Target Pledges to Increase Number of Black Employees By 20% as Companies are Pressured to Take Action

As companies across the country face heightened scrutiny of their record on racial diversity, Target pledged Thursday to increase representation of Black employees across its workforce by 20% over the next three years.

The big-box retailer’s workforce of nearly 350,000 employees skews White, particularly among its top executives. About 75% of its leadership team is White and 8% are Black, based on 2019 data. That rises to nearly a quarter, however, when including all people of color like Latinos and Asians. Its overall workforce — which includes hourly store employees who stock shelves and check out customers — is more mixed, with 50% made up of White workers, 25% Latino and 15% Black, as the top three groups.

While pledging to do better, Target referred to strides it has made. It said it has doubled representation of company non-White officers in the past five years to nearly 30%. Of that, though, only 5% are Black.