Date
6-2022
Department
Graduate School of Business
Degree
Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)
Chair
Scott Quatro
Keywords
Diversity, African American, Underrepresentation, Executive Leadership, Talent Management, Bias
Disciplines
Business | Human Resources Management
Recommended Citation
Rainey, Lateisha Tamarra, "Diversity as an Influence on Talent Management and Competitive Advantage: The Absence of Female African American Executive Leadership in the Insurance Industry" (2022). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 3701.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/3701
Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative research case study was to examine the extent of which the significance of diversity has on the representation of African American females in top-executive leadership positions. Furthermore, to comprehend why African American females are unfairly represented and disparaged in C-suite level positions. The purpose of this research was to study the influence that diversity may have on the insurance industry’s talent management and competitive advantage. To what degree do biases whether conscious or unconscious affect promotional opportunities, recruitment, selection, and hiring practices of African American females pursuing elevation to higher level positions within the insurance industry. Findings from this research provided an understanding into how top-executive leaders can identify and implement tactics to address the diversity gap in executive level positions. This researcher set out to address the general problem of the absence of diversity with respect to African American women in executive level positions resulting in the loss of talent and an organizational competitive advantage. The main results of this study show that African American females are unfairly represented in leadership positions, there is bias in the hiring practice, and job opportunities are available, but this group of women are not being promoted to higher-level positions, and when executive leaders are committed to promoting diversity within the organization and have diverse executive teams this can be of value and beneficial to companies within the insurance industry. Recommendations were developed to present to organizational leaders in an effort to help reduce the absence of diversity and increase the representation of African American females in executive-level positions.
