For the most part, we have been doing it wrong. For decades, the way that government entities, institutions, organizations, and even advocates and activists have gone about addressing inequality in this country has been fundamentally flawed. We’ve asked the wrong questions, pursued the wrong solutions, and accepted the wrong premises. We’ve mainly obsessed over why people of color, women and LGBTQ+ individuals are “underrepresented” rather than asking: why are straight white American men so dramatically overrepresented in positions of power?
This isn’t about semantic hairsplitting. It’s about asking the right question, a strategic reorientation in thinking that gets to the heart of the matter. The problem isn’t that people of color and other marginalized people are lacking the necessary qualities – intelligence, ambition, discipline, networks and other qualifications, other merit – to climb their way up to positions of power and influence in greater numbers. The problem is the longstanding and widespread practice of granting preferences to straight white American men. White men make up about 29% of the US population, according to census data.
Swamp is an acronym for “straight white American male preference”. It means exactly what it says: evidence of preference – unfair and often illegal and unconstitutional (for now) – granted to straight white American men in every major sector of society.
Pointing out the overrepresentation of straight white American men in positions of power and influence is not, in and of itself, meant to be confrontational or adversarial. It is simply a statement of fact. When it becomes controversial is when we start exploring and trying to explain the reasons for this overrepresentation.
For more than 40 years, I have been studying and analyzing US history and politics, as well as working as a litigator, advocate and activist in pursuit of helping to make this country one that has preferences for none and justice for all. I can say with great confidence and conviction that the explanation for the overrepresentation of white men has nothing to do with the shortcomings and deficiencies of people of color, women and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Rather, this widespread inequality is largely due to centuries of deeply embedded cultural, psychological and systemic patterns and practices of granting preference to straight white American men.
What’s particularly important to understand is that even in the current political climate, with relentless attacks on various remedies for discrimination, no court has ruled that inequality itself is acceptable. The legal and political attacks have rained down on the remedies to inequality, not on the underlying principle that inequality is wrong and should be remedied. The law remains clear: systematic exclusion based on race, gender, or other protected characteristics is illegal and unconstitutional.
To apply and popularize the concept of Swamp, I propose making Swamp audits commonplace. These can be a tool to reshape the national conversation and influence public opinion; business, institutional and organizational conduct; and ultimately individual thinking and behavior.
The Swamp audit is a fairly straightforward endeavor. Anyone can subject any entity to an audit – whether you want to audit a school, corporation, city, county or other institution. Through a Swamp audit you can assess whether there is, in fact, an overrepresentation of straight white American men, especially in positions of power and influence.
At a basic level there are two broad data points you can use as the basis for an audit:
Twenty-nine percent: white men make up approximately 29% of the US population
The percentage of top positions in an organization, institution or entity held by white men
Start with the leadership. Identify every position of significant authority or influence within the organization.
For each position, collect demographic data on race, gender and sexual orientation (where available). Don’t forget to look at succession plans and “high-potential” development programs – these often reveal where the pipeline is being directed.
Look at the data over time. How have these demographics changed (or not) over the past decades? Did they change during periods when the organization claimed to have prioritized diversity?
Examine the pathway to leadership positions. What are the demographics at each level leading up to senior roles? Are there points where representation drops off dramatically?
How do these numbers compare to:
The organization’s overall workforce demographics
The demographics of the relevant qualified candidate pool
The demographics of the communities the organization serves
Industry benchmarks (where available)
The overall general US population?
Identify key decision junctures where preferences may be shaping outcomes:
Who makes hiring decisions for senior roles?
What criteria are used for promotion to leadership positions?
How are “cultural fit” and “leadership potential” assessed?
What networks and relationships influence succession planning?
How are board seats filled?
Once you have the data, if the evidence shows Swamp is in effect, the next challenge is to expose the reality and force an honest conversation about its implications. This isn’t about pinpoint precision down to the last decimal. The goal is to determine the severity of the problem, and then to understand it, and then to explore it further to find a solution.
The toughest challenge, of course, will be getting access to the data. Be prepared for people to push back. Gatekeepers and others in power do not like to be questioned or held accountable. They certainly don’t like to be audited, even when it is legally required. Be prepared to hear: “No, you can’t have that information.” Be prepared for defensiveness.
Be persistent. This work is important. It will require patience and courage. Don’t be dismayed or dissuaded. What matters most is sparking a conversation about whether overrepresentation exists – and if so, why?
Next step, share the findings in compelling ways. Create charts that show the demographic composition of leadership compared with the broader population or workforce. Frame the results with precise, powerful language, using terms such as “statistical improbability”, “systematic pattern” and “entrenched overrepresentation”.
Make the business case. Research consistently shows that diverse leadership improves decision-making, innovation, and financial performance. A 2023 McKinsey study of 1,265 companies in 23 countries found: “Organisations in the top quartile for ethnic and racial diversity were 39% more profitable than those with less diversity.”
The Swamp audit is just the beginning. Once the data has been gathered, analyzed and publicized, the real work starts for those entities subject to the audit. Organizations must be willing to confront uncomfortable truths about their demographics, especially in the composition of their leadership, and the systems that created them.
Set specific, time-bound targets for improving representation in leadership positions. Address the underlying processes, criteria, and networks that perpetuate Swamps. Make regular Swamp self-audits standard practice, with results shared publicly to ensure accountability.
When you conduct your audits, you can make clear that the goal isn’t to shame or blame individuals but to reveal and dismantle systems that have artificially concentrated power and opportunity.
In a democracy that claims to value equality and merit, the persistent concentration of power in the hands of one demographic group should be unacceptable. The Swamp audit gives us the tools to prove this concentration exists, show that preferences for white men are not based on merit, and build the case for systematic change.
The Swamp audit is our collective tool to shift the conversation on inequality – especially racial inequality – from the underrepresentation of people of color to the overrepresentation of straight white American men.
The data doesn’t lie. The question is whether we, as a society, are ready to face the facts and act on what it tells us.
This article was adapted from Are White Men Smarter Than Everybody Else?: Playing Offense in the Fight for Racial Justice in America, out on 21 April from New Press
Steve Phillips is the founder of Democracy in Color and author of Brown Is the New White: How the Demographic Revolution Has Created a New American Majority and How We Win the Civil War: Securing a Multiracial Democracy and Ending White Supremacy for Good
