Diversity Journal - Mar/Apr 2012

® All Things Diversity & Inclusion

28%

J

F

MAR/APR 2012 $12.95 8%

M A

M J J

A S

19%

O Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

N D

34%

J

F

M

11% 500

1000

1500

2000

Achieving a Work/Life Balance for Female Entrepreneurs pg. 13

CEOs share how D&I commitment from the top produces bottom-line results pg. 38

SPELMAN COLLEGE: Molding Today’s Black Female Leaders pg. 30 An In-Depth Look at Employee Resource Groups pg. 78

OUR PEOPLE, LIKE OUR SPIRITS, COME IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES, REPRESENT MANY AGES AND ORIENTATIONS AND ALL HAVE IN THEIR HANDS UNIQUE PASTS, PRESENTS AND FUTURES. WE WOULDN’T HAVE IT ANY OTHER WAY. THAT’S THE SPIRIT OF DIVERSITY.

PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT BROWN-FORMAN AND OUR DIVERSITY INITIATIVES, PLEASE VISIT WWW.BROWN-FORMAN.COM

| PUBLISHER’S COLUMN

®

Presenting D&I through the Language of Leadership

James R. Rector PUBLISHER/CEO/MANAGING EDITOR

Damian Johnson VICE PRESIDENT, EDITORIAL SERVICES AND CLIENT PARTNERSHIPS

Paul Malanij ART DIRECTOR

James Gorman IT DIRECTOR

Grace Austin

As we begin our fourteenth year publishing diversity and inclusion, benchmarking information and promoting organizations that are doing successful work, we continue to read that for some organizations the topic continues to be relegated to the backburner.

Of course all businesses have priorities—putting out fires, outsmarting the competition, winning contracts, hedging innovation, hiring talent, retention, and global opportunities are just a few of the challenges facing business today. While some organizations have embraced the profit side of diversity and inclusion, others have not had the time, energy, or information to delve into this area. I believe that’s where our magazine plays an important role. We address a need for organizational leadership to have access to information presented in the language of leadership. If you’ve ever had a presentation fall on deaf ears, one of the first hints that something is not right is the language used to make the proposal. Yes, there is a language of leadership just as there is a language of finance and accounting; sales and marketing; manufacturing; and legal and HR. Knowing your audience and speaking in the correct language helps assure that you will be understood and that your ideas will be recognized and acted upon.

We strive to provide expert opinions and analysis of the key components of diversity and inclusion in a language that is easy to understand. We try our best to remove industry jargon. We solicit multiple perspectives to eliminate any editorial bias. We probe deeper and as journalists we aim for the truth. We believe that there is meaning and serious business reasons for subscribing to the benefits of a diverse and inclusive environment, so everything we put in our magazine supports and augments this debate.

We believe that the study of diversity and inclusion can yield substantial benefits for all types of organizations and our magazine is positioned to provide the proof today and every day. And we take it one step further by providing prestigious awards to recognize and support those organizations that have discovered the truth. PDJ James R Rector, CEO, Publisher

2

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

April W. Klimley SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Matt Hoffman RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Vicky L. DePiore HUMAN RESOURCES SERVICES

Elena Rector EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Commentaries or questions should be

addressed to: Profiles in Diversity Journal, P.O. Box 45605, Cleveland, OH 44145-0605.

All correspondence should include author’s full name, address, e-mail and phone number.

DISPLAY ADVERTISING

Profiles in Diversity Journal Gemini Towers #1 • 1991 Crocker Road, Suite 204 • Westlake, OH 44145 Tel: 440.892.0444 • Fax: 440.892.0737 profiles@diversityjournal.com SUBSCRIPTIONS

Single issue print $12.95 1 year print subscription $24.95 2 year print subscription $44.95 3 year print subscription $59.95 Corporate Internet Subscription $495.00; in Canada, add $15 per year for postage.

Other foreign orders add $20 per year.

U.S. funds only. Subscriptions can be ordered at: www.diversityjournal.com or call customer service at 800.573.2867 SUBMISSIONS

profiles@diversityjournal.com edit@diversityjournal.com PHOTOS & ARTWORK: art@diversityjournal.com REPRINTS:

EDITORIAL:

I am

Sodexo Vijaya ager an M ns tio Opera India

Engaged employees drive business success. That’s why we’re committed to creating an environment where each employee contributes to his or her full potential. By fostering

Charlie Supervisor Logistics exico Gulf of M

Lisa Culinary Director, Education-Schools United States

a culture based on mutual respect and inclusion, we make every day a better day at Sodexo. But don’t take our word for it. Hear what our employees have to say about working

Suma Senior Dietician Malaysia

To view these employee’s stories, scan the smart tag or visit bit.ly/SodexoCommunity Get this app at http://gettag.mobi

Rahul se Manager Guesthou India

for the world’s leader in Quality of Life services on bit.ly/SodexoCommunity.

Inside

March / April 2012 Volume 14 Number 2

FEATURES

CEO LEADERSHIP IN ACTION

COVER STORY

38

It gives us great pleasure to present the Profiles in Diversity Journal 2012 CEO Leadership in Action Award.

We spotlight CEOs with a passion for diversity, profiling each while offering them an opportunity to relate their organization’s D&I efforts through their own words.

AGING IN PLACE: GENERATIONAL CHALLENGES IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORKPLACE

74 78

The age composition of the American population overshadows all other demographic change components.

For the first time in United States history, the workforce is comprised of individuals from four distinct age cohorts. This has created new and profound challenges in the American workplace.

3m ¬ Accenture ¬ Alliant ¬ Women ¬ American Express ¬ African American ¬Booz p Allen Hamilton AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT Brown-Forman Corporation p ¬ Charles Schwab & EMPLOYEE RESOURCE GROUPS Co ¬ CSC ¬ Energizer g ¬ Generational ¬Fannie Mae Ford Motor Company p y ¬ Gannett/USA / Todayy ¬ LGBT ¬ Disa ris Corporation p ¬ Kraft Foods Lathrop p Gage g ¬ Mercer ¬ Native American ¬Nielsen FOLLOWWyman US y AT: ¬ Novartis Pharma AG ¬ Oliver ¬ Working Pare Wealth Management g ¬ Robins, Kaplan, p Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. ¬ Hispanic p AmericanShell Oil ¬ WalMart Stores, Inc ¬ WellPoint, Inc Successful leaders discuss best practices to help launch and improve your own employee resource group.

facebook.com/diversityjournal twitter.com/diversityjrnl

scribd.com/diversityjournal twitter.com/mentorings

facebook.com/mentorings

4

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

The Issue

®

DEPARTMENTS

13 IN EVERY ISSUE

06 | EDITOR’S NOTE 08 | DIVERSITY LEADERS Updates on this year’s winners of the Diversity Leader Award

10 | BULLETIN Diversity Who, What, Where and When

90 | THOUGHTLEADERS Mentoring vs. Sponsorship and Keeping Diversity Fresh in a Down Economy

96 | GLOBAL DIVERSITY The latest news on international inclusion

100 | LEADERSHIP PROFILE Fannie Mae retiree led Fannie Mae’s Katrina Response and low-income financing for millions

102 | DIGITAL DIVERSITY Tweets, analytics and vocabulary

104 | DIVERSITY HISTORY Anniversaries, momentous or merely memorable occasions

105 | ODDS AND ENDS Did you Know?

16 108 | CORPORATE INDEX Names and websites of participating companies and advertisers

110 | Q&A An interview with Dr. Paul White, author and business relationship expert

SMALL BUSINESS | ENTREPRENUER

12 | CATCHAFIRE Startup helps volunteers find philanthropic options

13 | WORK/LIFE BALANCE FOR FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS At-home female entrepreneurs strive to find balance between family and career

NONPROFIT

CULTURE

34 30 | SPELMAN COLLEGE

22 | CULTURAL EVENTS International and stateside events in January and February

24 | Q&A WITH AMY HODGEPODGE AUTHORS We sat down with actress Kim Wayans and husband Kevin Knotts, authors of the successful series on multiracial character Amy Hodgepodge.

HIGHER EDUCATION

The prestigious HBCU has managed to remain financially viable while maintaining its exclusivity.

What's its secret?

MILITARY | GOVERNMENT

34 | A LETTER TO AMERICA Colonel Gary Packard, Jr. reflects on his thoughts post-DADT for the military and the country

36 | DISCOVER AMERICA

26 | UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND Maryland has recently named a new CDO...what does this mean for its large campus and widely diverse student body?

Taking a look at America’s new travel and tourism campaign

16 | GIRL SCOUTS An in-depth profile on the century-old organization that has produced more government leaders and astronauts than any other girl’s organization

20 | CATALYST Solid research backs up bottom line for diversity, specifically women representation in the business world

84 | FROM THE EXPERTS Leaders share their opinions and thoughts to help improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

CRAIG STORTI Communicating Across Cultures LINDA JIMENEZ WellPoint, Inc. TREVOR WILSON TWI Inc. PAM ARNOLD American Institute for Managing Diversity, Inc. NADINE VOGEL Springboard Consulting LLC JULIE KAMPF JBK Associates, Inc.

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

5

| EDITOR’S NOTE

Where does poverty start?

I live and work in Cleveland, a city known for its dismal record of sports championships, burning river, and ethnic history of Pole, Slav, Hungarian, Italian, and German communities.

Cleveland, though, is changing, and is trying to reinvent itself as many other cities have done in recent years (or at least tried,) including Detroit, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis.

Many productive gains have been made in the city, which are certainly beneficial, including investment in the arts and diversification of the economy, once so defined by manufacturing. The heart of the city is bustling, while new areas are becoming independent cultural enclaves. Even the suburbs are growing and changing their identities to fit with new demographics and shifting times.

Despite this, there are many parts of the city that seem to be overlooked. I am always curious but a little saddened when driving through the blighted streets of inner-city Cleveland, viewing boarded-up homes and businesses, and amazed by the poor infrastructure of these areas, (especially in terms of the street conditions.)

I am directly viewing the decay of a city—the poverty of a Rust Belt epicenter whose residents have been forgotten. It is a gloomy place. But in it I also see potential.

Where there are empty lots I see gardens being sowed or trees planted, where there are empty houses I see homes for the homeless, and where there are empty shops,

6

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

new, revitalized stores and restaurants.

Gentrification may be controversial, but this city needs it, as do so many others around the country.

In Cleveland, as in many other cities, people wonder where poverty begins. Is it from a lack of education? Or does it stem from the paucity of job opportunities, particularly labor? What creates this cycle of poverty? What do we need to do to prevent it, to revitalize our community?

These are all questions that have been debated by intellectuals and experts since the beginning of the population drain from America’s older cities, (a trend that Europe has previously experienced,) and the shift in the American economy to primarily services-based. What needs to improve to stop community deterioration, to stop these cycles of crime and poverty?

In my opinion, while the antecedents and precedents may be debated, the one most important factor in success and change is education. Education can change decisions people make financially, cognitively, and physically. And education does not stop at the schoolhouse, but carries into the home. Homes need to foster intellectual growth and stimulation for children, as well as esteem and value. If we can start at Pre-K and Kindergarten levels and move upwards, maybe we can begin to make changes in the community—a catalyst that will hopefully lead to neighborhood revitalization and solutions to depressed blight and continuous cycles of poverty. PDJ Grace Austin graceaustin@diversityjournal.com

Diversity Leaders 2012 DIVERSITY LEADERS

Aflac AIMD Inc. Akraya, Inc. American Express Andrews Kurth LLP Army and Air Force Exchange Service Bank of the West BDO USA, LLP Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC Booz Allen Hamilton Brinker International Burger King Corp Caesars Entertainment Corp.

Catalyst CDW LLC Chevron Chrysler Group LLC Cisco Systems, Inc. Citigroup Inc. Comcast Corporation CSC CVS Caremark Deloitte LLP Eastman Kodak Company Fannie Mae Freddie Mac Gibbons P.C. Halliburton Harris Corporation ITT Corporation JBK Associates, Inc. Kelly Services KeyCorp KPMG LLP Lockheed Martin Corp.

ManpowerGroup Marsh & McLennan Companies Medco Health Solutions MGM Resorts International Moss Adams MWV National Grid New York Life Insurance Newell Rubbermaid Northrop Grumman IS PNC Financial Services Group Raytheon Company RBC Wealth Management Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. Royal Dutch Shell SAIC Sodexo Springboard Consulting LLC Sprint Target The Lifetime Healthcare Companies TWI Inc. Union Bank N.A. United States Air Force Academy UnitedHealth Group University of the Rockies US Airways, Inc Vanguard Verizon W.W. Grainger, Inc. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Waste Management, Inc. WellPoint, Inc.

8

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

MORE FROM OUR AWARD-WINNING COMPANIES The Diversity Leader award recognizes communications excellence in the area of D&I. Winning companies utilize different technologies and mediums as a way to improve internal and external communication. To further promote these efforts, we are briefly highlighting the work of several companies throughout our 2012 issues. *Diversity Leader award-winning companies denoted by this symbol: DL

WAL-MART

DL

Training

Wal-Mart targets 1.4 million managers and associates across all U.S. facilities. “Leadership on the Move” is unique in its method of linking cultural competencies with leadership development. The series is comprised of four training tracks that include personal leadership, people leadership, results leadership and thought leadership. Each six-week track includes 15-minute discussions designed to equip associates with practical information that will help them better understand and maximize the value of diversity and inclusion.

TARGET

DL

Intranet Portal

Target’s diversity and inclusion team works with Target Communications to place regular articles on insideTGT, Target’s corporate intranet site. These articles promote upcoming events, share team member stories and celebrate achievements. Diversity and Inclusion has dedicated SharePoint sites and wiki pages.

Additionally, Target has created specific SharePoint group sites for each of the five business councils (African American, Asian, Hispanic, LGBTA, and Women.) Target’s intranet also features a site, Building Connections, where team members and leaders can find unique tools and resources related to D&I.

RBC U.S.Wealth Management

DL

Internal Town Hall/Community Meetings RBC hosts quarterly “Lunch and Learn” sessions for employees at the corporate headquarters, including sessions featuring external speakers such as the PACER Center’s anti-bullying program; Dr. Reatha Clark for Black History Month; and the YWCA Let’s Talk Race program. Additional internal events include the annual Festival of Nations celebration and breakfast hosted by RBC’s employee resource groups.

March/April 2012

Thanks to You, Women from every walk of life have improved their communities and our nation.

WellPoint proudly celebrates Women's History Month.

At WellPoint, we are addressing tomorrow’s health care issues today by taking a leadership role in women’s health. Focusing on the medical issues that most affect women, we’ve developed a four-pronged approach that addresses wellness and prevention, disease management, quality improvement, and community involvement.

And, our commitment extends to providing our associates with connections to WOW – the Women of WellPoint associate resource group, on-site lactation rooms and dependent care spending accounts.

Better health care, thanks to you.

Visit us online at wellpoint.com/careers ® Registered Trademark, WellPoint, Inc. ® Registered Trademark, Working Mother ® Registered Trademark, Latina Style Magazine © 2012 WellPoint, Inc. All Rights Reserved. EOE

Bulletin Coca-Cola Diversity Leader Retires Leading the way for minorities and women in the largest beverage corporation in the world, Johnnie B. Booker first took over as director of Supplier Diversity in 2001. After a BOOKER decade of improving diversity within the Coca-Cola ranks, Booker has now decided to go into retirement.

“I was taught as a child that those who are blessed have a responsibility and an obligation to spread that blessing to others,” said Booker.

“Commitment, perseverance, and the need to help,” are qualities Booker says have kept her passionate about helping minorities and women in business. In the next phase of her life, Booker has plans to work as a consultant for major firms.

Active in a number of service organizations on the local, national, and in-

WHO…WHAT…WHERE…WHEN

ternational level, Booker is a member of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, The National Black Child Development Institute, NAACP, and the Urban League.

Tennis Association Names New Chief Diversity Officer D.A. Abrams has been named the United States Tennis Association’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer.

