ABSTRACT
The primary goal of this study was to further the understanding of why qualified blacks perceived their opportunities for upward mobility in the corporate arena to be limited despite their having the requisite skills and experience for advancement. To accomplish this end, a model of corporate upward mobility (Chart 3-1) was developed from a review of the literature. This review revealed two sets of factors influencing blacks’ career advancement: 1) those factors influencing the mobility of employees in general, and 2) those factors influencing the mobility of blacks in particular. The model shows how the factors generally influencing mobility as well as those specifically influencing black upward mobility could actually lead to slower rates of advancement for blacks in the corporate arena.
