Recent statistics have shown that Black women hold the lowest number of corporate executive and senior leadership roles in companies. In 2020, Statista reported just five percent of CEOs in the states are African American, while Black women represent 1.2 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs. Now, one marketing executive is working to open more executive and senior level spaces for Black women.
I Choose The Ladder is a career resource for Black women looking to excel in corporate America. Designed as a career consulting company, I Choose The Ladder brings together Black women who want to climb the corporate ladder and companies looking to diversify and tap into the expanding pool of qualified Black women.
Founder and CEO Watchen Nyanue has a communications background graduating from DePaul University. Nyanue, born in Liberia but immigrated to Chicago, launched the I Choose The Ladder podcast in 2018 after being accused of yielding privilege — an experience she outlines to Black Enterprise.
“I have had a highly influential tribe of people (mentors, sponsors, colleagues, etc.) who have been very generous with sharing their knowledge with me,” says Nyanue in the article. “In my ignorance, I assumed that everyone had that level of professional support. But, after having conversations with some Black students at DePauw and some of my friends, I realized it was not the norm and wanted to create a way to bring my tribe to the women who looked like me.”
As the podcast began to grow in popularity, the founder soon discovered listeners wanted more. Receiving notes of other Black women who wanted advice outside of the podcast, the brand began to expand. Then, companies began to get involved seeing how they too could become a part of the conversation and solution.
Now, I Choose The Ladder is giving Black women the opportunity to hone their skills and become key competitors in corporate America. Offering a number of supportive resources, the organization hosts masterclasses with the chance to hear from leading Black female professionals across the C-Suite.
Of the resources available, the Review Planner helps keep track of accomplishments, set goals and journal to reflect. Inside, the planner features the founder’s personal rules to corporate
America, along with a monthly checklist and a question list to guide participants through annual reviews.
With a heavier scope on company’s diversity, inclusion and equality measures in response to issues of social justice, more is being done around the intentionality of hiring qualified Black applicants, however, more must be done.
“For most Black women, it’s not about having the technical abilities to do their jobs; we are highly educated,” Nyanue said. “It’s all the other things that come with being Black in Corporate America that gets in the way of our progression.”
The Climb, hosted by I Choose the Ladder, is a one day event for Black women in middle-management positions looking to advance. Gearing up for their September 2022 event, The Climb has featured previous speakers from Roc Nation, Spotify, BET, McDonald’s and others.
Facing a mounting level of adversities in corporate America, Black women are sometimes offered a smaller chance to excel. Based on historical and stereotypical infrastructures, ceilings are put in place for Black women, capping their professional experience. With I Choose the Ladder, the founder is hoping to show ceilings are meant to be broken.
In building the next class of Black female professionals, the organization continues to lay the foundation for achievement in corporate spaces.
“My goal with I Choose the Ladder is to make sure that the next generation of Black female leaders have real visibility at what it takes to occupy leadership roles as Black women in corporate America,” Nyanue told the magazine. “And what better way to get that education than by connecting with and learning from the Black women who have done it before us.”
Sign up for The Climb 2022, the waitlist is now open to join.
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