Case Study

Advancing Black leadership in Brazil

Enabling MOVER’s mission to increase inclusion and Black access to leadership roles

Opportunity

Opening doors for Black professionals

Black individuals make up 56 percent of Brazil’s population, but hold just 5 percent of management positions. MOVER, a Brazilian nonprofit focused on racial equity and systemic change, is on a mission to accelerate the inclusion of Black professionals in the corporate environment.

With over 50 partner organizations committed to creating Black leadership positions by 2030, MOVER aims to establish more than 10,000 such roles in Brazil and equip three million Black professionals with capability building and job opportunities.

Hear from MOVER’s executive director, Natália Paiva, and the McKinsey team about MOVER’s work to help promote and accelerate the advancement of Black Brazilians.

Solution

Informing action with data-driven insights

To support MOVER’s mission, McKinsey experts analyzed the current state of Black employment and the talent pipeline in Brazil, undertaking several initiatives:

  • conducting three surveys across 50 companies that had successfully increased Black talent representation, gathering insights from over 3,000 Black individuals and uncovering best practices regarding the talent pipeline
  • providing benchmarking for MOVER to create a playbook reflecting the most effective strategies for attracting, developing, and retaining Black talent, 1 including in-person training programs, focus groups, and hiring hubs
  • convening focus groups to validate and refine the survey and playbook insights
  • facilitating the McKinsey Connected Leadership Academy (CLA) Brasil with tailored sessions for MOVER in Portuguese, which has had 142 participants and a 100 percent recommendation rate through 2024, and has expanded to over 900 participants in 2025

This comprehensive effort has yielded a rich fact base that outlines the opportunities, best practices for nurturing Black leadership talent, and insights on the experiences of Black professionals in Brazil.

1The McKinsey team drew on proprietary assessment tools, past work on diversity (for example, Women in the Workplace 2024: The 10th-anniversary report, McKinsey, September 17, 2024), and external resources (for example, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Lighthouses 2025, World Economic Forum, January 2025) to shape subsequent efforts (for example, creating a playbook) for MOVER in Brazil.

These resources will be extremely useful in accelerating the talent attraction and professional development journeys as companies seek to nurture Black talent.

Natália Paiva, executive director, MOVER

Impact

Accelerating representation in in decision-making spaces in Brazil

Get in touch

Vijay Gosula
Salvador
With expertise in Brazilian markets, including infrastructure, banking, and retail, he advises clients on improving operational...

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