New CEOs of Walgreens, TIAA offer glimmers of hope

Diversity in the Fortune 500 CEO ranks remains low, but one notable sign of hope in recent months has been former Starbucks executive Rosalind (Roz) Brewer becoming Walgreens CEO and Thasunda Brown Duckett preparing to take over at TIAA. Notably, Duckett is succeeding Roger Ferguson, marking the first time an African American CEO at a Fortune 500 company was succeeded by another African American person. This progress is not just about CEOs but also a societal gain, as research has shown that “Blacks regularly experience more microinsults, microinvalidations, and microassaults in the workplace,” writes Cynthia Teniente-Matson, president of Texas A&M University-San Antonio.