the context of population growth, some statistical progress was made. In 1987, less than one percent of upper level managers in the United States were black (Leinster, 1988, p. 109), while blacks constituted a total population proportion of 12.4 percent. Thus, while black progress into the ranks of upper management had been impressive, it still had a long way to go to attain statistical parity with whites.
While blacks in upper management continue to face discrimination barriers in some organizations, that situation does not prevail in many of the country's leading corporations (Dingle, 1989, pp. 95-96, 98, 100). In these forward looking organizations, blacks in upper management find themselves hampered by (1) insufficient or irrelevant education, and (2) an over sensitivity to perceived racial discrimination.
Education is a particularly formidable barrier for blacks in upper management. In 1987, only 11 percent of the black population in the United States had earned a college degree (Lacayo, 1989, p. 68). Further, only three percent of the doctorates, master's, and bachelor's degrees in engineering, computer programming, or the hard sciences were awarded to blacks (Leinster, 1988, p. 110).
The demographics of the American workforce changed dramatically between the 1960s and the 1980s, and, in the late 1980s, continues to change. The general trend has been for the work force in the United States, to become older and to include higher proportions of racial and ethnic minorities, and women.
The Anglo labor participation (employment) rate in 1987 was 60.3 percent, while the participation rate for Hispanics was 57.2 percent, and that for blacks was but 52.8 percent (Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS], 1988, p. 55). In 1970, the participation rates for these population segments were 56 percent, 52 percent, and 51 percent, respectively (Fullerton & Tschetter, 1983, pp. 5-11). Magnifying the effect of these changing par...