Agency Leadership Stagnation Exposed Through 13 Pledge Incident, Illustrating Barriers to Black Leadership Advancement
Rewritten Article:
Hey there! Let's chat about a recent initiative in the corporate world. Back in 2020, a bunch of 71 agencies made a promise to boost Black leadership within their ranks, aiming for a representation that mirrors the Black population in the States, around 13%. After a year of brainstorming and hard work, 22 of these agencies stuck with this commitment, according to Three's a Crowd, the group behind this pledge. It's all part of their efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), not to replace it.
For this three-year pledge, it's not just the head of DEI who needs to buy-in, but key stakeholders like the CEO. Fast forward to now, the results are in, and it seems like there was a significant leap in Black leadership levels from 2020 to 2021. However, the progress of these 22 agencies collectively has been sticking at about 6.5% since then.
Now, you might wonder about the status of other DEI initiatives. Well, some major companies made sizable commitments around 2020-2021, targeting Black representation, leadership, and addressing systemic disparities. For instance, Walmart pledged a whopping $100 million over five years via its Center for Racial Equity for initiatives tackling issues faced by Black Americans in education, health, finance, and criminal justice.
As of 2025, Walmart has already allocated more than $80 million of that commitment and is on track to meet the $100 million pledge this year. However, they've also started to rethink some of their DEI initiatives, such as dropping the term "DEI" in favor of "belonging" and ending some grant considerations based on race or gender.
But it's not just the corporate world facing challenges. DEI efforts at a federal level have hit a snag. The current administration (as of 2025) has been dismantling or scaling back various DEI programs, which some describe as "wasteful" or "immoral," resulting in layoffs and uncertainty for Black professionals relying on federal employment for economic advancement.
Unfortunately, there's no clear update on the specific progress of the pledge by the 22 agencies to reach 13% Black leadership representation. The situation is a mix of continuous corporate investments and political roadblocks that make it tricky to keep raising Black leadership levels across agencies. So while some companies are making progress with their DEI promises, the fate of this specific three-year pledge by 22 agencies remains uncertain. Stay tuned for more updates!
- The 22 agencies that pledged to increase Black leadership in 2020 have managed to make a significant leap in representation from 2020 to 2021, but their collective progress has stagnated at approximately 6.5% since then.
- In response to the need for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), major companies like Walmart have made substantial commitments, with Walmart pledging $100 million over five years to initiatives addressing issues faced by Black Americans in various sectors, including finance.
- As of 2025, Walmart has already allocated more than $80 million of this commitment and is on track to meet the $100 million pledge this year, with a shift in strategy evident as they reconsider some of their DEI initiatives, such as replacing "DEI" with "belonging" and ending some grant considerations based on race or gender.
- Efforts to promote diversity and inclusion (Diversity-and-inclusion) are not confined to the corporate sector, with the current administration scaling back or dismantling various federal DEI programs, resulting in layoffs and uncertainty for Black professionals relying on federal employment for economic advancement.