In this role, Abrams will focus on developing and innovating the ABRAMS USTA’s diversity and inclusion initiatives on both a national and grassroots level.

“The USTA is excited to welcome back D.A. to the national office,” said Smith. “D.A’s commitment to growing the game, and providing opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds makes him the ideal person to implement our diversity

Diverse Execs named to C-Suite at Walmart Rosalind G. Brewer has been promoted to president and CEO of Sam’s Club.

Rollin Ford has been promoted to chief administrative officer (CAO) for the company. Ford will play an important role in helping the company meet its commitment to reduce SG&A expenses as a percentage of sales by more than 100 basis points over the next five years.

“We are very intentional about developing talent to meet the needs of our rapidly growing business worldwide,” said Walmart President and CEO Mike Duke. “The promotions are clear evidence that our succession and management development programs work, and that we have highly talented, well-rounded and experienced business leaders ready to step into larger roles when the opportunities arise.”

Gisel Ruiz has been promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer for Walmart U.S. She will be responsible for the company’s U.S. operations, which cover more than 3,800 stores and include Supercenters, discount stores, Neighborhood Markets and Walmart Express formats. Karenann Terrell has been promoted to chief information officer for the company. In this position she will be responsible for the company’s global technology systems including stores and clubs, supply chain, merchandising and enterprise platforms.

10

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

and inclusion mission in both within and outside the USTA family.”

Abrams brings 27 years of experience to the USTA both on the national and sectional levels. Most recently, he served as the Executive Director of the USTA’s Eastern Section, where he led it through unprecedented growth. Under his leadership, the section’s membership increased by more than 20%, and its recreational programs for adults and juniors expanding as well.

He has been a pioneer by becoming the first African-American executive director of a USTA regional office at the USTA Missouri Valley section. While there, Abrams increased USTA individual and organizational membership, and exceeded goals set for growth in USTA programs, including USA Tennis 1-2-3, Team Tennis, Community Tennis Associations, NJTL, Schools and Park and Recreation organizations.

Wells Fargo names Jimmie Walton Paschall EVP, Enterprise Diversity & Inclusion Jimmie Walton Paschall has been named Executive Vice President for Enterprise Diversity and Inclusion at Wells Fargo. Paschall will lead Wells Fargo’s enterprise diversity and inclusion efforts, which includes consulting with and providing guidance to the company’s various lines of business, leading the company’s Enterprise Diversity Council and Team Member Network programs, and reporting to senior management and the Board of Directors.

Paschall joins Wells Fargo from Marriott International, where she most recently served as Global Diversity Officer and Senior Vice President of External Affairs. PDJ

RAYTHEON PEOPLE

INNOVATION.

DRIVEN BY DIVERSITY. As one of the world’s foremost technology leaders, Raytheon takes on some of the most difficult challenges imaginable.

Meeting those challenges requires a diversity of talent, ideas, backgrounds, opinions and beliefs. Diversity helps our teams make better decisions, build stronger customer relationships and feel more inspired, supported and empowered. It is both a catalyst and an essential advantage to everything we do.

FOR DIVERSE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES: www.raytheon.com | Keyword: Careers Follow us on: © 2012 Raytheon Company. All rights reserved. “Customer Success Is Our Mission” is a registered trademark of Raytheon Company. Raytheon is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer and welcomes a wide diversity of applicants. U.S. citizenship and security clearance may be required.

>>

SMALL BUSINESS | ENTREPRENUR

Catchafire Catches Interest of Nonprofits, Volunteers

By Grace Austin

W

A NT TO LEND a hand?

Or do you belong to a nonprofit that needs volunteers?

Look no further than internet startup Catchafire.

Founded in April 2009 by then-27 year-old Rachael Chong, Catchafire is a website that connects professionals who want to apply their on-thejob skills to nonprofits and social enterprises that need help. In just over two years, Catchafire has become the largest pro-bono service provider in New York, with a network of nearly 2,000 social good organizations and nearly 10,000 professionals, delivering over $3 million in professional services to date.

“You can think of us as an eHarmony for skilled professionals and social mission organizations,” said Chong, the company’s founder and CEO. Catchafire matches skills and cause interest of professionals to the specific project needs of a nonprofit or social enterprise.

“Organizations save time, resources, and money and are able to provide greater focus to their programs, allowing them to better serve their beneficiaries. Catchafire is also revolutionizing the way that professionals volunteer by matching them to more relevant and meaningful volunteer opportunities, resulting in greater social impact,” said Chong.

Catchafire has made nearly 600 successful project matches. One

12

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

Catchafire’s icons help volunteers navigate potential projects.

success story matched Change for Kids on a Salesforce Database Customization Project with Luis Morales, Managing Director of IT with FSA. Change for Kids invested significant time and money trying to implement a useful database with Salesforce, but with little success. Luis created a database that Change for Kids, which has been very successful for the organization. Change for Kids was so thrilled with Luis, they recruited him on their board of directors.

For a project that began in Chong’s apartment in New York, the company has expanded now to 13 full-time employees. Originally in investment banking, Chong grew frustrated finding volunteer opportunities in her spare time. During research for the start-up of the U.S. affiliate of BRAC [a non-profit development organization], Chong became aware of a significant gap between those, like herself, who March/April 2012

wanted to devote their time, and nonprofits looking for help. “[It] opened my eyes to an untapped marketplace of millions of professionals who want to give their skills to causes they love and millions of social good organizations that need their help. Inspired by what I had discovered, I founded Catchafire with the goal of making it easy for every professional to give their skills to make it easy for every nonprofit and social enterprise to leverage the goodwill of professionals,” said Chong.

Chong has felt numerous challenges, as many new businesses do in their first few years. The company’s lack of resources has made it difficult to both expand and spread the benefits of service.

“The most challenging part of our business is getting in front of professionals and communicating the benefits of pro-bono service. There are many benefits of pro-bono service

including personal and professional development, growing your network, leadership, and building your resumé.

The challenge for us is to spread this word to as many professionals as possible,” related Chong.

In contrast, Chong does not see her status, as a young, Australianborn Chinese female, as a challenge.

“Being a minority may generally present challenges, which I do not want to belittle; however, I believe that in this day and age, in the city that I live and work in, overall, I am far more advantaged than disadvantaged,” said Chong. “Age, like race, is what it is, and I think that in this day and age and in this country, our personal attitude towards these uncontrollable factors determines our

>>

success and happiness more than the factors themselves.”

While Chong dismisses her ethnicity and age as barriers to entrepreneurial success, Catchafire has considerable diversity amongst its employees.

“We have employees in all age groups, ethnicities, and nationalities, including Finland, Australia, and various cities across the United States. We also have a pretty even 50/50 split between men and women working here,” said Chong.

As Catchafire continues to grow, Chong envisions the website’s expansion to other cities across the country. Boston was the first step in this process.

“Our goals are expansion to new

SMALL BUSINESS | ENTREPRENUER

CHONG

cities across America so that we can provide our services to as many social good organizations and professionals as possible,” said Chong.

“Our vision is for all professionals to be able to give their skills easily and for all social good organizations to be able to leverage the goodwill of professionals.” PDJ

Photography credit: RTimages

WORK/LIFE BALANCE IN THE HOME OFFICE

By Debra L. Stang, LCSW

T

I ME MANAGEMENT BOOKS have much advice for

female entrepreneurs who procrastinate, but most of them do not address the issue of working in great detail. When one’s business is at one’s home, it’s especially easy to get drawn into the trap of never really leaving work— for instance, foregoing family time to check and respond to emails, or regularly putting one’s “me-time” on hold due to client requests.

Finding a work/life balance is difficult. Here are some tips for those struggling or who wish to better.

What Is Work/Life Balance Anyway?

Work/life balance means different things to different people.

Gail Granger, a communication professional who works from home, defines her view of work/life balance March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

13

>>

SMALL BUSINESS | ENTREPRENUER

“

I am in control of my life and my calendar, and if I want work/life balance, I must make it happen.

as “me in charge of my life and time.” She thrives on working into the wee hours of the morning and reports that her laptop is always within arm’s reach.

In contrast, Thekla Richter, a home-based time management coach, states that her right work/ balance is to currently work part-time.

Karen Koenig, LCSW, M.Ed., a psychotherapist, eating coach, and international author, tells clients, “You know what makes you work and feel best. You run your business. Don’t let it run you.”

Figuring out a comfortable work/life balance is an important step. From there, there are three basic steps to achieving much-needed “me-time.”

Schedule Your Days

Successful work-from-home female entrepreneurs emphasize the importance of setting a work schedule and sticking to it.

Diane Kobrynowicz, a health and wellness coach, states that she overcame her workaholic tendencies by recognizing that “I am in control of my life and my calendar, and if I want work/life balance, I must make it happen.”

Other women schedule time into their day for exercise, spending time with their children or mate, running errands, or getting out of the house for a quick lunch with a friend.

Another important part of scheduling is to clearly denote when a work day has finished. Develop a routine, such as making tomorrow’s to-do list, putting papers away, and shutting off the computer. Once this pattern becomes a habit, it will signal the subconscious mind that the work day is over and that it’s time to start focusing on other things.

Establish Physical Boundaries

Another factor that helps work-at-home entrepreneurs separate their work space from their life space is by allocating a specific place in the house where work is done.

Ideally, this should be a spare room, but if you don’t have a spare room, it can be a corner of your house.

Karen Koenig, for instance, has designated one room

14

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

in a far wing of her house where she meets clients and works on her writing projects. Other areas of her house are strictly off limits to work-related activities.

“Don’t use your bed for anything except sleeping,” she advises. “If your mind comes to — Diane Kobrynowicz associate your bed with workrelated concerns, you may find yourself developing a sleep disorder.”

”

Coordinate Your Routine with Family

Amber Watson-Tardiff, partner in Legal Marketing Maven and account manager and copywriter for Solamar Marketing, found that achieving a work/life balance was an ongoing struggle until she hired a babysitter to take care of her children so she could further concentrate on work.

“It’s the only thing that has…made it possible to keep all my balls in the air,” she says.

In addition to keeping the needs and routines of one’s children in mind, it is important to take into account the needs of other adults in the home, such as one’s significant other, parents, or in-laws.

Richter reminds women that “creating a life balance for yourself needs to be done within the ecosystem of your family, because everything each member does affects everyone else.”

For instance, after staying home full-time with her newborn baby and considering a return to full-time work, Richter decided it made more sense for her to work part-time while her child is a toddler. “I chose to dedicate fewer hours to my business right now,” she says, “and more hours to parenting and running the household.”

No Exact Formula for Success

There is no mathematical formula to find the perfect work/life balance. Instead, one must pay attention to one’s intuition about what one needs and define work/ life balance for one’s self.

One can work from home and maintain a rich private life, but first one must explore one’s priorities and change one’s work habits to reflect the balance one is trying to achieve. PDJ

FRESH

PERSPECTIVES, CREATED

DAILY. © 2012 Lockheed Martin Corporation

THIS IS HOW

Diversity is more than a goal. It’s a necessity. When facing down the most important projects in the world, every idea counts. Every viewpoint matters. That’s why, at Lockheed Martin, we not only believe in diversity. We embrace it. Because diversity is the “how” that delivers the most innovative solutions to some of the most complex problems imaginable.

www.lockheedmartin.com

>>

NONPROFIT ON MY HONOR:

100 YEARS OF DIVERSITY AT

GIRL SCOUTS OF AMERICA

W

By Grace Austin

HEN ONE THINKS of Girl

empowering girls. One of the most radical notions Scouts, one may think of in the world is girls as leaders, and this is one of Thin Mints, overnight the pinnacles of Girl Scouting. We are still relcamps, and sashes and evant to girls today because we ask girls what they uniforms. But Girl Scouts want and we believe girls can do anything,” said is much more than that. The female-centered Media Manager Michelle Tompkins. organization is one of the largest and most sucBesides selling cookies (a practice begun in 1917 cessful non-profit organizations in the U.S., and as a fundraising opportunity), Girl Scouts camp responsible for the development of young girls as outdoors, perform community service, learn first early as age five. Celebrating its 100th anniversary aid, and earn badges by acquiring practical skills this year, Girl Scouts has undergone many changes like cooking. Girl Scouts are divided into troops over the years but at its essence remains an orgawhich are grouped by location, which in turn nization dedicated to “building girls of courage, are overseen by a council. Girl Scouts’ achieveconfidence, and character.” ments are recognized through rank Girl Scouts was founded by advancement, beginning with the Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 in Daisy (Kindergarten age) through Savannah, Georgia as an offshoot Ambassador (16-18) and special of the Boy Scouts. At a time when awards. A wholesome outlet for most girls and women stayed ingirls, many famous leaders have side, and physical activity was often been Girl Scouts, including Lucille looked down upon, Girl Scouts Ball, Martha Stewart, and Hillary hiked, played basketball, and Clinton. Today there are 3.2 milstudied first aid. Feminist before lion members and it is estimated feminism was invented, Girl Scouts more than 50 million alumni. reflected changing morays in soci“Girl Scouts afforded me an early ety as a revolutionary leadership opportunity to learn about team GSUSA was founded by Juliette organization designed only for work, leadership, and healthy Gordon Low (middle) in 1912 in girls. competition. It was a great founSavannah, Georgia as an “Girl Scouts was always about dation and resonates within me offshoot of the Boy Scouts.

16

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

Girl Scouts compete in the Mission Ocean Challenge during the USS California Science Experience at Naval Surface Warfare.

today as a leader,” said Julie Kampf, CEO and years. While we are continuing to offer year-long founder of JBK Associates, a talent sourcing firm troops, we recognized as girls grow older they want headquartered in Englewood, New Jersey. more flexible options,” said Susan Swanson, Vice Girl Scouts has made considerable changes President of Membership for GSUSA. since it beginning a century ago. Girl Scouts was Over the years, Girl Scouts has remained structurally reorganized in 2006, significantly relevant by constantly evolving. With emergdecreasing its number of councils, changing its ing demographics like the Hispanic/Latino age levels, and adding a “New Girl population, Girl Scouts has faced Scout Leadership Experience,” which new challenges, including the task involves leadership journeys. of introducing themselves to a group In recent years, Girl Scouts has unfamiliar with their organization. faced external criticism for the usage “We have approached that challenge of “God” in the Girl Scout Promise. by instead of using a flyer sent home To adapt to changing times, the orgawith their daughter, we have small nization now allows omitting the word meetings with trusted adults like ESL and substituting the word for one’s teachers and church leaders. We have individual beliefs. to make people comfortable and get “Our program has undergone a to know our organization. The results whole new renovation within the past are incredibly exciting, because when few years. The content has been towe find we take the time, the intertally updated to be totally relevant to est in belonging is huge not only for today’s girls, like environmental issues; daughters but for adults themselves,” mind, health and body; and focus on said Swanson. careers and STEM. The other area [we Another major issue has come from have changed] is how girls participate. the basis and key to the organization’s Our delivery is 100% dependent on sustainability—the volunteers. adults and volunteers, and through “We have made a significant effort research we have realized adults have within the past five years to say volunGirl Scout in uniform, 1973. become busier within the past ten to 20 teers first, and it needs to be a part of the March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

17

>> NON-PROFIT

“

Photography © BrokenSphere / Wikimedia Commons.

We have much opportunity for more and more girls to develop their leadership and take on bigger and better roles to make the world a better place.”

— Susan Swanson, Vice President of Membership for GSUSA

fabric of the community. It’s work, but it’s worth it and it is working,” added Swanson.

Reaching out to new demographics is not new; Girl Scouts bears a long history of diversity. The organization has a long history of multi-racial troops; in 1954, Martin Luther King, Jr. called the Girl Scouts a force of desegregation. Girl Scouts welcomed girls with disabilities early in their history at a time when they were not included in most other activities.

“It’s been part of us since the very beginning.

There’s never been a part of Girl Scouts when we haven’t been reaching out to new organizations.

Diversity is as much a part of us as leadership,” said Tompkins.

