The New CEO of Xerox: When it Comes to Employment Discrimination, African American Executives May Not Make a Difference

For the first time in American history an African American woman became CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Ursula Burns took over Xerox on July 1st, 2009. Her rise to the top of a major U.S. corporation is one of several exciting firsts for people of color in America. This year the first African American U.S. Attorney General was appointed by the first African American president, and Judge Sonia Sotomayor will be the first Latina confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League , compared Obama, Sotomayor, and Burns. All three were raised without fathers, and their success is the result of a hard-earned meteoric rise from the economically-modest family lives into which they were born.

U.S. corporations like Xerox are microcosms of American society and culture. Xerox, like other American companies, reflects American life. Comparing Xerox and the nation invokes another comparison between Burns and Obama. Their success has convinced many that racism and discrimination are no longer serious problems in the U.S. This is reflected in two comments to an article about the new Xerox CEO. One commentator wrote than “many roadblocks” were “taken down” with Burns’ appointment. Another wrote, “Thank you Ms. Burns for clearing the path for my daughter.” And, of course, as far as President Obama is concerned, Americans have engaged in a protracted debate about whether his election proves that we now live in a post-racial society.

Another comparison - President Obama took over an extremely troubled nation, and Burns took over a very troubled Xerox. In an hour-long lecture at the Whitman School of Management in 2008, Burns talked about the need for good corporate citizenship and she described Xerox as a great place to work. Burns also discussed the fact that Xerox had been a troubled company, and she enumerated the ways the company has attempted to address those troubles. She revealed that senior management worried about “every detail” related to some of the troubles the company faced in recent years. At Xerox, “it’s all about the people” she said. “We love difference.” She described the company’s corporate climate as a culture of diversity, mentioning the usual laundry-list of diversity concerns – age, sexual orientation, gender, race and religion.

During her lecture, Burns talked very briefly and superficially about diversity but she was careful not to mention the “D-word” – discrimination. This is surprising because she said that Xerox managers worried about the details that got them into trouble in recent years. One of those troublesome details should have included the corporate climate that led over one thousand African American sales representatives to file a race discrimination suit that had been settled just months before Burns’ speech. Even though Xerox “adamantly” denied wrongdoing, the company paid twelve million dollars to 1,100 African American sales representatives who alleged race discrimination in promotion, pay, and the assignment of sales territories. Some plaintiffs also complained about blatantly racist comments, and the plaintiffs’ expert proved a “statistically significant disparity between the earnings of black and white salespersons at Xerox.” The company’s response to this was that the disparity was the result of “inferior performance.”

Burns never mentioned the race discrimination class action in her speech at Whitman. I cannot find any reports that include any comments she may have made about the litigation, the settlement, or the issue of race discrimination at Xerox. Perhaps Burns agrees with commentators who assert that the U.S. is now post-racial and that roadblocks or impediments that impede the professional advancement of people of color no longer exist. But disparities in income and promotion rates belie the conclusions that racism is no longer a problem, and so do the number of complaints about race discrimination filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and in courts. Every day life in America for most people of color establishes that racism persists.

Xerox’s response to the race discrimination class action – adamantly denying all allegations and blaming pay disparities on the inferior performance of hundreds of African American sales representatives – ensures that very little will change for the company’s employees of color. Because corporations are microcosms of society in which racism persists, it is very unlikely that there is no discrimination within a company that employs thousands. Even though a task force was established as part of the settlement, it is not likely that things will improve as far as discrimination is concerned if the discrimination problem is not discussed or even acknowledged. Things certainly cannot improve if corporate leaders do not even mention the persisting problem of discrimination.

Burns and other corporate leaders are willing to talk about diversity but are silent about discrimination. In a law review article, I wrote about the important difference between discrimination and diversity. A company that focuses only on diversity efforts, without considering the persistent problem of discrimination, will inevitably and predictably face complaints from, and possibly litigation brought by, employees of color. This is so because American corporations are part of a society that has not eradicated race discrimination. Diversity efforts will increase the numbers of people of color in a corporate workplace, but diversity efforts, without anti-discrimination efforts, make it more likely that the company will have to litigate or mediate disputes about discrimination.

Before Ursula Burns at Xerox, only seven African Americans have served as CEO of Fortune 500 companies - all of them male. None have spoken out against societal or corporate race discrimination. As far as corporate race discrimination is concerned, very little seems to change when the CEO is Black.

The fact that Burns failed to mention discrimination in her 2008 speech that was given just months after Xerox settled a race discrimination class action inspires yet another comparison to President Obama. He too has seemed reticent to talk about race and racism. For example, when asked to comment on the disproportionate impact of the economic downturn on African Americans and Latinos, President Obama’s typical response is that things will improve for people of color when things improve for all Americans, regardless of race. But his answer ignores the many types of economic discrimination that impede the economic advancement of Americans of color. For example, in the years leading up to the current economic downturn, African Americans and Latinos were targeted for predatory loans. Even middle-income African Americans and Latinos were targeted and offered subprime mortgages even though they were creditworthy, and even though similarly-situated white borrowers received prime loans. There is discrimination in retail sales also. African American and Latino consumers pay more for cars, and receive inferior service in many retail stores. And, recent unemployment rates for African Americans and Latinos are significantly and disproportionately higher than the unemployment rate for white Americans.

Look what happened when President Obama did speak explicitly about race. Negative reaction to the president’s comments about the arrest of Professor Henry Gates in his own home eclipsed his attempts to reform health insurance. And, Judge Sotomayor’s “wise Latina” comment in speeches made before her nomination caused some delusional conservatives to call her a racist. These are symptoms of a society in which the discourse about race is frustratingly pallid. No wonder Burns and most African American CEOs stay away from the topic of race.