Don’t Blame the Pipeline for Your White Male Workforce

It’s not surprising that Charles Scharf, the chief executive officer of Wells Fargo & Co., would point to a pipeline problem as one reason his company has a poor record of hiring and promoting Black employees. The sentiment is all too common, even among leaders like Scharf, who are doing lots of the right things when it comes to fighting racism at work. “If only there were more qualified candidates” is also a wish commonly expressed by executives trying to promote more women.

“While it might sound like an excuse, the unfortunate reality is that there is a very limited pool of Black talent to recruit from,” Scharf said in a memo. He expressed a similar sentiment in a Zoom call with employees over the summer, according to Reuters. On Wednesday, the CEO apologized, saying the comment reflected his own unconscious bias.