Diversity also translates into the staffing at Girl Scouts. The senior management is comprised of 30% underrepresented groups, while the overall staff is approximately 45% underrepresented groups, a term that includes Asian Americans, African Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanic/Latinos.

“We feel like its important to look like America.

Diversity has been very important since we were founded in 1912; there were no barriers to participation in terms of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic group, and the like, and that’s been something we try to build on. We are continually trying to work on new strategies to attract diverse staff; we are also engaged in collaborative recruiting with other nonprofits. We take a lot of strides to make sure that we try to reach different areas of the labor market to recruit diverse talent,” said Michael Watson, Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Diversity at GSUSA. Girl Scouts hopes to keeping changing and modernizing, continuing to offer exceptional lead-

18

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

Girl Scouts

Numbers: GIRL SCOUTS HOLD UP 3 FINGERS WHEN by the

THEY SAY THE GIRL SCOUT PROMISE.

69% | of woman Senators were Girl Scouts.

JULIETTE GORDON LOW WAS 52 WHEN SHE FOUNDED THE GIRL SCOUTS.

67% | of women in the House were Girl Scouts. ership opportunities for girls.

“The challenges that the world faces right now are going to continue to face us for the next 20-30 years,” said Swanson. “We have much opportunity for more and more girls to develop their leadership and take on bigger and better roles to make the world a better place. We will continue to connect to what girls tell us, and we will continue to change to meet the girls’ needs.” PDJ The Girl Scouts is in need of volunteers of all ages and genders throughout the country. If you would like to give back, please go to girlscouts.org/today.

CSC CelebrateS

Women’S HiStory montH

For professionals who seek to reach new career milestones, CSC offers the ideal environment — a dynamic culture where innovation flourishes. Visit CSC’s career site at http://careers. csc.com to explore opportunities to join one of the world’s most successful IT business solutions providers. csc.com/careersus CSC is an Equal Opportunity Employer, M/F/D/V.

>> W NON-PROFIT

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND DIVERSITY

By Catalyst

DL

HAT IS THE number one

goal of a corporation? Seems like a foolish question— flip open any MBA textbook and the “right” answer is obvious: profit maximization. But is it really so simple?

If companies haven’t turned their ears to the Occupy Wall Street protestors yet, they should. The growing movement reflects an important trend in public opinion: 71% of Americans report an unfavorable impression of Wall Street and large corporations.

It’s clear that while companies need to make money to survive, profit maximization, without regard to consequences or risks, is not a strategic business practice.

Cue corporate sustainability.

Through its focus on stakeholder relations, a key tenet of corporate sustainability is CSR, or corporate social responsibility—a consideration of the organization’s impact, both positive and negative, on the world. Companies committed to CSR pay more than lip service to their stakeholders, looking beyond the interests of quick-buck investors. They are positioned for long-term growth.

CSR isn’t just a passing fad. A company’s CSR activities are a visible way to judge their values. And one easily investigated metric—something that we at Catalyst measure for every Fortune 500 company each year—is the representation of women in senior leadership.

Gender and Corporate Social Responsibility: It’s a Matter of Sustainability, a study Catalyst authored with researchers from Harvard Business School, shows that companies and society win when business leaders are gender-diverse.

We found that across a period of ten years, companies with more women board directors and more women corporate officers donated significantly more charitable funds than their less-diverse peers. Each additional woman board director translated to an added $2.3 million in annual philanthropic giving. And for every percent increase in woman corporate officers, companies gave an additional $5.7 million.

These findings can’t be explained away by factors other than gender-diverse leadership. Women leaders still had a significant positive effect after controlling

20

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

for financial performance, company size, and industry.

While this could be a case of the chicken versus the egg, other research suggests that diverse leaders are employed before increases in CSR are observed.

Why might this be? We believe that operating with gender-inclusive leadership can provide diverse perspectives on fairness, which may broaden the company’s understanding of CSR and lead to greater philanthropy.

Obviously, CSR isn’t just about the quantity of philanthropic donations. The quality of initiatives is important too. We speculate that when leaders spotlight gender issues in their CSR strategies, for example focusing on the importance of women as customers and suppliers, they often position their organization for sustained growth, and the payoff extends beyond the company to society at large.

So the next time you are looking to invest, make a purchase, or take a job offer, consider the gender diversity of the company’s leadership. It might point you to a company that pays attention to its stakeholders, and not just the next quarter’s balance sheet. PDJ Founded in 1962, Catalyst is the leading nonprofit membership organization expanding opportunities for women and business. With offices in the United States, Canada, Europe, and India, and more than 500 preeminent corporations as members, Catalyst is the trusted resource for research, information, and advice about women at work.

I’m part of somethIng bIgger than myself—anD ValUeD for my bIg IDeas.

A career at Verizon means always reaching, always achieving. That’s because we foster an environment that thrives on different perspectives, which will challenge you to grow and lead. It’s how we’re able to continually bring powerful technology to businesses and individuals all over the world. And it’s just the kind of support you need to help you fulfill your potential and achieve your goals.

Take the lead at verizon.com/jobs.

Careers for everything you are

Verizon is an equal opportunity employer m/f/d/v.

>>

CULTURE EVENTS MARCH|APRIL

Melbourne’s 9th Annual Thai Culture and Food Festival, March 18:

The Festival will start at 10 AM with the traditional Buddhist blessing by Thai monks. A Thai long drum parade will follow, with cooking demonstrations, vendors selling traditional Thai goods and foods, and live bands featuring Australian and Thai musicians.

Don’t forget the recently added Miss Thai Festival pageant either!

Other Minds Festival of New Music, March 1-3: Now in its 16th year, the annual Other Minds Festival of New Music invites eight innovative artists from around the world to the San Francisco Bay for a four-day residency and three days of concerts, panel discussions, and symposia. The festival “brings together composers who represent all points of the musical spectrum and push the creative possibilities of

22

A Bloody History, and Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad, showcasing the creativity of participating young people, emerging artists and amateur companies.

National Cherry Blossom Spring Festival, March 30-April 29:

Last year’s Miss Thai Festival pageant in Melbourne.

their respective disciplines.”

Tennessee Williams/ New Orleans Literary Festival, March 21–25:

Attention all Tennessee Williams buffs: occurring daily in the French Quarter, the annual festival takes place each spring in New Orleans, the setting for many of the playwright’s works. Featuring theater, play readings, and panel discussions, the festival ends with the “Stanley and Stella Shouting Contest,” one of

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

the most playful odes to the literary great.

The World Shakespeare Festival, April 21-July 27: The World Shakespeare Festival, a collaboration between many partners, will begin in April with Globe to Globe at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.

The festival includes some of Shakespeare’s classics, like King Lear, Macbeth: Leila and Ben –

This spring, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. celebrates the centennial of the National Cherry Blossom Festival with a music festival and the exhibition Colorful Realm: Japanese Bird-And-Flower Paintings by eighteenth century painter Itō Jakuchū. Colorful Realm of Living Beings is a 30-scroll set of bird-andflower paintings on silk and the centerpiece of the landmark exhibition, never before shown in its entirety outside of Japan. Colorful Realm of Living Beings provides a panoramic survey of flora and fauna, both mythical and actual, reflecting the highest artistic and technical accomplishment in Japanese painting. PDJ

AT BANK OF THE WEST, WE VALUE ALL EMPLOYEES. At Bank of the West, we value the unique blend of backgrounds and diversity of thought our employees contribute. Different perspectives generate innovative ideas, which makes us stronger. In today’s competitive banking environment we must stay a step ahead of the rest and our employees are a key component. For career opportunities, visit us online at bankofthewest.com.

Equal Housing Lender. Š 2011 Bank of the West. Member FDIC.

>> Q&A CULTURE

with KIM WAYANS authors of the Amy Hodgepodge series

k

Widely known for her appearances on In Living Color with her famous brothers, actress Kim Wayans has ventured into the world of children’s books within the past few years. Her series, Amy Hodgepodge, focuses on the trials and tribulations of an ethnically-diverse 10-year old, Amy. Damian Johnson spoke with Wayans and husband Kevin Knotts, who co-writes the series with her.

im, I read you wrote short stories in grade school and read them to younger students.

My teacher had such faith in my little stories. It was Mrs. Clark, Sylvia Clark—she’s my favorite teacher ever.

We actually dedicated Amy Hodgepodge to her, because she was so instrumental in building my confidence about my writing. I have a lot of gratitude to her.

What were some of those stories about?

Most of them were about fairy tales. I had one called “The Wash Cloth of Youth.” It was about a little old lady who found a washcloth that whenever she used it it would make her young again.

[Laughs] It sounds preposterous, but I was all of ten. The kids loved that story. Unfortunately, my dad threw out all of my stories. My mom still hasn’t gotten over that.

You wanted to be in show business from a very young age. How did you know from a young age you wanted to do this?

I was really lucky that way. Some people come into the world knowing what they want to do,

24

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

and I was just one of those people. It was natural to me; it was what I wanted to do.

Kevin, was it true you were raised on a ranch in Oklahoma? Can you describe some of your fondest memories growing up there?

Yes, I was. I did a lot of fishing. I had a clear, spring-fed creek in my backyard. We had rainbow trout, large-mouth bass, and albino squirrels. It was a pretty wonderful place. I got to be myself a lot of times, use my imagination, and just appreciate nature.

Kim and Kevin, can you tell me a little bit about the background of Amy Hodgepodge, and how you developed the story and it came into being.

Kim: Amy was really inspired by our nieces and nephews. We have tons of nieces and nephews, and some are multi-racial children. We thought it was very important for them to see positive images of themselves reflected in mainstream children’s literature. We thought, wouldn’t it be great to create a series surrounded on a multi-racial child?

[Nowadays] the cultural lines have blurred to a great extent, and it’s really hard to categorize this generation growing up. Part of the process was to sit down with an illustrator, and we had really specific ideas of what we wanted the characters to look like. We gave her pictures of our nieces … to get a jumping-off point for her to create the

and KEVIN KNOTTS illustration. And then we pitched the project to Penguin and they loved it.

The first book in the series was published in 2008. How far prior to that were you and Kevin thinking about Amy Hodgepodge?

Kim: I would say about two years before that. It took a year-long process to get a treatment and pitch it, and then a year after we pitched it to Penguin.

Kevin: It seemed like it went about as fast as it could go.

The main themes of the books are acceptance, tolerance, and kids working together. Do you see the kids reading the books understand these themes? Have these themes been put into practice?

Kim: Children do understand the themes.

We’ve done a lot of work with children in libraries and schools, and we’ve dedicated much of our time to going to the children, reading the books, and discussing the themes. We don’t give children all the credit they deserve; they are very aware.

Kevin: We think it’s most effective to not hit them over the head with these things. We try to tell entertaining stories, but we feel like they learn and retain it better if you don’t spell out the lesson. And we see teachers use it for analysis and so on.

There are six books out. When is number seven coming?

As we know, the economy has affected publishers to a great degree. They’re just letting the six books we have out there sell. Kevin and I just got a deal with a wonderful production company, and they want to try to do animation with Amy Hodgepodge. That could really be huge.

Amy Hodgepodge’s diverse family.

Who as writers do you most admire?

Kevin: I love Tennessee Williams and Eugene O’Neill. When I was four I liked Dr. Seuss.

[Laughs] Kim: There are authors I admire. When I was a kid, my all-time favorite book was Charlotte’s Web,

by E.B. White. I loved Pippy Longstocking. I related to her wackiness, her sense of adventure, and she was just herself. I had so much admiration for Pippy. Now, I love Alice Walker, she’s a wonderful writer; it’s so many it’s hard to narrow it down.

Was there one particular adventure that Amy Hodgepodge went on that you liked writing about the most?

Kevin: I enjoyed the camping adventure the most, because I could use my ranch background.

Kim: I think the Happy Birthday to Me was my favorite Amy Hodgepodge book so far to write.

It’s based on the truth of something very similar that happened to me, without the happy ending. I had my first big party, a Hawaiian luau, and none of my friends showed up. [Laughs] PDJ

For more information, to schedule meetings, or order books, please visit amyhodgepodge.com.

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

25

>>

HIGHER EDUCATION Maryland Names Chief Diversity Officer, Attempts to Further Develop

DIVERSITY ON CAMPUS

By Grace Austin

26

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

Photograph credit: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

F

ounded in 1856, the University of Maryland is the largest school in Maryland and considered the flagship university in the state.

Located in College Park, Maryland is a public university, well-known for their athletic prowess in basketball, football, and lacrosse. With a large student population of more than 35,000, diversity amongst the student body has grown, but is still a hot-button issue. In an attempt to increase diversity and develop the diversity office, Maryland has recently named a Chief Diversity Officer, Dr. Kumea Shorter-Gooden.

“Maryland has done a good job over the past few decades at developing diversity-based offices, programs, and initiatives. But what has been missing has been a comprehensive, systematic, and strategic focus. There hasn’t been senior leadership to provide voice to these issues, but the chief diversity officer will have a more systematic perspective and opportunity to advocate and articulate around diversity issues,” says ShorterGooden.

Dr. Kumea Shorter-Gooden was appointed Maryland’s Chief Diversity Officer in January 2012. ShorterGooden is a licensed psychologist and previously worked as Associate Provost for International Initiative at

Hornbake Library at the University of Maryland March/April 2012

Photograph credit: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Left, view of the University of Maryland near the South Commons residential area; right, statue of mascot Testudo

Alliant University based in Alhambra, California. Shorter-Gooden’s work at her previous position was similar to that of a chief diversity officer. Prior to that, she worked as a psychology professor for 16 years.

“I see my job as helping to pull together the pieces, helping to align the various offices and initiatives so we can really harness the strengths and the capacities that were set out,” says Shorter-Godden.

Shorter-Gooden was chosen through a meticulous search process headed by a 15-person committee that included many important leaders at Maryland, including the Associate Provost for Diversity & Equity, Dr. Lee Thornton. Thornton’s position was absolved when Shorter-Gooden took office.

Thornton leaves behind a remarkable legacy of diversity innovation.

In her position, Thornton conducted 12 in-depth interviews with academic deans on issues of retention, recruitment, and leadership of faculty of color. Thornton also wrote the diversity policy for Maryland’s Merrill School of Journalism, and sat on the university’s President’s Commission on Ethnic Minority Issues for four years, chairing the commission twice.

History of Segregationist Attitudes and Later Diversity Embracement in 1980s

E

stablished in the mid-1850s, the University of Maryland, College Park is a historically white public research institution. Like many such American universities, especially those in the South, College Park actively resisted desegregating—especially with respect to African-American students— well into the 1980s, when it was found to be in non-compliance with desegregation as required by Brown v. Board in 1954.

Almost concomitant with this finding, College Park retained its first African American President, John Slaughter. Among the multitude of things that President Slaughter did to turn College Park from an institution regionally known for its actively racist resistance into one that is now nationally recognized for its demographic diversity, was to expand the charge of the campus Office of Diversity Education and Compliance (ODEC) from an exclusive focus on mere legal compliance with equity mandates to include pro-active diversity education for faculty, staff, and students.

Shortly thereafter, in 1994, OHRP became College Park’s institutional representative in the Ford Foundation-funded Campus Diversity Initiative effort. Through OHRP, College Park, one of only ten original Diversity Initiative campuses across the country, received over $1 million during a seven-year period to develop itself as a national model institution for comprehensive equity and diversity work.

Says Thornton about Maryland’s diversity efforts and her tenure as head of diversity: “I believe passionately in the work and in a vision that must be ever evolving as this nation evolves. I grew up in a segregated America. I marvel at the country we now live in and I feel privileged to have been able to lend my abilities to the effort at Maryland.”

Diverse Groups at Maryland

Asian Americans and African Americans each comprise 14% of the campus makeup, making them the largest minority groups.

“African Americans are a significant minority group, yet underrepresented in terms of their population in the state of Maryland. Clearly, we need to do much work in efforts to look

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

27

Photograph credit: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

>> HIGHER EDUCATION

The Terrapins take on the University of Denver Pioneers in a Division I lacrosse game.

more closely as to what are the strategies to recruit and to retain. We need to achieve parity in terms of admission, retention, and graduation,” says Shorter-Gooden. “With African American, Asian American, and other marginalized groups, we need to learn how the university can change to better accommodate these groups.”

