Fewer Black professionals are entering venture capital, and even fewer are rising through the ranks, a new report has found. The Black Venture Report 2025 On Juneteenth, BLCK VC released the third edition of its Black Venture report. Its first edition was promoted by a question between the co-founders: Where are we, really? That question expanded into a critical report that highlights the link between Black representation and power in venture capital. “Our research continues to expose a stark truth: Black investors remain severely underrepresented, especially in senior roles,” it
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, finally learned that slavery had been abolished – two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. The first Juneteenth was observed in 1866 and has been celebrated by Black Americans for generations before finally being recognized as a federal holiday in 2021. Corporations Pull Support This year, many traditional Juneteenth celebrations are being scaled back or canceled due to declining support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, according to AP
References to DEI on annual reports of FTSE 100 companies in the UK have declined, according to The Observer. Mentions of DEI, as well as the number of pages containing the phrase and revisions on it, fell by more than 16% compared to the annual reports for 85 companies in 2023 and 2024. While references to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and revisions on the term decreased by 22%, the data points to influence from the US after President Trump revoked a six-decade-old executive order that prohibited workplace discrimination by
Fortune has been ranking the 500 largest US companies by revenue and the 2,000-plus CEOs who have led them since 1955. Although the number of Black CEOs on the list has increased, only 28 of the chief executives on the list have been Black, according to Fortune. Nine Black CEOs made the 2025 Fortune 500 list, with only two of them being Black women. Altogether, the nine companies they lead made up $244.76 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2024. Who are the nine Black CEOs that lead the Fortune
Women run 11% of companies on the 2025 Fortune 500 list. This marks a historic moment, as the number is over 10% for the first time, as stated by Fortune. In 2023 and 2024, 52 female CEOs led Fortune 500 companies, but this number increased to 55 in 2025. However, only two of these woman are Black. For 71 years, the Fortune 500 has ranked the largest US companies by revenue. In 2025, the companies that comprise the Fortune 500 are expected to represent $19.9 trillion in revenue, accounting for two-thirds
On May 25th, hundreds of people knelt in prayer outside of local Target stores to commemorate the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder. The prayer lasted for 9 minutes and 29 seconds—the exact time Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck, according to Afro.com. Faith leaders across the country led the prayer, including Pastor Jamal Bryant, who had led the 40-day boycott against the retailer, which has now evolved into a complete cancellation. “Effective immediately. Target is canceled,” he said. The company doesn’t “value who it is that
Melissa Butler, founder and CEO of The Lip Bar, shared that sales have declined by 30% since the boycott of Target began earlier this year. The boycott is in response to Target’s decision to roll back its DEI efforts, which include a commitment to increasing Black representation by 20% and a program to feature more products by Black- and minority-owned businesses. Butler is now calling on consumers to support Black-owned businesses through other channels, including buying from them directly. The Lip Bar’s sales declining In a video posted on social media,
Zeal Capital Partners has closed its second fund at $82 million, tripling its assets under management (AUM) to $186 million in just five years. The Washington, DC-based firm plans to invest the new capital in early-stage startups across fintech, healthcare, and the future of learning and work. A Broader, Stronger Investor Base Zeal’s investor base has grown significantly with this latest fund. Zeal’s limited partners now include Citi Impact Fund, M&T Bank, MassMutual, Wells Fargo, Zaffre Investments and Spelman College, according to a press release shared with POCIT. In addition
Women and non-white men hold 50.2% of over 5,500 board seats at S&P 500 companies, for the first ever, according to data compiled for Bloomberg by ISS-Corporate. Compared to five years ago, white men comprised nearly 60% of the directorships. This is significant as President Donald Trump has caused a DEI purge in the country. “It’s amazing that the shift in boards is occurring at the same time DEI is being dismantled in lots of organizations,” said David Larcker, a professor who studies corporate governance at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Amazon has become a staple of modern life, with millions relying on it for everyday purchases. But few of us stop to consider how our packages magically reach our homes. What if I told you that a robot helped make it happen? On May 7th, Amazon invited POCIT on a sponsored trip to its “Delivering the Future” event in Dortmund, Germany. This is the first in a series of events that will give the media exclusive access to an Amazon innovation center. We were given a sneak peek into Amazon,
