亲爱的安妮：（谢丽尔•桑德伯格的书）《向前一步》（Lean In）引发了公众关于职场女性的热烈讨论，这很好，但我真心希望有人同样能够关注一下职场中的少数族裔群体。我是非洲裔美国人，不考虑在白宫中地位显赫的那一位，我们这个群体在高管层和董事会中的数量比女性还要少。但到现在也没有人谈到这个问题，或许这是因为人们认为，一位黑人总统已经可以证明一切，已经没有必要再多说什么了。

    我并不同意这种观点。常春藤盟校（Ivy League）毕业的我即将奔四，虽然我拥有十多年出色的绩效评估，但从中层管理职位到高层职位的晋升机会一直与我无缘。这让我不禁怀疑，我的种族是否与此有关。特别要说明的是，我所在公司的高级管理层中一名少数族裔都没有。我感觉，其中肯定有某些我所不了解的内幕。您和您的读者们怎么看？——L.T.A.I.

    亲爱的L.T.A.I.：无论如何，我们都要探讨一下这个问题。从哪里谈起呢？首先，目前，任何人（与肤色无关）要想获得晋升都比以往要困难，至少有两个原因。其中一个原因是经济

    形势。经济衰退让已经在精兵简政的公司裁减了更多管理职位，因此，现在出现了管理职位“僧多粥少”的局面。

    然后是人口统计学的问题。作为X一代，你或许是遇到了人力资源人士所谓的“灰色天花板”，即大批婴儿潮一代占据着高层职位，却迟迟不肯退休。

    毫无疑问，如果在这种背景下再加入种族这个因素，前景看起来会更令人沮丧。调查与咨询公司DiversityInc一直在跟踪调查美国公司少数群体的发展状况。该公司报告称，2012年，《财富》500强公司（Fortune 500 ）中，仅有1.2%的公司CEO是黑人。（共有6位，而亚裔美国人有9位，拉丁裔美国人有6位，女性有17位。）

    律师事务所——6.5%的合伙人为有色人种——稍微多元化一些，但少数族裔“最近实际上失去了在公司董事会中的地位，”克洛伊•德鲁说。“如今非白人董事的数量比2004年有所减少。”

    德鲁是纽约市非营利机构城市职业理事会（Council of Urban Professionals，CUP）的执行理事。这个理事会成立于2007年，旨在为少数族裔和女性提供培训、人际交往和辅导，以及其他职场资源等。它大约有1,500名个人会员和67家企业合作伙伴，这些企业均为《财富》599强公司，其中包括美国运通（American Express）、高盛（Goldman Sachs）、安永会计师事务所（Ernst & Young）和谷歌（Google）。

    德鲁说，CUP的目的是培养“多元化领导人”。她补充道，理事会还将为雇主和应征者牵线搭桥：“尽管经济衰退对招聘市场产生了影响，但我们已经为100多位新高管和董事会成员找到了工作。”

    Dear Annie: It's great that [Sheryl Sandberg's book] Lean In has sparked a big public discussion about women in the workplace, but I really wish someone would start a similar conversation with regard to minorities. I am an African-American man and -- leaving aside the notable exception of the White House -- we're even more scarce in top executive jobs and boardrooms than women are. Yet no one is talking about that, maybe because people think that having a black President proves there's nothing more to say.

    I disagree. As an Ivy League alumnus in my late 30s who keeps getting passed over for promotion from middle management to a senior job, despite more than a decade of outstanding performance reviews, I can't help wondering if my race has something to do with it, especially since there are no ethnic minorities in senior management here. I feel like there's some secret handshake I haven't learned. What do you and your readers think? -- Let's Talk About It

    Dear Let's Talk: By all means, let's. Where do we start? Maybe by mentioning that there are at least two reasons why it's harder than it used to be for anyone (regardless of color) to get promoted these days. One of them is economic. The recession knocked more layers of management out of already-streamlined companies, so there are now even fewer senior jobs for middle managers to move into.

    Then there's the matter of demographics. As a Gen Xer, you're probably bumping into what HR people call the "gray ceiling," made up of large numbers of Boomers in lofty positions who are in no hurry to retire.

    No doubt, adding race to this picture does make the outlook even gloomier. Research and consulting firm DiversityInc, which tracks minorities' progress at U.S. companies, has reported that, in 2012, only 1.2% of Fortune 500 companies had black CEOs. (There were six of them, vs. nine chief executives who were Asian-American, six Latino, and 17 female.)

    Law firms -- 6.5% of whose partners are people of color -- are a tiny bit more diverse, but minorities "have actually lost ground in corporate board rooms recently," notes Chloe Drew. "There are fewer non-white directors now than in 2004."

    Drew is executive director of the Council of Urban Professionals, a New York City-based nonprofit launched in 2007 that offers leadership training, networking, and mentoring connections and other career resources to minorities and women. The group has about 1,500 individual members and 67 corporate partners, all of them Fortune 500 companies, including American Express (AXP), Goldman Sachs (GS), Ernst & Young, and Google (GOOG).

    CUP aims to develop "a pipeline of diverse leaders," Drew says, adding that it also acts as matchmaker between employers and candidates: "We've placed over 100 new executives and board members, despite the impact the recession has had on hiring."