Maryland has a large percentage of over-25 students, approximately 20%. The LGBT community is active, too, sponsoring annual events like “Pride Prom.” Maryland also boasts an LGBT Studies Program, one of around 40 universities in the country to do so.

Maryland’s campus is known for its political activism and a socioeconomically diverse population, a rarity at most universities.

“Socio-economic issues are really important. Clearly, we are in a time of recession and budget cut-backs, and when it’s harder for families to pay for higher education. We have a commitment to make sure Maryland is accessible to all families of the socio-economic spectrum,” says Shorter-Gooden.

Benefits of Location, Strong Activism

Close to the Washington, D.C. metro area, Maryland offers a safe

28

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

campus close to the big-city experiences that the capital has to offer.

Many opportunities are available at the institution due to its large population, whether they be intramural sports or clubs and groups.

“Fraternities, sororities, student clubs and organizations are a really critical element of creating a diverse and inclusive campus. One of the things that’s going to be really important for my office early on is to connect to staff and faculty that are directly involved with these organizations, as well as student leaders from the student organizations and to get a sense of what their thoughts are to create a more diverse and inclusive campus for all,” says Shorter-Gooden.

New Era at Maryland

Shorter-Gooden is aware of the challenges and pressure that awaits her as Maryland’s first Chief Diversity Officer. These include reaching out to underrepresented communities, improving faculty minority representation, and navigating the large student and faculty populations.

“Maryland is very big,” says ShorterGooden. “The challenge is how do you get buy-in and engagement with those people. It’s really about getting a whole community involved, with a big community that makes it harder.”

March/April 2012

Maryland #1 for African-American Degrees Among African-American students, University of Maryland (UM) granted 914 total degrees—baccalaureate, doctorate and master's—the most of any school among the U.S. News & World Report's top 20 public universities.

UM also is No. 1 in granting baccalaureate degrees to AfricanAmerican students among the U.S. News' top 20 public universities.

Top 5: University of Maryland: 704 degrees University of Florida: 687 degrees The Ohio State University: 563 degrees University of North Carolina: 419 degrees University of Illinois: 395 degrees In fact, the University of Maryland has held this No. 1 position among the top 20 public universities for 10 of the past 11 years, according to Diverse Issues in Higher Education.

Shorter-Gooden hopes to use her status to grow the university’s diversity program and improve the diversity make-up at Maryland.

“This is the beginning of a new era at Maryland,” says Shorter-Gooden.

It is the beginning of a more strategic focus on diversity, organized, coordinated set of efforts to achieve the vision of a university that is truly diverse and inclusive. Obviously this is something that other universities are working on, and will not occur in the short run, but we need to be aware of where we’re at with that vision, and ways to better achieve that vision.” PDJ

MAKE AN IMPACT WITH A CAREER AT SHELL. LET’S BUILD A BETTER ENERGY FUTURE. At Shell we believe that every individual has something valuable to offer. We understand that the more diverse the workforce, the wider the variety of ideas we bring to the table. If you’re ready to tackle the energy challenge and make a real impact on the world, join a company that values diversity and emphasizes the quality of life for its employees and their families. At Shell, we offer: n

Alternative Work Schedules

n

Health and Wellness Programs

n

Work and Family Programs n

Employee Networks/Mentoring

To learn more and apply, visit www.shell.us/careers.

BE PART oF THE SoLUTIoN. @ShellCareers

Shell is an equal opportunity employer.

@ShellCareers

n

Training and Development

>>

HIGHER EDUCATION

PAST AND PRESENT COME TOGETHER AT SPELMAN

By Grace Austin

A

s a historically black college (HBCU), Spelman College has been an innovative learning institution since its founding in 1881.

With a selective 2,100 students, Spelman is considered the premier HCBU for women in the United States. A private, liberal arts college, Spelman is located in Atlanta, Georgia, one of three Atlanta University Center schools, along with Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse College. With notable alumni including Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple, and the first AfricanAmerican general, Marcelite J. Harris, Spelman has been a wellspring for female African-American leadership since its establishment more than 100 years ago.

30

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

“From our vantage point, we see ourselves as producing particular kinds of leaders. We are focused on activism leadership as opposed to a generic idea of producing women leaders,” said Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall, founding director of the Women’s Research and Resource Center and the Anna Julia Cooper Professor of Women’s Studies.

“We are focused on developing students who see themselves as transformational leaders, not just leaders who get good jobs and earn big incomes.”

From its humble beginnings in the basement of Friendship Baptist Church to its current endowment of almost $300 million, Spelman has paralleled the progress of African Americans from Reconstruction to the twenty-

Left, view of the Spelman College campus entrance and Giles Hall; Right, a Spelman student is helped by a professor.

first century. Named after a family of prominent antislavery activists, Spelman has ties to billionaire John D. Rockefeller, who pledged the school a $250 grant in 1882.

Spelman also has a long commitment to Africa, which began in 1889 when student Nora Gordon left for missionary work in the Congo, and continues today through the Gordon-Zeto Center for Global Education, named in honor of missionary Gordon. The Center recently received a $17 million gift from an anonymous donor, some of it to be used for scholarships targeted at young women from South Africa.

“While we welcome students from all backgrounds, we recognize our historic mission has a particular appeal for young women from across the African diaspora. For the last two years we have participated in President Clinton’s initiative to bring Rwandan students to study in the U.S., and several Rwandan students are currently attending Spelman. We also have established relationships with a few South African universities, participating in student and faculty exchanges,” said Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, President of Spelman.

In February 2011, President Obama renewed a White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). Obama’s efforts could not be more timely, as some HCBUs, most notably Bennett College and Fisk University, have faced financial difficulties and potential closings.

Spelman has managed to retain its prestige while capturing substantial endowments; Comedian and activist Bill Cosby pledged $20 million in 1987, and NASA has awarded Spelman a multi-billion dollar grant. Alumnae participation is almost 40%, and alumnae gifts are only increasing.

“Even in this economic downturn, employers and graduate school representatives are recruiting heavily at Spelman, making the investment in a Spelman education a tremendous value for those who choose it. Preserving and strengthening our brand in higher education is central to our success, and we work hard at it. We have also worked hard at developing a strong alumnae base of support. Over the last ten years our annual participation rate of alumnae giving has grown, a critical factor for ensuring the long-term viability of our institution. And we have aggressively pursued our fundraising goals to expand our ability to provide financial support for those students in need,” said Tatum.

Spelman has remained fiscally stable and institutionally relevant primarily because of its history of female empowerment. Dr. Sophia Jones became the first black female faculty member in 1885. In 1944, a conference on higher education for African-American women was held. Today, the annual Spelman College Leadership and Women of Color Conference continues this legacy, an intergen-

“

We are focused on activism leadership as opposed to a generic idea of producing women leaders.”

— Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall, founding director of the Women’s Research and Resource Center

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

31

>> HIGHER EDUCATION erational conference that assembles experts to identify and dialogue with attendees on strategies and practices to enhance leadership skills. Another conference, the annual Toni Cade Bambara Activism Conference, held during Women’s History month, celebrates filmmaker, author, and activist Bambara, widely-recognized for her activity in the Black Arts movement and black feminism.

In 1981, the Spelman College Women’s Research and Resource Center was established. It is the first women’s research center at an HBCU and the first to offer a women’s studies major. Part of the Center’s mission has been the management of the Spelman College Archives, in which the Audre Lorde papers are stored, and the founding of the Digital Moving Image Salon, a partnership with Bennett College to strengthen the Women’s Studies program on both campuses. Launching an endowment campaign with a multi-million lead gift from the Ford Foundation has been essential to the Center’s future.

“The endowment campaign will be a huge plus for us, because what it means is that we can do all kinds of innovative programming, and we won’t have to depend on foundations to receive grants. We want to have summer institutes for faculty at HCBUs to learn better how to infuse issues of gender and sexuality,” said Guy-Sheftall.

“We would like to attract women scholars from around the world to come and do residences at the Center. We want a place where feminist activist scholars would see Spelman as a place to do collaborative work.”

“

The spiritual component of leadership development has been an important factor in education.”

— Rev. Lisa Rhodes, Dean of the Sisters Chapel and Director of the WISDOM Center

each of these categories); religious diversity: Christians, Muslims, and Baha’i are among the most common faith traditions represented; geographic diversity: regional as well as rural, urban, and suburban; and diversity in sexual orientation and in physical ability and learning styles.

“Diversity is not just within people of different races, but within a race itself,” said Senior Ashley Grisham, who majors in International Studies and has a minor in Chinese. “We have a lot of students from Africa themselves, as well as international students from Germany and India. A lot of people don’t know that, because when they think of an HBCU they think of all African-American students, but we do have students from all different backgrounds. And we have many students that even though they might identify as African American, they are mixed.”

Regionally Spelman is extremely diverse. A majority of students are out-of-state, with New York, California, Maryland, and Illinois most represented, while homestate of Georgia makes up 29% of the student population.

Overall, 45 states are represented at Spelman.

Diversity among Diversity Students from the Bahamas, Kenya, Rwanda, Jamaica, While Spelman’s student population is almost entirely made up of women of African descent, there is significant China and Ghana have the largest international populadiversity within that population. There is ethnic diver- tions at Spelman. Through the Gordon-Zeto Center for sity: African American, Afro‐Caribbean, Afro‐Hispanic, Global Education, Spelman offers students engagement and African immigrants (with national variation within with global cultures and prepares them for leadership roles in an increasingly interdependent global society.

The Center focuses on growing the number of African students who study and graduate from Spelman, supports study abroad opportunities for students and faculty, and provides senior Preserving and strengthening leadership for the College’s international educaour brand in higher education is tion programs.

Spelman has attempted to reach out to the central to our success, and we LGBT community through significant univerwork hard at it.” sity projects and campus-wide events. Through — Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, President of Spelman the Women’s Center, Spelman convened a historic summit in April 2011 on climate issues around diversity, inclusion, gender, and sexuality

“

32

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

Spelbots Put a Spell on the Competition

R

obotics is not a traditionally female field. But don’t let the Spelman robotics team, the Spelbots, tell you otherwise. The Spelbots have traveled across the country and internationally to compete their self-made robots and share their story, all while promoting STEM to underrepresented minorities and girls. The Spelbots are a testament to the ability of young women, particularly women of color, to be leaders in science, technology, and math.

“They have had to be trailblazers.

Through the years, they’ve faced subtle and not so subtle sexism and racism being the only women and usually the only African Americans at competitions. When we got an award in Japan, they didn’t want to give us an award publicly. I told the students, ‘Let this be a teaching moment, you’re trailblazers. People don’t think that women or African-American women in particular can do things in science, and you have to show them that you can,’”

said Dr. Andrew B. Williams, coach and founder of the Spelbots.

The Spelbots were formed by Williams in the fall of 2004 when he came to Spelman after reading The Purpose Driven Life. In 2005, the Spelbots became the first all-women, African-American team to compete in the RoboCup four-legged robot soccer competition, which is considered the Olympics of robotics and artificial intelligence. Dr. Williams also founded the ARTSI Alliance, a robotics alliance consisting of thirteen HBCUs and seven research institutions, to increase the number of African-American students studying robotics and computer science by offering research and education projects centered on robotics and healthcare, the arts, and entrepreneurship.

The Spelbots, though sponsored by Boeing and GM, has secured a more than half-million dollar grant from the National Science Foundation to fund and expand STEM outreach. The

at HCBUs, which was funded by the Arcus Foundation.

The summit was unprecedented, the first of its kind to address these issues at historically black colleges, organized widely due to the wave of suicides of LGBT and LGBTlabeled individuals.

“That’s a project that we’ve been engaged in for four years. It began with the processing of the Audre Lorde papers. We worked on issues in the Atlanta University Center, and broadened that to include historically black colleges. In some ways it was our most ambitious project,” said Guy-Sheftall.

Spelman has attempted to not only acknowledge but embrace religious differences through the Sisters Chapel, dating to the ‘20s, and its WISDOM Center program, founded in 2001. Rev. Lisa Rhodes heads the Sisters Chapel and the Center. During her tenure, Rhodes has helped establish an interfaith council, which helped affirm diversity and present roundtable discussions/presentations, Diwali and Ramadan celebrations, and forums addressing Islamic stereotypes.

“The spiritual component of leadership development has been an important factor in education. When we started the WISDOM Center, we wanted to continue this development, and broaden the religious tradition of women of African descent. We’ve identified that although the majority [of students] are Christian, there are an increased

Williams, Spelbots, and their robotic creations.

grant will allow the Spelbots to expand research and improve their robotic technology, let them travel without the help of extensive fundraising, as well as change stereotypes about women and women of color in technology.

“There’s still a real lack of role models for African-American ladies.

Seeing women do STEM is relevant and combats the “nerd” stereotype,” said Williams. “Women and African Americans have just as much potential as everyone else.”

number of Muslim students, Hindu faculty, occasionally Baha’i, Hebrew/Israelites, and Buddhists. We wanted to create a community that affirmed difference,” said Rhodes.

Past, Present, and Future

The future looks bright for Spelman College. While remembering the past is a major part of the Spelman experience, moving forward as a haven of learning and empowerment for African-American women is the central mission of the institution.

“I’ve been teaching at Spelman for 40 years. I went there as an undergraduate. I imagine Spelman sees itself as continuing to be the premier institution for women of African descent…who will go out into the world and be change agents,” said Guy-Sheftall.

Continues Grisham: “I think Spelman is going to continue to go global, continuing to spread Spelman success and uplifting the Spelman spirit around the world. I definitely see students engaged in not just philanthropy, but civil rights causes and social justices,” said Grisham.

“The tradition of where Spelman started, to now a fullfledged academic institution and movement [is significant]. Spelman women come from all different walks of life, but once you’re admitted, you don’t just join a college, you join a family and community where everyone has equal access to rights and success.” PDJ March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

33

>>

MILITARY | GOVERNMENT

A LETTER TO THE NATION:

Reflections on the Morning of Repeal Sep 20, 2011

T

Today, I was especially curious to see what would be on the news on this historic day for the U.S. military. Just after midnight, 10 U.S.C. § 654, commonly known as the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) law, was repealed, allowing gay and lesbian service members to choose to reveal their sexual orientation without the fear of being separated from the service. Today had a January 1, 2000 familiar feel to it for me. You may recall 1999 when many people were concerned about the Y2K computer bug and what would happen to all the computers when we rolled over to the new millennium. When we woke up on the first day of the 21st century, there were some minor glitches, but life went on pretty much as usual despite the doom and gloom predictions. When we woke up today, despite predictions of significant impact, postrepeal military life goes on as usual. The news trucks are not lined up outside the gate to cover a significant event, protesters are not swarming the Academy, and there isn’t a gay rights parade streaming across campus. Cadets are starting class, faculty and staff are getting on with their day, and people are getting along with each other just as they were yesterday. This morning, the sun came up as normal on a beautiful, crisp Colorado day. The main thing that changed was that a portion of our population started their day carrying a much lighter load because they don’t have to worry about losing their ability to serve just because of who they are. For those individuals, I imagine the sunrise today was just a little brighter and more meaningful than it was yesterday.

Why is the DADT repeal, like Y2K, just another day

34

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

Photograph credit: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

HIS MORNING, I TURNED ON THE NEWS AS I NORMALLY DO ABOUT 5:30 EACH MORNING TO HEAR THE DAILY WEATHER FORECAST AND LISTEN FOR ANY BREAKING LOCAL, NATIONAL, OR WORLD EVENTS.

