TITLE:
Transforming BIPOC Talent Acquisition: An Integrated Pipeline Development Framework for Senior Leadership Advancement
AUTHORS:
Renée Michele Collis, Kim A. Critchlow
KEYWORDS:
BIPOC Employment Experience, Minoritized Group Employment Experience, Senior-Level Leadership, Diversity Leadership, Employment Tenure, Company Commitment, Team Leadership, Diversity and Leadership, Leadership Ethics, Competitive Advantage, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion Theory, Leader-Member Exchange Theory
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.14 No.4,
July
3,
2026
ABSTRACT: Purpose: Business leaders lack the necessary resources to develop systematic BIPOC talent acquisition and pipeline systems and are burdened with ineffective strategies to increase the number of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) employees in senior-level positions—defined here as executive and upper-management roles with direct decision-making authority over organizational strategy, resources, and talent, including C-suite, vice president-level, and enterprise-level director positions. These gaps can negatively impact organizational financial performance and limit BIPOC professionals’ access to senior-level leadership. Design/Methodology/Approach: Grounded in a composite conceptual framework integrating Sue’s (2001) Multidimensional Cultural Competency (MDCC) framework, Akbar and Parker’s (2021) Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Theory, and Kotter’s (1996) eight-step Change Management model, this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was designed to identify and explore effective strategies that business leaders use to increase BIPOC representation in senior-level positions through systematic talent acquisition and pipeline development approaches. Pipeline development, as used in this study, refers to a coordinated, proactive organizational system integrating talent sourcing, recruitment, assessment, development, and retention functions to create sustainable advancement pathways for BIPOC professionals, in contrast to episodic or reactive diversity hiring. Purposive sampling was used to select nine business leaders in North America who had identified intentional sourcing, recruiting, and pipeline development as critical components and implemented effective strategies to increase BIPOC representation in senior-level positions. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and publicly available documents—both current and archival. Findings: Thematic analysis identified five interconnected subthemes within the dataset: 1) sourcing, recruiting, and pipeline development for diverse talent, 2) identifying and attracting BIPOC candidates, 3) inclusive skills and competency assessment methodologies, 4) compensation and pay equity, and 5) measurements, metrics, and accountability. Findings reveal that these five components function as an interdependent organizational system in which each element enables and amplifies the others, collectively transforming fragmented diversity efforts into integrated, sustainable advancement ecosystems. Originality/Value: This article addresses a critical gap in the literature by offering an empirically grounded framework for BIPOC talent pipeline development. The integrated framework distinguishes successful talent acquisition systems from traditional diversity hiring approaches by creating coordinated advancement ecosystems that link diverse talent sourcing, equitable assessment, compensation equity, and data-driven accountability to support senior leadership advancement among BIPOC professionals. The findings provide actionable recommendations for business leaders committed to increasing BIPOC representation while driving sustainable organizational performance improvements. A key recommendation is for business leaders to transform fragmented talent management functions into integrated pipeline systems that create sustainable pathways for BIPOC professionals. The implications for positive social change include the potential for business leaders to increase the number of BIPOC employees in senior-level positions in their organizations and generate financial impact through expanded customer patronage and access to a broader BIPOC talent pool.