The Power of the Degree — And the Promotion Gap That Still Exists
Black women are earning degrees at remarkable rates. According to Pew Research, Black women have seen significant gains in bachelor’s degree attainment over the last three decades, outpacing many peer groups in educational growth.
Yet education does not consistently translate into advancement.
A Mckinsey report highlights a critical barrier often called the “broken rung”: for every 100 men promoted to manager, only 58 Black women receive the same promotion. That first missed step compounds over time, shrinking representation at each leadership level.
So while degrees signal capability, opportunity structures do not always reward that capability equitably.
Representation at the Top: Measured Progress, Persistent Gaps
There has been movement, and it deserves acknowledgment.
In 2025, women hold 11% of Fortune 500 CEO roles, the highest number on record according to this report. However, only a small number of those CEOs are Black women, including Thasunda Brown Duckett of TIAA and Toni Townes-Whitley of SAIC.
Historically, only a handful of Black women have ever led Fortune 500 companies, including trailblazers like, the former CEO of Xerox and the first Black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company.
At the broader executive level, representation remains disproportionately low. Data from shows that Black women hold fewer than 2% of C-suite positions across corporate America.
The pipeline exists. The credentials exist. The conversion to leadership remains inconsistent.
Degrees vs. “Experience”: Rethinking Leadership Readiness
Many organizations still equate readiness with linear career paths. Yet research from Harvard Business School’s Race, Gender & Equity Initiative highlights how Black women are often evaluated more critically and must demonstrate higher proof of competence to be considered leadership-ready.
This is where lived experience becomes a strategic asset.
Navigating complex systems. Leading across differences. Building influence without formal authority. Managing through ambiguity. These competencies are not always captured on a resume, but they are essential leadership skills in modern organizations.
Not every leader with the “right” tenure becomes effective. Conversely, not every high-capability professional has been given the title that reflects their capacity.
Forward-thinking organizations are redefining experience to include capability, adaptability, and impact, not just chronology.
Managing Up and Leadership Accountability
Managing up is often framed as an individual survival tactic. In reality, it should be a shared leadership responsibility.
High-performing organizations operationalize equity by:
• Formalizing sponsorship instead of relying on informal networks
• Implementing structured, bias-resistant talent reviews
• Defining transparent promotion criteria
• Measuring leadership equity outcomes as performance metrics
When leaders shift from gatekeeping to talent activation, the pipeline expands.
Black History Month is not only a time to celebrate milestone leaders. It is an opportunity to interrogate systems, recalibrate definitions of readiness, and commit to measurable change.
From Awareness to Action
Conversations about degrees, promotions, and representation cannot end at recognition. They require design.
At Opal Bloom Advisory, this is the work.
Through strategic advisory services, leadership facilitation, organizational assessments, and equity-centered talent strategy development, Opal Bloom Advisory partners with nonprofits, public agencies, and growing enterprises to:
• Diagnose promotion bottlenecks
• Build transparent leadership pathways
• Strengthen sponsorship and mentorship frameworks
• Align lived experience with leadership readiness models
• Create measurable accountability structures
The goal is not performative inclusion. It is operational excellence.
When organizations expand how they define capability, they unlock leadership potential that has always been present. Degrees matter. Experience matters. Lived experience matters. The future belongs to leaders who understand how to integrate all three.
Black History Month is a moment of reflection. The real work begins in how we design what comes next.