U.S. President Barack Obama signs into law the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010.

at our campus? From July until Thanksgiving of 2010, I served at the Pentagon as the Air Force writer on the Secretary of Defense’s Comprehensive Review Working Group (CRWG) study of the impact of repealing the law known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT). I assisted with data analysis and the writing the main Report of the Comprehensive Review of the Issues Associated with a Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” In addition, I had the privilege of leading the team responsible for writing the companion Support Plan for Implementation, which served as the basis for training across the Department of Defense for over two million active duty and reserve Service Members. The CRWG completed one of the largest personnel studies in the history of the U.S. military, soliciting the views of over 500,000 active duty and reserve service members and spouses and analyzing nearly 225,000 responses from surveys, focus groups,

and online entries. In addition, the Working Group harassment and discrimination, and violence against studied the history of racial and gender integration in minority groups. With the DADT repeal, we would be the U.S. military, analyzed the experiences of foreign naïve to think that we will not have isolated incidents militaries that allow open gay and lesbian service, and related to a person’s sexual orientation or religious/moral reviewed the experiences of domestic organizations such beliefs about homosexuality. But these incidents will pale as fire and police departments. We talked to people and in comparison to the strength the military gains through advocacy groups from both sides of the issue. Using a recruiting and retaining a diverse force. You would be diverse panel of experts representing all branches of the hard pressed to find many who would support the idea service, enlisted and officer, combat veterans and civilian that our military is weaker because we have women or employees, we assessed the potential impact of repeal on persons of color serving our nation in the uniformed military readiness, effectiveness, cohesion, recruiting, and military service. We have many measures of diversity at retention. All the data sources and analysis pointed to the Air Force Academy to include race, ethnicity, gender, the same conclusion—repeal of DADT would not have religion, prior-enlisted, and athletic status. We recruit a debilitating effect on military cohesion, effectiveness, students from all 50 states and U.S. territories as well as readiness, recruiting, or retention. The two CRWG Coseveral of our allied partners. This broad perspective on Chairs, Mr. Jeh Johnson, DoD General Counsel, and diversity makes us better as an institution and requires Gen Carter Ham, current Commander of United States our students to learn how to build successful teams Africa Command, stated in the conclusion of the report, through dignity, courtesy, and respect. In our culture, “We are both convinced that our military can do this, respect is not just as a good idea, it is a military necessity even during this time of war. We do not underestimate that we are all duty-bound to follow. the challenges in implementing a change in the law, but As Admiral Mike Mullen stated in his testimony to neither should we underestimate the ability of our exCongress in February of 2010, repealing DADT is an traordinarily dedicated Service men and women to adapt integrity issue. Serving with integrity means staying true to such change and continue to provide our Nation with to ourselves while staying true to our duty to support and the military capability to accomplish any mission.” defend the Constitution of the United States. With the While the data are compelling, I personally believe that repeal of DADT, our duty to uphold our Oath of Office DADT repeal will not be a troublesome event primarremains unchanged. We must do our duty to keep our ily because of what the Co-chairs called “the ability of standards high; create an environment free from barriour extraordinarily dedicated Service men and women.” ers that prevent people from rising to the highest level of The integrity and values of the U.S. service member responsibility possible; and ensure all who serve are able will ensure that our nation’s defenses do not skip a beat to do their duty without fear of reprisal, harassment, or as a result of the repeal of DADT. Service Members, prejudice. We must do our duty to protect personal befrom our youngest cadets and enlisted troops up to the liefs while honoring and respecting all who serve; evaluate Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, understand their others based solely on individual merit, fitness, and capaduty to the laws of our nation that is embodied in the bility; and treat others with dignity, courtesy, and respect.

Oath of Office. We learned in Korea, after President We must do our duty to create a cohesive team able to Truman ordered a desegregated military, that black and win our nation’s battles. We must do our duty to do the white soldiers were more effective fighting side-by-side right thing simply because it is the right thing to do. than they were fighting in separate but equal units. We learned at the service academies in 1976 that men and Col Gary Packard Jr., PhD women could train and study side-by-side and that we Permanent Professor and Head would be stronger as an institution because of our more Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership diverse student population. With a DADT repeal, we USAF Academy, Colorado will learn that gay and straight cadets will respectfully serve side-by-side and we will Col Packard served as a writer on the Department of Defense’s Report of the Issues be stronger as a result.

Associated with a Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” He also serves as the Academy’s Respect Diversity certainly comes with challeng- for Human Dignity Outcome Chair. The views expressed above are those of the author and es. The military, like the rest of our society, do not necessarily represent the policy of the United States Air Force Academy or any other has struggled with racial tension, sexual government agency.

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

35

>>

MILITARY | GOVERNMENT

‘AWESOME POSSIBILITIES’ in United States

By Grace Austin

E

VERYTHING NEEDS A FACELIFT ONCE IN A WHILE, INCLUDING AMERICA’S TRAVEL ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN. Adopting

the tagline, “United States of Awesome Possibilities,” the campaign, launched in March, is the brainchild of the Corporation for Travel Promotion (CTP), a private-public partnership formed in 2010 to encourage tourism, with a marketing budget of $200 million.

The push is designed to promote leisure and business travel to drive economic growth and jobs in the tourism industry. Tourists from the UK, Canada, Germany, Mexico, and Japan are the main targets.

The CTP’s goal is to create a “21st-century brand” which “symboliz[es] the boundless possibilities of the U.S.,” as well as representing America’s “diversity.”

“What is so compelling about the United States is that no one thing can explain who we are as a nation,” CTP’s Chris Perkins said in a statement. “Each visitor and each experience helps create the fabric of American culture, and Brand USA embodies this spirit. When we launch our global marketing and advertising campaign next year, we will be able to reach audiences around the world by showcasing the best of America and spreading the message that we welcome visitors

36

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

with open arms.”

A new logo has been designed by The Brand Union, featuring many dots forming the letters USA. The dots are supposed to represented diverse colors and people across the country. People are encouraged to visit the website, discoveramerica. com.

The easily navigable, large-print website includes featured destinations, ‘Top 10 Lists,’ ‘Trip Ideas,’ and entertaining ‘Travel Tips.’

One such tip warns: “Health care is superior in the U.S. but it can be very expensive because there is no universal health care.”

Other tips refer to ‘social customs,’ which include: “Keep your voice down when talking on a mobile phone in public.”

And for your transportation needs: “Hitchhiking is illegal in many U.S. states.”

The site has been marketed as a one-stop shop, with federal agencies, transportation companies like rental cars and buses, and travel agenMarch/April 2012

cies and tour operators links. The use of social networking is also apparent through various Facebook links.

Advertising ads begin airing this spring.

Tourism in the U.S. peaked in 2000, with 26 million overseas arrivals.

Since then, global views of the United States have deteriorated with the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, extra security measures placed post 9/11, and the recent economic downturn.

The number of visitors from the U.K. the United States’ largest overseas market, has declined since a record high 4.7 million in 2000.

A $200 million budget exceeds promotional spending of the top ten countries’ tourism budgets, including Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Australia. This is a dramatic increase since 2005, when the U.S. had no marketing budget.

Experts estimate the U.S. lost potentially $606 billion in tourism revenue, largely attributed to a lack of a cohesive, national tourism campaign.

International tourists supposedly stay longer than domestic visitors, another reason for the marketing push.

While advertisements have begun showing, it is still unclear whether the U.S. advertising campaign will bring in more tourists, and more importantly, generate more income. PDJ

SEE IN US WHO YOU ARE

At New York Life we believe that people’s differences can be their greatest attributes. We recognize that employees’ unique qualities often lead to innovation, positive change, and a more productive and dynamic workplace.

For more information about a career with New York Life visit us at www.newyorklife.com/diversity NEW YORK LIFE. THE COMPANY YOU KEEP.® © 2010 New York Life Insuranace Company, 51 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010 EOE/M/F/D/V

CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

ACTION

| 2012 AWARD WINNERS

Michael J. Williams Fannie Mae

William H. Swanson Raytheon Company

Thomas King National Grid

Robert McDonald The Procter & Gamble Company

Joel Voran Lathrop & Gage LLP

38

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

Maria Klawe Harvey Mudd College March/April 2012

Mark S. Stewart Ballard Spahr LLP

Jeff Immelt General Electric

J. Warren Gorrell, Jr. Hogan Lovells

Patrick C. Dunican, Jr. Gibbons P.C.

Joseph Jimenez Novartis AG

Peter C. Roberts Jones Lang LaSalle

Mark L. Wagar Empire BlueCross BlueShield

Clayton M. Jones Rockwell Collins

George Chavel Sodexo, Inc.

Chuck Dawson Harland Clarke Holdings Corp.

Gregory T. Swienton Ryder System, Inc.

Sonu Ratra Akraya, Inc.

Paul Varga Brown-Forman Corporation

Michael L. Coats NASA—Johnson Space Center

John R. Raymond, Sr., MD Medical College of Wisconsin

Enrique Salem Symantec

David J. Lesar Halliburton

Glenn Britt Time Warner Cable

Henry (Hank) G. Jackson, CPA Society for Human Resource Management

Hugh Verrier White & Case LLP

John B. Veihmeyer KPMG LLP

John W. Daniels, Jr. Quarles & Brady LLP

March/April 2012

James A. Spitz, Jr. Harris Beach PLLC

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

40

SPECIAL CEO IN ACTION GATEFOLD

PRESENTING THE 2012 CEO Leadership In Action Award™ RECOGNIZING CEOs WHO FULLY SUPPORT THEIR ORGANIZATIONS DIVERSITY & INCLUSION INITIATIVES.

28%

J

F

8%

M A

M J J

A S

19%

O

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

N D F

M

500

I

34%

J

1000

11% 1500

2000

T GIVES US great pleasure to present the Profiles in Diversity Journal

2012 CEO Leadership in Action Award to the organizations featured in the pages that follow.

The CEOs being recognized do not seek recognition for their work. In fact, all of them are eager to give credit to others.

That’s the nature of leadership.

But we honor them because their personal, hands-on involvement in diversity sends an unequivocal message about the importance of diversity and inclusion at these companies and organizations. Their work sets a powerful example in the workplace and in the communities in which they live and do business. We especially hope that all the employees at these firms take pride in the diversity leadership shown by the CEO. Let this award honor and proclaim to the world their Leadership in Action!

Congratulations to all!

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

41

ACTION CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

42

Glenn

Britt

TIME WARNER CABLE Chairman and CEO

Improvement Itself is the Objective

W

HEN IT COMES to diversity and inclusion, improve-

ment is critical. It’s probably more accurate to say that improvement itself is the objective, an ever-moving objective.

I’m proud of Time Warner Cable’s improve­ ment and progress in diversity and inclusion. Most of the credit goes to our employees. They are the ones who told us that inclusion should be one of the company’s stated values; the ones who have built numer­ous employee networks companywide, providing development and connection for employees based on race, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, military service, and shared experiences like primary-care-giving; and the ones who push us to improve.

In our industry, we’re also fortunate to have several organizations that enhance our diversity focus. Groups like the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC), Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), and the Walter Kaitz Foundation help keep inclusion at the forefront of our industry and at the forefront of cable companies’ agendas.

I also credit leaders throughout Time Warner Cable for their commitment to inclusion, as well as a dedicated team within our Human Resources function. Eleven of our senior leaders form an executive diversity and inclusion council, which I oversee. We take our responsibility seriously. Recently, for example, we’ve set and helped the company meet important goals like increasing supplier diversity spend; building programs around disability awareness; forming recruiting partnerships with organizations including the National Black MBA Association, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, and Women in Technology International; and launching two new career development programs for women.

Our leaders’ enthusiasm and commitment cascade into their teams and outside the company to our communities and customers, who also help keep us on a path to improvement. Progress doesn’t just happen.

It has to be cultivated and championed. And while we all have room for improvement, I’m grateful to the many champions within and outside Time Warner Cable who never let us forget that inclusion is as important to our success as our financial and operational results. PDJ

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

“ Progress doesn’t just happen.

It has to be cultivated and championed.”

HEADQUARTERS: New York City WEBSITE: www.timewarnercable.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Cable TV, Internet, telecommunications ANNUAL REVENUES: $18.9 billion EMPLOYEES: 48,000 EDUCATION: AB, Dartmouth College; MBA, the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth FIRST JOB: Controller’s department at Time Inc. WHAT I’M READING: Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson BEST ADVICE: “Work at what you enjoy.”

FAMILY: Wife, Barbara FAVORITE CHARITIES: Time Warner Cable’s Connect a Million Minds (CAMM), Manhattan Theatre Club

HEADQUARTERS: Gaithersburg, Maryland WEBSITE: www.sodexousa.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Foodservice, facility management, service vouchers ANNUAL REVENUES: $8 billion EMPLOYEES: 125,000 EDUCATION: BA, Albion College FIRST JOB: Stock boy on the loading dock of my father’s candy and tobacco wholesale distributorship WHAT I’M READING: Employer Brand Leadership, by Brett Minchington MY PHILOSOPHY: Be yourself; treat everyone around you with respect and dignity; be open to new possibilities; listen to good advice.

BEST ADVICE: Keeping employees happy is attainable by providing clear direction, setting expectations, and communicating intent.

FAMILY: Married with two sons INTERESTS: Playing the piano, golf, Pittsburgh Steelers FAVORITE CHARITY: Sodexo Foundation

“ Continuously engaging employees is critical to our success.”

SODEXO, INC.

DL

President and Chief Executive Officer

Quantifiable Milestones at Sodexo

T

ACTION

Chavel

CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

George

H E YEAR 2012 presents an important milestone for all

of us at Sodexo—it marks the ten-year anniversary of the launch of our commitment to diversity and inclusion.

A key element that continues to add significant value and strategic direction to our journey is Sodexo’s external diversity and inclusion advisory board. The seven members each represent a different dimension of diversity. This year they have placed particular emphasis on fostering a culture of inclusion for all employees, including people with disabilities and LGBT employees. The leadership and guidance provided by the Advisory Board has had a significant impact on ensuring that the organization stays focused on and remains accountable for making progress on its D&I objectives.

Continuously engaging employees is also critical to our success.

For instance, every year, Sodexo’s premier diversity and inclusion event, the Diversity Business and Leadership Summit (DBLS) draws hundreds of employees and clients for a day of professional development focused on building skills, knowledge, and awareness around different dimensions of diversity. Then with an imperative to reduce costs and environmental impact, yet expand opportunities for engagement, Sodexo launched a virtual version of its popular live event.

The Virtual Diversity Business and Leadership Summit focused on employees who wanted the DBLS experience but could not attend in person. Nearly 2,000 employees participated in 60 learning events during the six-month virtual summit.

Finally, to increase access and reach our employees directly, Sodexo also ramped up its diversity digital media presence. Over 3,100 fans from around the globe now follow our diversity page on Facebook!

Our progress is exciting and impactful, but with each new year our journey evolves and we must realign our efforts to avoid complacency.

Success only means we must raise the bar, identify new opportunities, and embed diversity and inclusion deeper into our organizational culture. The awards, our clients, and our people tell us we’re on the right path, which we will remain on for years to come. PDJ

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

43

ACTION CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

44

Michael L.

Coats

NASA—JOHNSON SPACE CENTER (JSC) Center Director

Imaginative Solutions to Our Challenges

I

N MY EXPERIENCE, when we include people with different

perspectives, backgrounds, and opinions, we generate more imaginative solutions to our challenges. As a member of the astronaut class of 1978 (which was the first class that included women and minorities), I was intrigued by the wonderfully creative and innovative solutions to early shuttle crew issues that we developed. Our creativity was driven by the differences of opinion and diverse perspectives that our respective professional training provided. We had military pilots, scientists, engineers, medical doctors and folks from academia. As a pilot, I noticed that regardless of race or gender, the pilots tended to think along similar lines. The same was true for each of the other groups—their unique professional training guided them to approach problems in a similar fashion. I noticed that our diverse group proposed inventive answers that the pilots alone never would have considered—plus the interaction and brainstorming was enjoyable.

After serving as an astronaut for 13 years, I spent another 14 years in the private sector. My time in industry was wonderful, but in late 2005 I was delighted to return to NASA as the Director of Johnson Space Center (JSC). In 2007, in an effort to enhance collaboration, creativity and innovation, as well as apply lessons learned from industry, I brought together a group of senior leaders to serve as the guiding coalition for diversity at JSC. Today we are known as the Inclusion and Innovation (I&I) Council—a name that reflects the business imperative. As council chair, I’ve led a number of benchmarking activities with several leading organizations. We’ve recently initiated Employee Resource Groups to enhance employee commitment and developed a ‘Status Card’ tool to encourage management accountability for I&I—both initiatives were based upon best practices we learned from benchmarking.

While senior leadership is important to our efforts, we realize that employee involvement is essential to success. Therefore, we’ve also established numerous ad hoc I&I employee engagement teams. Each team is purposely assembled to include people with diverse backgrounds, skills and perspectives. The teams have been highly successful, in fact several recommendations, including enhancements to both our formal and informal Mentoring programs and our Award and Recognition program have flowed from our employee teams.

I am a firm believer in the power of diversity, which is why we are committed to inclusion and innovation in everything we do at JSC. PDJ

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

LOCATION: Houston, Texas WEBSITE: www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/home/ PRIMARY BUSINESS: Aerospace EMPLOYEES: 3,200 EDUCATION: BS, United States Naval Academy; MS, George Washington University; MS, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School FIRST JOB: Delivering newspapers WHAT I’M READING: Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin MY PHILOSOPHY: Point the way, find a way, and get out of the way BEST ADVICE: Put family first, including time for yourself, success follows.

FAMILY: Wife, Diane; two grown children, a daughter and a son; twin granddaughters INTERESTS: Family, sports, history FAVORITE CHARITY: Alzheimer’s Association

“ While senior leadership is important to our efforts, we realize that employee involvement is essential to success.”

QUARLES & BRADY LLP Chairman

Building a New Business Model

S

“ Looking forward, inclusion will increasingly become a prerequisite to business partnerships.”

HEADQUARTERS: Milwaukee, Wisconsin WEBSITE: www.quarles.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Law firm ANNUAL REVENUES: $212.7 million EMPLOYEES: 904 EDUCATION: BA, North Central College; MS, University of Wisconsin; JD, Harvard Law School FIRST JOB: My very first job was selling magazines and periodicals door-to-door.

I got to know a lot about encyclopedias.

WHAT I’M READING: Extraordinary, Ordinary People, by Condoleezza Rice MY PHILOSOPHY: “Everybody Counts, Every Day” and it reflects on my personal belief that the richness in life comes from just about every direction.

BEST ADVICE: Don’t be afraid to take a risk.

FAMILY: The single most important thing in my life and the thing that has shaped just about everything that is important to me.

INTERESTS: I am interested in things that have changed the world.

FAVORITE CHARITY: Boys & Girls Club

I NCE I ASSUMED the chairmanship of Quarles & Brady

in 2007, the legal industry has undergone enormous changes. Law firms in general have been comfortable if not set in their ways, but the struggling economy has now forced them to evolve in order to succeed in the 21st century. In that environment, I’ve spent much of my tenure building a new business model, seeking to transform our organization into one that’s “built to surpass.” However, diversity is one constant that remains essential to our success. Then and now, a diverse workplace is critical to our clients’ declared interests, leads to superior work product and in fact represents the future of the entire business community.

Many of our most enlightened clients have placed an emphasis on inclusion for many years. Some have implemented diverse supplier policies, while others have even created awards for outside vendors that demonstrate a clear commitment to inclusion—I’m pleased to report that Quarles has been so recognized and honored many times over. Looking forward, inclusion will increasingly become a prerequisite to business partnerships. It will become virtually impossible to function in the absence of a sincerely inclusive working environment.

On a practical level, inclusion simply leads to competitive advantage.

In our highly competitive professional world, only top performance translates to success. Clearly, those organizations with the greatest range of minds and perspectives will outthink, and thus outperform, the competition. Inclusion, by its nature, brings more ideas to the table, facilitating better solutions—within just a few years, non-diverse companies won’t stand a chance in the global marketplace. There is now an abundance of data in just about every business sector demonstrating the benefit of inclusion. For those who are able to see, understand and act on this, it offers yet another competitive advantage in serving clients, customers and others. It does, however, require an absolute commitment from the very top of the organization as well as a commitment to accountability.

It’s a fact: America itself is becoming more diverse with each passing year. Culturally we may have a way to go, but demographically we’re already there. Companies that hope to succeed, now and in the future, must reflect the mindset and the makeup of the markets in which they operate. In other words, inclusion isn’t just a virtue, it’s the face of reality, business and otherwise. Those organizations that acknowledge and embrace this truth will succeed in the years to come, while those that lag behind will soon look like and become remnants of the past.

When I became the chairman of Quarles & Brady, I knew in my heart that inclusion was critical to the future of the firm. Today, it’s already proven policy. PDJ

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

ACTION

Daniels, Jr.

CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

John W.

45

“ The ultimate goal is to make our organization more inclusive and understanding.”

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

HARLAND CLARKE HOLDINGS CORP. President and CEO

Kaleidoscope of Diversity at Harland Clarke

I

’ VE ALWAYS BEEN fond of using the phrase “let’s look at this

issue through multiple lenses” as a way to challenge myself and others to consider many different perspectives in viewing an issue. I found that using many lenses helped me determine the best solution, and it didn’t take me long to realize that seeking input from others greatly enriched my decisions and expanded potential solutions.

When Clarke American acquired the John H. Harland Company, I quickly recognized the company’s new Diversity Management program was aligned with principles I’d supported my whole career.

It was also a platform we could employ to facilitate the integration of two somewhat different cultures. As we educated our leaders in Diversity Management, I realized we all had much more to learn.

We’ve come a long way since the beginning of our diversity journey.

Today, our nationally-ranked and recognized D&I Council drives numerous initiatives impacting our workforce, workplace, and marketplace. Key among these is our Learning Community Series, which invites both external and internal panelists to provide insight and application on a variety of diversity dimensions. Embracing relevant topics such as veterans returning to the workplace, understanding disabilities, and multiple generations in the workplace allows us to engage employees, promote internal education, and development of external partnerships. The ultimate goal is to make our organization more inclusive and understanding. We recognize that the true talent needed to grow our business comes in many different forms.

Our Diversity Management Program continues to provide a foundation for acquisition integration and continues to serve as the fundamental way we conduct business. Each acquisition has broadened our platforms and enriched our workforce with a more diverse group of people resulting in a global employee population. More importantly, we continue to seek ways to ensure that every employee has the ability to fully contribute their unique skills, talents, and perspective to the organization. The result is a beautiful prism of opportunity and innovation that is created by all the unique bits, pieces, and perspectives coming together and illuminated by strategic objectives—so many lenses creating a virtual kaleidoscope. In fact, Kaleidoscope is the name our employees gave our new Diversity Management publication.

Indeed, the future looks bright through all our lenses. PDJ

March/April 2012

ACTION

HEADQUARTERS: San Antonio, Texas PRIMARY BUSINESS: Checks and related products, technology, and data management ANNUAL REVENUES: $1.671 billion EMPLOYEES: 6,500 EDUCATION: BA, MBA, Lamar University FIRST JOB: IBM Sales WHAT I’M READING: Waiting for Superman, by Karl Weber, and everything else on education MY PHILOSOPHY: Balance BEST ADVICE: Strive for balance of your family, business and faith. An imbalance in one area can negatively impact the other areas and those around you.

FAMILY: Wife Freddi; children, Chad and Sara; three grandchildren INTERESTS: Tennis, golf, hunting, fishing, nature, movies FAVORITE CHARITY: Wounded Warriors

46

Dawson

CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

Chuck

HEADQUARTERS: Newark, New Jersey WEBSITE: www.gibbonslaw.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Law firm ANNUAL REVENUES: $106.5 million EMPLOYEES: 388 EDUCATION: BA, Iona College; JD, Seton Hall University FIRST JOB: Paper boy WHAT I’M READING: The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Star-Ledger, and Record (Bergen County, NJ) MY PHILOSOPHY: Individuals affiliated with an organization should sublimate their own egos for the good of the entire organization.

BEST ADVICE: These fabulous lawyers teach me something new about how to solve a complex problem, how to put the client’s interests first, and how to continually pursue excellence.

FAMILY: Wife, Christina; children, Morgan and Michael INTERESTS: New York Yankees baseball, New York Giants football FAVORITE CHARITIES: New Jersey State Bar Foundation, Seton Hall University School of Law

“ Law firms must offer clients the opportunity to work with a strong, diverse attorney workforce.”

GIBBONS P.C.

DL

Chairman & Managing Director

Client Demand for Diversity

A

CCORDING TO AMERICAN LAWYER , the percentage of

minority lawyers at Am Law 200 firms actually decreased half a percentage point from 2008 to 2009 and has since rebounded only to 2008 levels. More alarming is the fact that, despite a years-long, industry-wide effort to increase diversity at corporate law firms, diverse attorneys still experience a higher attrition rate than their non-minority peers.

Given the recent economic downturn and slow recovery, increased layoffs are unsurprising. But with attrition rates an average of ten percent higher than overall rates, according to one American Bar Association study, diverse attorneys are more at risk for the career setbacks and professional detours that often accompany high attrition.

The cumulative long-term impact on the legal industry as a whole is equally damaging; high attrition depletes the candidate pool of diverse future law firm leaders. As business owners, corporate decision makers, judges, legislators, and other influencers, as well as consumers wielding greater purchasing power, become increasingly diverse, client demand for diversity at their law firms is also increasing. If firms cannot adequately recruit, retain, develop, and promote dynamic, talented attorneys with the valuable perspectives, cultural competence, and talents that diversity encourages, they will likely diminish in both reputation and financial performance.

At my law firm, our award-winning Diversity Initiative has been integral in our efforts to alleviate attrition and cultivate the best possible attorney workforce. While the Gibbons Diversity Initiative has always had a holistic focus on recruitment, training, mentoring, retention, and innovative programming to hone our associates’ professional, business development, and networking skills, we have recently begun to explore the strategic management of key business processes to help lower the attrition gap. These innovations include, for example, outfitting our Chief Diversity Officer and staffing partners with sophisticated technology to ensure objective work assignments; developing more objective evaluation processes that deemphasize less meaningful inequities; and implementing a quality review process.

With corporate America increasingly emphasizing corporate social responsibility and supplier diversity, law firms must offer clients the opportunity to work with a strong, diverse attorney workforce, or they risk, quite simply, losing business. Without a strategic, defined, and well-managed diversity initiative that focuses on training, programming, and business innovations to promote an inclusive workplace, a law firm may fail to meet its own diversity goals, not to mention those of its clients. PDJ

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

ACTION

Dunican, Jr.

CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

Patrick C.

47

HOGAN LOVELLS Co-CEO

Diversity is Essential to Success

A

“ We also know that diverse teams provide the most comprehensive and strategic legal counsel for our clients.”

HEADQUARTERS: Washington, D.C.; London WEBSITE: www.hoganlovells.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Legal practice ANNUAL REVENUES: $1.67 billion EMPLOYEES: 5,000 EDUCATION: AB, Princeton University; JD, University of Virginia School of Law FIRST JOB: Washing dishes in a restaurant (I was fired after only two weeks when they discovered I was only 12 and thus too young to employ.)

WHAT I’M READING: Boomerang, by Michael Lewis MY PHILOSOPHY: Lead by example.

BEST ADVICE: Look in the mirror: Be rigorously honest in assessing your strengths and weaknesses, and based on that, always be willing and ready to improve.

FAMILY: Wife Cathy, married for 33 years; Three children: Sarah, Courtney, and Michael INTERESTS: Cycling, skiing, golf, hiking— anything active and outdoors FAVORITE CHARITY: Kenya Education Fund

48

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

S A TOP ten global legal practice with 2,300 law-

yers operating out of more than 40 offices in the United States, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia, Hogan Lovells—by the very nature of our operation—exemplifies the

spirit of diversity.

Diversity is essential to Hogan Lovells’ business success, which depends upon reflecting the diversity of the world around us and that of our client base. My Co-CEO David Harris and I understand that diversity requires hard work and a strong commitment in order to foster a work environment where people of different backgrounds can flourish and work together as one team worldwide. We also know that diverse teams provide the most comprehensive and strategic legal counsel for our clients. In today’s globalized economy, no one group can possibly provide an adequate perspective to address the world’s complex business and legal challenges. That is why we view diversity as fundamental to our firm’s success.

Claudette Christian, Chief Diversity Officer, leads our efforts to promote a workplace that embraces inclusiveness, allowing us to attract and retain the best, high-quality lawyers around the world. Our multifaceted approach includes: mentoring and professional development programs, diversity awareness initiatives, and affinity groups. Working with clients and outside groups, we also promote careers in the legal profession to ethnically diverse and underrepresented students to ensure that our communities retain and improve their diversity.

We also actively promote gender equality through the umbrella of our Women’s Initiative and are proud of our long history of advancing women within our firm. I am pleased that this year alone, 37% of our lawyers promoted to counsel or partner are women.

In October, Hogan Lovells’ Global Client Forum launched the Women’s Executive Summit, which provided a venue for senior women executives from an array of industries and regions to share insights about today’s critical business issues. The event exemplifies our commitment to providing innovative arenas in which our clients and colleagues can learn and exchange their shared experiences.

The practice of law at Hogan Lovells is, at its heart, based on interpersonal connections and relationships—with our clients and within our firm. By incorporating a strong diversity ethos throughout Hogan Lovells, we ensure that we are able to truly connect with and represent the many communities of our world. PDJ

March/April 2012

ACTION

Gorrell, Jr.

CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

J. Warren

ACTION CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

Jeff

Immelt

GENERAL ELECTRIC Chairman and CEO

Diversity and Leadership at GE

T

H OMAS EDISON BELIEVED in a simple credo. He said:

“There’s a way to do it better, find it.” Today, for the company he helped found, that means working on things that matter. Renewable energy.

Safer and more efficient jet engines. Health care innovations that fight cancer and save lives. GE works by literally trying to build, power, move and cure the world.

It’s no simple task, particularly when you’re operating in a global economy—an environment that’s ambiguous, volatile and filled with competitors. One thing, however, is clear. Success relies on finding and keeping the best people, the best talent. If you’re serious about innovating and making the world work better, the only discriminating factor should be excellence.

In other words, GE is committed to diversity not only because it’s the right way to do business. We think it’s the only way to do business right. As a global company, we believe our company must reflect the communities we serve and with whom we do business. We are committed to employing a diverse workforce filled with the most innovative minds in the world.

That effort actually begins in the classroom, so that upon graduation students look to GE as their employer of choice. Our Greek Elite program is a great example. Senior GE leaders partner with black Greek letter organizations to mentor and develop students.

We also believe that you can never stop developing leaders. We constantly encourage mentoring among executive level employees, applying a special focus to diverse talent and women employees and mobilizing our affinity networks and employee groups. These networks and groups are specifically dedicated to develop and promote talent within GE and provide employees a sense of belonging and support.

I take special pride in our affinity networks and employee groups because the collective talents, differences and experiences of GE employees are the essential ingredients in our ability to grow and succeed. Our ongoing commitment to hiring the best and retaining a diverse workforce provides a competitive advantage in the markets we serve. Simply put, diversity makes us a better company. PDJ

HEADQUARTERS: Fairfield, Connecticut WEBSITE: www.ge.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Diversified industrial and finance ANNUAL REVENUES: $147.3 billion EMPLOYEES: 287,000 EDUCATION: BA, Dartmouth College; MBA, Harvard University FIRST JOB: During the summer in college, I worked at the Ford Motor plant in Cincinnati in the parts depot and on the assembly line. Out of college my first job was at P&G as a brand manager.

WHAT I’M READING: Fixing the Game, by Roger Martin MY PHILOSOPHY: Always ask what’s next.

BEST ADVICE: Make your work about more than your own success.

FAMILY: Wife and one daughter INTERESTS: Sports and reading FAVORITE CHARITY: Robin Hood Foundation

“ If you’re serious about innovating and making the world work better, the only discriminating factor should be excellence.”

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

49

CPA

SOCIETY FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT President and CEO

Generational Mix, Veterans and Retirees Keep SHRM Busy

D

I VERSITY EXISTS IN every workplace. It isn’t always

“ We have an emerging generation more pre-disposed to a world of diversity and inclusion.”

HEADQUARTERS: Alexandria, Virginia WEBSITE: www.shrm.org PRIMARY BUSINESS: Not-for-profit professional association ANNUAL REVENUES: $110 million MEMBERS: 260,000 EDUCATION: BS, Stonehill College FIRST JOB: Computer audit specialist with a major accounting firm WHAT I’M READING: Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson MY PHILOSOPHY: Empower people. Lead by example.

BEST ADVICE: Never believe you are the smartest person in the room. Always look for win/win outcomes.

Hire good people.

FAMILY: Wife and four children INTERESTS: Travel and biking FAVORITE CHARITY: Hospice

50

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

about race, gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation. Diversity exists when you have two or more people working toward a common goal.

The question is not “Do we have diversity?” But rather, “How much diversity do we have and are we making every employee feel included and engaged?”

Ensuring inclusion and engagement is a vital responsibility for HR professionals. An unprecedented generational mix, Baby Boomer retirements, a skills gap, the transition of veterans to the workplace, and the challenge of employee engagement are things that keep CEOs up at night.

And with these demographic shifts, the HR profession must accommodate the priorities and motivations of a diverse mix of employees.

At the same time, we must keep all employees engaged.

A recent Randstad study found that one in five of the most engaged employees would be willing to accept a new job offer in the next six months.

A Manpower survey found that, due to a skills gap, more than half of U.S. employers are having difficulty filling critical positions.

SHRM’s own research reinforces that dilemma.

At SHRM, we recognize that all of these challenges touch on the importance of D&I. Here are just some of the items in our D&I strategy for 2012 and beyond: • Creating first-ever standards for D&I. • Providing organizations with customized D&I solutions.

• With 10,000 Baby Boomers retiring every day, we are partnering with AARP to conduct new research and help implement strategies for keeping and leveraging the talents of older workers.

• Recognizing that workplace flexibility is the next major business imperative.

• Working with the White House’s Joining Forces effort for active duty military and veterans.

• With nearly 30 percent of 18-24 year olds underemployed, SHRM is partnering with “Summer Jobs Plus!,” an initiative that addresses employment opportunities for low-income and disconnected youth.

Diversity and inclusion surrounds us. In a world of societal movement and transition, we have an opportunity to ensure that D&I is part of the equation as workplaces and workforces are re-thought and re-imagined.

Demographics favor us. We have an emerging generation more predisposed to a world of diversity and inclusion. We’d better be ready to take advantage of that. PDJ

March/April 2012

ACTION

Jackson

CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

Henry (Hank) G.

Diversity & Inclusion Offerings Diversity Practitioner of the 21st Century

An Examination of Organizational Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion Survey Findings

rtifi

tit

Ce

ute

Recertification: 7.5 Strategic Business Management credit hours March 12, 2012 in Alexandria, Va. cation I

ns

(SHRM Headquarters)

Global Cultural Competence for Business Leaders

rtifi

tit

Ce

ute

Recertification: 7.5 International credit hours April 16, 2012 in Alexandria, Va. HR

cation I

ns

(SHRM Headquarters)

June 23, 2012 in Atlanta, Ga. (SHRM Annual Conference & Exposition)

Conference: SHRM 2012 Diversity & Inclusion Conference & Exposition October 22-24, 2012 in Chicago, Ill.

New DVD Release: Charting Your Path to Success: Leadership Competencies Every Diversity Professional Should Have

Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Leadership Program

rtifi

tit

Ce

ute

Recertification: 15 Strategic Business Management credit hours May 22-23, 2012 in Boston, Mass.

August 16-17, 2012 in Alexandria, Va. HR

cation I

ns

(SHRM Headquarters)

Upcoming Webcast: 2012 Trends in Diversity & Inclusion

For more information about our Diversity & Inclusion offerings, visit

www.shrm.org/diversity

April 10, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. ET 12-0142

Shirley A. Davis, Ph.D., Vice President Diversity & Inclusion SHRM

Research Reports including:

HR

Rooted in some of the best thinking and practices of global diversity professionals, our D&I offerings equip both practitioners and other business leaders with the necessary knowledge, skills and tools to guide their organizations in addressing 21st-century workplace issues.

Upcoming Seminars:

NOVARTIS AG CEO

Making Diversity and Inclusion a Priority

I

“ Our workforces need to reflect this diversity so that we can effectively develop solutions that fulfill their needs.”

HEADQUARTERS: Basel, Switzerland WEBSITE: www.novartis.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Healthcare ANNUAL REVENUES: $50.6 billion EMPLOYEES: 119,000 EDUCATION: BA, Stanford University; MBA, University of California, Berkeley FIRST JOB: Started career at Clorox after MBA WHAT I’M READING: Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson MY PHILOSOPHY: The best leaders have humility and a relentless will to win.

BEST ADVICE: Learn how to listen FAMILY: Wife, three children INTERESTS: Swimming, fly-fishing FAVORITE CHARITY: Eradicating malaria is a cause I’m very passionate about as it is a preventable and treatable disease. However, nearly one million people die from malaria each year, most being children under age five. I’m really proud of our work at Novartis to distribute antimalarial medicine without profit to patients in the developing world.

52

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

T HINK THAT all global organizations need to make diversity

and inclusion a priority not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it makes good business sense. It drives innovation, attracts top talent and enriches a company’s culture. At Novartis, our affiliates operate in more than 140 countries, so our customer base and the patient populations we serve are quite diverse. Our workforces need to reflect this diversity so that we can effectively develop solutions that fulfill their needs.

In particular, as we build our presence in emerging markets, we need to better understand the needs and deliver appropriate solutions for customers in these countries. Novartis created a program called BOOST, which provides emerging market leaders with mentors and career development tools to help them succeed. Also, our Entrepreneurial Leadership Program (ELP) sends top talent to emerging markets to participate in a cross-cultural, experience-based learning program. The ELP exposes associates to health challenges within local markets and broadens their awareness of issues facing our patients and customers. Throughout the program, the teams bring together their diverse viewpoints to generate valuable solutions for our business.

Lastly, I’ve personally driven the creation of another leadership development program for associates in emerging markets called LEAD. LEAD combines business and leadership seminars with hands-on learning to help enhance each associate’s knowledge of other markets.

The group recently traveled to Kerala, India where we examined local public health achievements and gathered key findings that we can use to improve patient outcomes in every country.

At Novartis, we believe that diversity and inclusion means welcoming the unique perspectives of all Group Company associates to help accelerate our innovation and growth. Therefore, we have built a culture where diverse viewpoints and varied work and life experiences are valued.

This commitment to diversity and inclusion makes the Novartis Group a more inspiring, satisfying place to work for our associates.

And it can help us achieve our goal of becoming the most respected and successful healthcare company in the world. PDJ

March/April 2012

ACTION

Jimenez

CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

Joseph

HEADQUARTERS: Cedar Rapids, Iowa WEBSITE: www.rockwellcollins.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Aerospace and defense ANNUAL REVENUES: $4.8 billion EMPLOYEES: 20,000 EDUCATION: Bachelor’s, University of Tennessee; MBA, from George Washington University FIRST JOB: U.S. Air Force Officer WHAT I’M READING: Washington: A Life, by Ron Chernow; Great by Choice, by Jim Collins MY PHILOSOPHY: Strive to achieve your full potential, and help others achieve theirs as well.

BEST ADVICE: Keep your professional and personal life in balance; you control that priority.

FAMILY: Wife, Debbie; Daughters, Lindsey and Melissa INTERESTS: Golf, skeet/trap shooting, music FAVORITE CHARITY: Alzheimer’s Association

“ I am fortunate to be part of an organization that sees the possibilities inherent in a robust diversity and inclusion strategy.”

ROCKWELL COLLINS

Chairman, President and CEO

Recognizing and Hiring Veterans at Rockwell Collins

I

’ VE ALWAYS BELIEVED that a leader’s greatest role is to help

others see the possibilities before them, then provide them with the motivation and support to make that future a reality. At Rockwell Collins, our diversity and inclusion strategy has always played a major role in making that happen, and today it is more important than ever.

To grow our business, we continue to aggressively expand our outreach around the globe. This goal cannot be accomplished without leveraging the perspectives, experiences and ideas of our entire worldwide workforce.

A comprehensive strategy to do that began in earnest this year, and is already yielding valuable dividends. Major international wins hinged upon the knowledge and perspectives of our business development professionals around the world, including a contract to provide next generation avionics for the Brazilian Air Force’s new KC-390 tanker.

While gender and race are important elements of diversity and inclusion, at Rockwell Collins we are equally attuned to another: veterans and persons with disabilities. Today, more than 870,000 young veterans are unemployed, with more than a million more to come in the next five years.

We work side-by-side with these men and women, and many of them trust our solutions to help them accomplish their missions.

Eight percent of our domestic workforce is made up of veterans, and many serve active duty through the Guard and Reserve. A full-time recruiter identifies and hires military talent, and we allocate a growing percentage of our budget to military outreach.

We have made strides in this effort, and have earned recognition from G.I. Jobs as a top 100 military-friendly employer and from the Chamber of Commerce, which named us a finalist for its Wounded Warrior Employment Transition Assistance Award.

But we know we can do more, and have identified it as a key global business goal. Veterans have our deep gratitude for their contribution and sacrifice, and we are committed to helping them put the unique and desirable skills to work for the well-being of themselves, their families and their future.

I am fortunate to be part of an organization that sees the possibilities inherent in a robust diversity and inclusion strategy. The richness of intellect and perspectives we gain from a diverse workforce will position Rockwell Collins to succeed now and far into the future. PDJ

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

ACTION

Jones

CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

Clayton M.

53

NATIONAL GRID

DL

Executive Director, President, National Grid USA

What Does Success Look Like?

Involved, Valued, Included Employees

T

H E U.S. WORKFORCE is becoming more diverse every

“ In a business climate that is forever looking to ‘do more with less,’ having a high proportion of employees included is critical.”

HEADQUARTERS: Waltham, Massachusetts WEBSITE: www.nationalgrid.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: International electricity and gas company ANNUAL REVENUES: $22 billion EMPLOYEES: 27,000 EDUCATION: Louisiana State University; Executive Program Graduate, University of Michigan FIRST JOB: Regulatory Analyst, Interstate Pipelines WHAT I’M READING: The Quest, by Daniel Yergin MY PHILOSOPHY: Optimistim—positive energy is contagious.

BEST ADVICE: Always do the right thing.

FAMILY: Married with three daughters INTERESTS: Fishing, travel FAVORITE CHARITIES: American Red Cross, American Cancer Society

54

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

year. Responsible businesses must embrace and manage diversity for continued success. A diverse workforce increases organizational effectiveness, lifts morale, taps new segments of the workforce, and enhances productivity. In short, business needs diversity to succeed.

National Grid’s objective is to embed Diversity & Inclusion throughout the company. It is no longer considered an initiative, but an integral part of how every single employee thinks and acts.

National Grid has embarked on a specific approach to leading D&I initiatives to develop, communicate and lead the organization on a compelling business case. We serve more than 16 million customers every day in very diverse demographic geographies across the Northeast. We must represent and understand our market demographics in order to serve and meet the customer expectations.

A key requirement in success will be to ensure an inclusive culture in the organization representing the communities in which we live and work.

So what does success look like? Success is when all employees feel involved, valued and included. In a business climate that is forever looking to ‘do more with less,’ having a high proportion of employees feeling included is critical. In order to deliver our growth strategy we need to attract and retain high-caliber people from the widest possible talent pool.

We need to embrace diverse talent today and tomorrow for the future success of the business. D&I helps us reach goals by encouraging collaborative internal and external relationships. These initiatives are a good start but we have more work to do before it is really embedded within our culture. This is an important journey. Each day we see progress and know that we are heading in the right direction. We will know success when the communities we serve welcome our presence as service providers, employers and community partners. PDJ

March/April 2012

ACTION

King

CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

Thomas

ACTION CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

Maria

Klawe

HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE President

Making Science and Engineering Accessible to All

M

Y GOAL IN life is to make the culture of science

and engineering welcoming and supportive for everyone who can contribute, independent of a person’s gender, race or other interests. In my early years as a woman working in mathematics and computer science, I often found it difficult to be taken seriously. I hid the fact that I was a serious artist because that would have made it worse. Even today, this remains an issue for women and underrepresented minorities in many areas of science and engineering. Broadening the participation of women and underrepresented groups will expand the nation’s highly skilled professionals while taking advantage of their rich variety of perspectives—enhancing creativity, problem-solving and technological innovation.

I’m thrilled to lead Harvey Mudd College, a liberal arts college of science and engineering, because our focus on educating socially responsible scientists and engineers makes HMC an ideal place to work on creating a better culture. Our small college attracts talented students from across the U.S. and the world who want a superb education combining depth in math, science and engineering with strong components of social sciences, humanities, teamwork, communication, and hands-on learning. We deeply value diversity in our faculty, students and staff because it creates a richer learning environment.

The challenge for HMC, like other science and engineering schools, has been increasing representation of traditionally underrepresented ethnicities and women in our faculty and students. Over the past 15 years we have made great progress with gender diversity. Women now make up 43 percent of both faculty and student bodies.

Our progress with computer science majors is particularly impressive, increasing from about ten percent female in 2006 to about 40 percent today. Our CS department achieved this by creating an innovative and supportive computer science curriculum, taking incoming female students to the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, and providing early research opportunities. In addition, we are now focusing on increasing ethnic diversity; in particular on recruiting more African-American students.

Leaders in science and engineering are vital to solving every major problem facing the world today. Harvey Mudd College is working hard to educate students who will become those leaders, students who represent all parts of our society. PDJ

HEADQUARTERS: Claremont, California WEBSITE: www.hmc.edu PRIMARY BUSINESS: Education ANNUAL REVENUES: $56.9 million EMPLOYEES: 318 EDUCATION: PhD, University of Alberta FIRST JOB: Artist for Film West In Edmonton WHAT I’M READING: STEM the Tide, by David E. Drew MY PHILOSOPHY: Take the time to learn to be good at the things you find difficult.

BEST ADVICE: Fail often and openly.

FAMILY: Husband Nick Pippenger, son Janek Klawe, and daughter Sasha Pippenger INTERESTS: Watercolor painting, hiking, skateboarding FAVORITE CHARITY: Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology

“ We deeply value diversity in our faculty,

March/April 2012

students and staff because it creates a richer learning environment for everyone.”

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

55

ACTION CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

56

David J. HALLIBURTON

Lesar

DL

Chairman, President and CEO

Attracting Women Leaders, Improving Benefits Packages at Halliburton

H

ALLIBURTON DOES BUSINESS in some 80 coun-

tries—we are a truly global company.

Diversity and inclusion are the heart of our culture and the source of our problem-solving vitality. I believe that diversity and inclusion are in our genes, and are key to our company’s success.

Increasingly, customers are making diversity a prerequisite for awarding business. Clearly, we cannot surpass our competitors if we are missing opportunities to recruit, develop and retain the best talent—whoever has it, wherever we find it.

With our company’s success in mind, we have implemented a comprehensive strategy for diversity and inclusion. We have appointed a global director of diversity and inclusion, who promptly embarked on a “listening tour,” interviewing senior executives and employees and learning from other organizations. In her travels, she observed firsthand what diversity is, and what its benefits are. For example, our teams in Egypt, where our workforce is 97 percent nationalized, are achieving some of the highest margins in the company.

As a first step to ensuring that we are hiring, developing and retaining the best talent worldwide, a review of policies and practices that affect the diversity of our workforce is under way. We found a major opportunity for improvement in our development of women for leadership roles, and have responded by identifying more than 150 women who have been tapped for mentoring and leadership training.

