survey of 56 senior Black executives at largest private employer in US found they would not urge people of color to join the retailer

Last modified on Sat 10 Jul 2021 02.01 EDT

Some Black senior managers at US retail giant Walmart do not recommend working there, according to an internal survey from the company.

The survey, as reported by Bloomberg, asked 56 Black senior directors, managers and supervisors about their experience. Black workers make up 21% of the company’s 1.6 million US workforce, and are mainly concentrated at the lower levels of the organization.

One Black director commented: “I have been here 10 years and I have never recommended Walmart to a person of color. I have recommended others to leave.”

Another said: “Pay, benefits, not bad – but recommend? NEVER. EVER.”

Black managers at Walmart – which is the largest private employer in America – were asked to give a numerical score from minus 100 to 100, ranking how likely they were to encourage friends and family to work there. The Black directors and senior directors – roles that rank below vice-presidents at Walmart – gave an average score of minus 86.

Meanwhile senior Black managers who report to directors gave a score of minus 100, the lowest score possible. “Positive sentiment decreases at higher levels,” the report concluded.

Black employees make up 28% of new hires but accounted for only 13% of promotions from “hourly” temp positions to management roles, according to Walmart’s latest diversity report. Just 8.4% of the company’s corporate officers are Black, a proportion that has not increased since 2014.

The survey found that Black staff feel as if they must perform at an exceptional level and take on more complex workloads with little room for error in order to maintain their position. It also found that a lack of diversity in leadership deterred Black employees from pursuing career development and that unequal access to career opportunities made progress difficult.

In a statement to Bloomberg Walmart said: “Hiring, developing and retaining diverse talent is a top priority for Walmart. While we are proud of the progress we have made, we are always looking at our own systems and processes with a critical eye for ways we can do even more.”

The company dismissed the study as “early research” with an “unscientific and limited sample size”.

Following the murder of George Floyd last year, the company set aside $100m to create a centre on racial equity.

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