This subseries consists of research project materials related to Women of Color in Corporate Management. This landmark survey project, conducted in several phases, was the first of its kind in the United States, and resulted in a number of publications.

Women of Color in Corporate Management I provides a statistical underpinning for the project’s research efforts. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research performed statistical analyses on women of color in managerial positions, as reported by U.S. Census Bureau data from 1994 to 1995. This work resulted in the report, “Women of Color in Corporate Management: A Statistical Picture” (1997). Materials include a project proposal, background information, company funding, focus group information, interview transcripts, and questionnaires.

Women of Color in Corporate Management II focuses specifically on career advancement issues for women of color, and offers comparisons between women of color data and Catalyst’s other data on white women. It was composed of focus groups; interviews with women of color managers, human resources professionals, and corporate leaders at fifteen major companies; and more than 1,700 survey responses from women at thirty Fortune 1000 companies, many of them annotated with marginalia. It resulted in the publication, “Women of Color in Corporate Management: Dynamics of Career Advancement” (1998). Materials include a diversity policy, codebook, workforce statistics, survey agreement letters, completed surveys, and survey data.

Women of Color in Corporate Management III focused on the first-hand experiences of women who identify themselves as African American, Hispanic, and Asian American. It resulted in the report “Women of Color in Corporate Management: Opportunities and Barriers” (1999). Materials include a diversity policy analysis, participating companies, corporate contacts and correspondence, and factsheets.

Women of Color in Corporate Management IV continued Catalyst’s research efforts on the topic, which resulted in two reports. “Women of Color Executives: Their Voices, Their Journeys” (2001) tracks the careers of six women of color executives and provides recommendations for companies. “Women of Color in Corporate Management: Three Years Later” (2001) is a longitudinal examination of the experiences of women of color in the workplace, focusing on factors that influence career advancement and retention. Materials include interview transcripts, recontact phone surveys, survey data analysis, and focus group demographic surveys.

The Women of Color in Corporate Management project seeded further research that resulted in the Women of Color in Professional Services Series of reports: “Women of Color in U.S. Securities Firms” (2008), “Women of Color in Accounting” (2008), and “Women of Color in U.S. Law Firms” (2009). Additionally, it laid the groundwork for the publication series, “Advancing Latinas in the Workplace: What Managers Need to Know” (2003), “Advancing Asian Women in the Workplace: What Managers Need to Know” (2003), and “Advancing African-American Women in the Workplace: What Managers Need to Know” (2004).