Walmart has touted efforts to recruit and promote a diverse workforce and fund a new center to advance racial equity — but the retail giant may have to win over its own Black supervisors and managers first, according to a Bloomberg report.
An internal survey by Walmart found that many Black supervisors, senior managers and directors said they would not recommend the company to others, according to Bloomberg, which saw a copy.
The employees who were surveyed said they faced barriers when trying to advance in their careers, such as having unequal access to growth opportunities and coping with favoritism and internal politics. The findings, which came from 56 high-ranking Black employees, were presented to members of Walmart’s senior leadership late last year, according to Bloomberg.
Some employees were especially critical, according to the Bloomberg report. “I have been here 10 years and I have never recommended Walmart to a person of color. I have recommended others to leave,” one Black director said. “Pay, benefits, not bad — but recommend? NEVER. EVER.”
Walmart declined to provide a copy of the report to CNBC. It said in a statement that the survey was “early research” and it had an “unscientific and limited sample size.”
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SOURCE: CNBC, Melissa Repko