The most-senior Black leaders at Walmart unanimously said they would never recommend friends or family join the company

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The most-senior Black leaders at Walmart unanimously said they would never recommend friends or family join the company
Walmart's CEO Doug McMillon. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
  • Most Black supervisors and directors at Walmart would not recommend family work there.
  • Bloomberg reported on a Walmart survey of senior 56 Black managers' attitudes to career growth.
  • "Pay, benefits, not bad - but recommend? NEVER. EVER," one respondent reportedly said.
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Black members of Walmart's senior management team unanimously said they would not recommend friends and family work at the retail giant.

In a survey of 56 Black supervisors and directors at Walmart, eight senior managers all gave the lowest possible score when asked whether they would encourage friends and family to work there, Bloomberg reported.

Walmart asked Black leaders a series of questions about career growth and equity at the retailer, and tallied scores on a scale ranging from -100 to 100. Walmart presented survey results late last year, according to Bloomberg.

Got a tip? If you work at Walmart, get in touch with the reporter at aakhtar@insider.com. We can keep sources anonymous.

Black directors and senior directors, who rank just behind Walmart's vice presidents, gave a score of -86 on a scale ranging from -100 to 100 when asked the same question, per Bloomberg. Twenty-four directors and senior directors were surveyed.

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Survey respondents said they feel Walmart does not equally offer career and growth opportunities to Black and white employees, and Black senior leaders feel pressure to perform at an exceptional level to maintain their position.

"I have been here 10 years and I have never recommended Walmart to a person of color. I have recommended others to leave," one Black director said in the survey, according to Bloomberg. "Pay, benefits, not bad - but recommend? NEVER. EVER."

Read more: After their Shopify accounts were hacked, sellers expected the company to help them recoup the thousands of dollars they lost. It didn't.

Black and Latino people account for 39% of hourly workers at Walmart, but just 14% of US executives, according to an April diversity report. The majority of Walmart employees are white, making up 74.5% of executives and 52.3% of hourly workers.

Though Walmart employs slightly more underrepresented groups in upper management than competitor Amazon, Bloomberg's report highlights the lack of support Black managers feel they have at the retailer.

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Walmart was not immediately available for additional comment.

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