Glassdoor rates the best companies for Black employees

Workplaces are making efforts to close the diversity gap, but simply hiring more Black Americans is not enough — companies need to retain them, too.

Job satisfaction among Black or African American employees is lower than any other demographic, according to a survey by Glassdoor. The leading factor behind this dissatisfaction is underrepresentation in professional and management roles — 24% of Black employees work in lower-paid service occupations compared to 16% for white employees, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Read more: Why it isn’t enough for companies to recruit employees of color

Dissatisfaction is not the only issue Black employees are facing. Racial stress and bias are taking a toll on the mental health and well-being of this population, making it crucial that employers address these issues and create safe work environments.

“Organizations need to create a safe place for employees to talk about all the bias that they face,” says Bonnie Marcus, an executive coach. “People who set workplace policies need to take an assessment, listen to their employees and make that a part of unconscious bias training.”

Job loss is also disproportionately affecting minorities: Black workers make up more than 12% of the labor force, yet 15% of the jobs lost during COVID have impacted this population, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In February, the overall U.S. jobless rate fell to 6.2%, while Black unemployment was at 9.9%. White, Hispanic and Asian-American workers saw declines, the data shows.

Companies are boosting their diversity and inclusion efforts and offering more robust benefits to help Black and other underserved employees succeed. PwC offers a masters degree program that will give Black and LatinX accountants an opportunity to pursue higher education while at work. Additionally, student loan benefits provider Goodly is partnering with healthcare tech company ConsejoSano to provide their workforce with debt assistance, as student debt is disproportionately held by underrepresented employees.

There is more work to be done to better workplace diversity, but a good first step is to find a workplace that is already supporting its BIPOC employees. Glassdoor rounded up a few companies for Black Americans rated on a five-point scale using the personal experiences of Black employees: