Why layoffs hit workers of colour so hard

The news article titled 'Why layoffs hit workers of colour so hard' discusses the challenges faced by people of colour in the workforce, particularly in the context of global layoffs. These layoffs are exacerbating the difficulties faced by these individuals, further hindering their career advancement.

People of colour have historically experienced underrepresentation, limited opportunities for success, and a lack of institutional support across nearly all industries. It is only in recent years that many workplaces, including large tech firms, have begun to acknowledge the lack of diversity within their ranks, following decades of non-diverse hiring practices.

In response to this issue, companies have invested billions in diversity and inclusion initiatives aimed at rectifying these long-standing inequities and increasing the representation of marginalised workers. Data indicates that the most significant of these investments, particularly in the tech sector, were made in the aftermath of the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement. These initiatives have shown promising results in some cases. For instance, prior to Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter in late 2022, the company received positive press for increasing the number of black employees in its US locations from 6. 9% to 9. 4%. Similarly, the US-based telecommunications conglomerate Cisco reported a 120% increase in black vice presidents in the same year, surpassing the diversity targets they had initially set for 2023. However, these diversity efforts, along with the overall representation of people of colour in the workplace, may be stalling in the face of global layoffs.