We have made additions to our benefits offerings, providing adoption leave and adoption expense benefits. In response to input from women employees in the field, we are providing coveralls and twopiece work clothing that are sized for women. These better-fitting garments will improve the comfort and safety of our employees.

We are expanding our company’s participation in diversity and inclusion organizations and partnerships. Our support will include donations and scholarship funding, speakers and teachers, and mentoring programs.

Diversity and inclusion are part of every employee’s annual performance review. Training programs and workshops related to diversity and inclusion curriculum are currently being designed, and will be made available to all employees.

Diversity is already influencing our customers. It’s modifying our problem-solving ability. It’s affecting our future leadership. At Halliburton, we are making diversity thinking—and inclusive action—a high priority for everyone at every level. PDJ

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

“ Diversity is already...modifying our problem-solving ability and affecting our future leadership.”

HEADQUARTERS: Houston, Texas and Dubai, UAE WEBSITE: www.Halliburton.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Energy services ANNUAL REVENUES: $24.8 billion EMPLOYEES: 70,000 EDUCATION: BS, MBA, University of Wisconsin FIRST JOB: Auditor for a public accounting firm WHAT I’M READING: Moneyball and The Big Short, by Michael Lewis MY PHILOSOPHY: Create an environment where others can excel BEST ADVICE: Take a job no one else will do and also take intelligent risks with your career.

FAMILY: Wife and two children INTERESTS: College sports and pro football FAVORITE CHARITY: Shepherd’s Hand Free Clinic

ACTION CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

Robert

McDonald

THE PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY

Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer

P&G Launches New D&I Strategy

C

R ITICAL TO OUR growth strategy is diversity and inclu-

sion. As a company, our continued success and growth is dependent upon a deep understanding of the diversity of our consumers. To do this, our employee population must reflect the diversity of our markets and consumers. This helps us have empathy for them.

Empathy leads to life-improving innovations.

Innovation is connecting two seemingly unconnected ideas.

Diversity provides the disparate nodes to connect. We purposely try to put diverse groups of people together to create more opportunities for innovation. There is a correlation between the diversity of our organization, our innovative capability, and our ability to realize our purpose of improving lives. This is how we develop the brands and communications that resonate with the people we serve and want to serve.

I am a firm believer that diversity and inclusion is a competitive advantage for our organization and I am personally committed to continuing to foster a culture of inclusion at P&G. We have no hope of touching and improving the lives of the world’s consumers if we don’t first begin with touching and improving the lives of P&G employees.

About a year ago, we launched P&G’s global diversity and inclusion strategy. With the new strategy, we took three new steps: 1) Appointed a Chief Diversity Officer to oversee the Global

Diversity & Inclusion Strategy (Linda Clement-Holmes).

2) Added key focus on inclusion, with aim to maintain a diverse

workforce, a diverse leadership pipeline, inspiring employees to

perform at their peak, knowing that they are included, respected

and valued.

3) Created global Inclusion and Diversity Council, with the aim

to renew our overall Diversity & Inclusion efforts, measure

results against our goals, and drive accountability throughout

the organization.

Externally, we want to be and be recognized as a global leader in diversity and inclusion. Internally, we want to ensure we are fostering a culture of inclusion so that diversity is culturally embedded in all we do.

I am inspired each day by the ways P&G employees are putting their passion behind our diversity and inclusion strategy and bringing it to life. As we continue to embrace diversity and truly make it a part of all we do, the results of the company will be inseparable from the characteristics of diversity that make up our global operations. This is how we will continue touching and improving lives, now and for generations to come. PDJ

“ ...Our continued success and growth is dependent upon a deep understanding of the diversity of our consumers.”

HEADQUARTERS: Cincinnati, Ohio WEBSITE: www.pg.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Consumer goods ANNUAL REVENUES: $82.6 billion EMPLOYEES: 129,000 EDUCATION: BS, United States Military Academy at West Point; MBA, University of Utah FIRST JOB: Airborne Ranger Infantry Platoon Leader, C Company, 1st of the 504th Airborne Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division WHAT I’M READING: Bismarck: A Life, by Jonathan Steinberg MY PHILOSOPHY: Live life with purpose.

BEST ADVICE: Choose the harder right rather than the easier wrong.

FAMILY: Married, with two grown children INTERESTS: Family, exercise, reading, learning FAVORITE CHARITY: United States Military Academy Association of Graduates

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

57

ACTION CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

Sonu

Ratra

AKRAYA, INC.

DL

President

With Success Comes Responsibility

A

S THE PRESIDENT of Akraya, Inc., I have

long been involved with workforce diversity and inclusion. I arrived in the melting pot of cultures that is America 15 years ago to pursue the American dream and found my own business. Armed with the first hand knowledge of the difficulties diversity businesses are confronted with, I have been committed to sharing my experiences with other businesses in need of guidance.

I feel it very important to sustain Akraya’s strong diversity program; we are also a minority- and woman-owned business and as such, my goal was to initiate new strategic ways for Akraya to take advantage of its diversity status. As a result, we have been able to grow the business significantly and acquire new clients. I believe that with success comes responsibility, and I try to do my best to share this knowledge with other businesses in a number of venues. I serve as the Vice Chair of the MBE Input Committee for the Northern California Minority Supplier Development Council (NCMSDC) and am a regular speaker at diversity conferences & forums.

I am also a member of the Indian Business and Professional Women (IBPW), Women in Technology International (WITI) and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE) and I use these forums to extend Akraya’s diversity supplier reach. In 2012, I plan to grow Akraya’s Diversity Supplier Network while also continuing to educate diverse suppliers about the benefits of the certification. I am committed to workforce diversity and hope that Akraya can serve as a resource and role model for other minority businesses. PDJ

58

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

HEADQUARTERS: Sunnyvale, California WEBSITE: www.akraya.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: IT Staffing & Managed solutions ANNUAL REVENUES: $40 million EMPLOYEES: 300 EDUCATION: MS, Tata Institute of Social Studies, India FIRST JOB: Tata Consulting services WHAT I’M READING: Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson MY PHILOSOPHY: “Doing best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” —Oprah Winfrey BEST ADVICE: “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.”

FAMILY: Husband, Amar and daughter, Ananya INTERESTS: Skiing, travelling and exploring new countries, building friendships FAVORITE CHARITY: India Literacy Project (ILP)

“ I am committed to workforce diversity and hope that Akraya can serve as a resource and role model for other minority businesses.”

ACTION CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

John R.

Raymond, Sr., MD

MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN President and Chief Executive Officer

Helping to Alleviate Underrepresentation in Medicine

A

T THE MEDICAL College of Wisconsin, we are

working diligently to ensure that diversity and inclusion is not just a philosophy but rather a way of life.

Since joining this private medical institution in July 2010, I have shared my unwavering commitment to promoting an inclusive environment that fosters the genuine integration of a diverse student body and faculty into all aspects of academic life. As a practicing nephrologist who plays active roles in clinical care, teaching, and faculty mentorship, I believe that life experiences are critical in the educational process.

A considerable challenge faced by medical schools throughout the country is that of “Underrepresented in Medicine” (URM)—which refers to those racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population. Because minority physicians are more likely to serve minority, disadvantaged and low-income populations, enhancing the pool of underrepresented minorities among faculty and physicians will help alleviate disparities in the quality of their healthcare.

We are cultivating an institutional culture that fosters the recruitment, nurturing and retention of a diverse student body, trainees, staff and faculty to reflect the larger community in which we live. We are building an inclusive environment that embraces diversity, celebrates cultural differences and promotes mutual understanding and respect for individuals. We are developing comprehensive strategies to facilitate equal opportunity and diversity in our educational, clinical and research programs as well as in our internal and external communities.

Perhaps most importantly, our invigorated inclusion and diversity initiatives are reflected in the near-record 15% URM students who matriculated at the Medical College in fall 2011—placing us in the top tier among private medical schools in the Midwest.

Decisive actions speak loudly to embody principles. I have learned that reaching out to detractors of diversity and inclusion initiatives— to engage them in dialogue—is a “best-practices” approach that ultimately succeeds in forging important partnerships. This philosophy will serve us well as we face the challenges and achievements of 21st century healthcare. PDJ

HEADQUARTERS: Milwaukee, Wisconsin WEBSITE: www.mcw.edu PRIMARY BUSINESS: Education ANNUAL REVENUES: $895.8 million EMPLOYEES: 5,400 EDUCATION: BS, MD, the Ohio State University FIRST JOB: Janitor, Archbishop Hoban High School, Akron, Ohio WHAT I’M READING: Pursuing Excellence in Healthcare, by Dr. Arthur Feldman; On the Mend: Revolutionizing Healthcare to Save Lives and Transform the Industry, by Drs. John Toussaint and Roger A. Gerard MY PHILOSOPHY: Openness, inclusiveness, positive engagement BEST ADVICE: Listen well—then engage in courageous conversation.

FAMILY: Two children INTERESTS: Reading, writing, chess, fitness FAVORITE CHARITIES: United Way, Combined Federal Campaign, Medical College of Wisconsin

“ ...We are working diligently to ensure that diversity and inclusion is not just a philosophy but rather a way of life.”

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

59

ACTION CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

60

Peter C.

Roberts

JONES LANG LASALLE CEO, Americas

Leadership in Action

I

N MY ROLE at Jones Lang LaSalle, I’ve witnessed the impor-

tance of Diversity and Inclusion in a company’s culture— both internally and with our clients. Jones Lang LaSalle’s people and clients are our top priorities, which is why we’ve identified D&I as fundamental to our corporate values. I am committed to leading a firm that reinforces how I personally feel about diversity in the workplace: that all our people feel valued for their contributions.

Jones Lang LaSalle’s D&I initiatives enable us to attract, develop and retain top talent with broad backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.

I’ve seen how these initiatives help unleash employees’ full potential, allow them to succeed and help them create strong partnerships with clients and with each other. They also support our clients by creating strong partnerships with women- and minority-owned businesses.

Our D&I Council, comprised of some of my most impassioned colleagues, meets regularly to discuss recommendations that will accelerate Jones Lang LaSalle’s firm-wide D&I practices. One of the initiatives implemented is a self-service mentoring program that pairs young talent with coaches to support career advancement, capture best practices across the firm and implement training that increases awareness and understanding. The program shows measurable results that demonstrate mentors help attract, retain and promote minority and female colleagues. As practiced at our first-ever national Women’s Summit, held in 2011, we hold discussions for diverse leaders to share personal stories that empower the firm’s talent and equip them with tools to develop roadmaps for career advancement.

To support our diversity hiring and retention efforts, we hold leaders accountable and give managers tools to help attract and retain a diverse workforce. Our Chief Diversity Officer and Director of Recruitment collaborate and source top-tier diverse employees. Their efforts have increased officer-level female new hires 41 percent and tripled our minority officer hires. I’ve seen our Recruiting Action Team visit Historically Black Colleges and Universities to hand-select job candidates, then connect them with leadership to discuss forthcoming opportunities that lead to hiring young talent. Our supplier diversity program effectively increases opportunities for minority, women and disabled veteran business enterprises, ensuring they receive fair market share of our clients’ business.

I believe having a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture opens a world of ideas and opportunities that enables Jones Lang LaSalle’s family members to grow their careers and do the best work for our clients. PDJ

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

“ ...All our people feel valued for their contributions.”

HEADQUARTERS: Chicago, Illinois WEBSITE: www.joneslanglasalle.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Real estate, Investment management, Professional services ANNUAL REVENUES: $2.9 billion EMPLOYEES: 42,000 EDUCATION: AB, Dartmouth College; MBA, Harvard Business School FIRST JOB: Assistant Treasurer in the aerospace and defense contractor group at Morgan Guaranty Trust Company WHAT I’M READING: Rabbit, Run, by John Updike MY PHILOSOPHY: Set clear values that focus on people, integrity and respect. Surround yourself with those who can embrace and support them. Listen to colleagues and clients and value each other’s points of views.

BEST ADVICE: Everyone else is at least as smart as you are, if not smarter.

FAMILY: Wife, Robin; daughter, Megan; sons, Matthew and Michael INTERESTS: Music, piano, exercise FAVORITE CHARITIES: Children’s Memorial Hospital, Ravinia Festival, The Cara Program

HEADQUARTERS: Mountain View, California WEBSITE: www.symantec.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Security, storage, and systems management solutions ANNUAL REVENUES: $6.19 billion EMPLOYEES: 20,000 EDUCATION: BCS, Dartmouth College FIRST JOB: Systems programmer, Security Pacific Bank WHAT I’M READING: Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us,

by Daniel H. Pink MY PHILOSOPHY: Work hard and have a positive attitude.

BEST ADVICE: Check your ego and title at the door.

INTERESTS: Cycling, skiing FAVORITE CHARITY: Room to Read

“ I have seen first-hand how the attraction and retention of technical women is a challenge for the male-dominated technology industry as a whole.”

ACTION

Salem SYMANTEC

President and CEO

Creating a Climate of Openness

A

T SYMANTEC, DIVERSITY is a business imperative.

Innovation requires a work culture that fosters a curiosity about differing perspectives, a variety of backgrounds and life experiences, and a willingness to challenge basic assumptions. By broadening the talent pool, we are creating a climate of openness and respect for diverse viewpoints, which encourages innovation, productivity and competitiveness. Our diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives inspire employees to open their minds and think about ideas in the context of a global view. As someone who is deeply invested in the advancement of the technology industry, our diversity initiatives are a key priority for me.

One of my main efforts is to increase women in leadership positions.

I have seen first-hand how the attraction and retention of technical women is a challenge for the male-dominated technology industry as a whole. That is why I signed the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP) CEO Statement of Support, which champions equality between women and men worldwide. I believe that building the pipeline for gender diversity in our workforce begins with making it clear that we are committed to the empowerment of women worldwide.

Across the company, we encourage female employee participation in our Top Talent Program, which offers advanced learning and career development training for our key leaders. In our recent D&I survey, 87.3 percent of men and 71.9 percent of women responded favorably regarding equal opportunity for women to advance at Symantec, indicating that the gap continues to close between the genders’ respective perceptions. In addition, we encourage participation in our employee resource groups, like Symantec Women’s Action Network (SWAN), Hispanic Outreach and Leadership Affinity (HOLA), Symantec’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Transgender and Allies (SymPride) and the Symantec Black Employee Network Group (SBEN) to broaden their strategic perspective, help the community, and build relationships.

Running a multi-billion dollar global company, I recognize the advantage of having employees understand the cultural differences of our customers and their colleagues. By leveraging employee resource groups and career development training programs, we continue to increase the number of women and minorities interested in technical careers. Greater diversity and building this long-term pipeline is a critical business issue for the technology industry. In fact, it is imperative in order to build a larger and more competitive workforce. One that is as broad and innovative as the customers we serve. PDJ

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

Enrique

61

HARRIS BEACH PLLC CEO

Collective Mixture Characterized by Differences

A

“ Diverse thinking, teamwork, and the ability to deal with differences allow us to fulfill our mission of providing client solutions that exceed expectations.”

HEADQUARTERS: Rochester, New York WEBSITE: www.harrisbeach.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Legal services EMPLOYEES: 450 EDUCATION: BA, Middlebury College; MBA, Syracuse University; JD, Syracuse University College of Law FIRST JOB: Harris Beach WHAT I’M READING: When Professionals Have to Lead, by Thomas J. Delong, John J. Gabarro, and Robert J. Lees; The Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin BEST ADVICE: Listen, learn and communicate.

FAMILY: Spouse, Cheryl; two grown sons, Tim and Tyler INTERESTS: Golf, skiing FAVORITE CHARITY: Boys and Girls Clubs of Rochester

62

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

CHIEVING A DIVERSE workplace begins with

establishing diversity values. Those values include respect (acknowledging differences and respecting differing points of view), inclusion (valuing everyone’s contribution), teamwork (encouraging diverse perspectives to influence strategies and innovation), and development (maximizing the potential of each individual). Based on these values Harris Beach embraced a broad definition of diversity as defined by Roosevelt Thomas and Associates, Inc.—“any collective mixture characterized by differences, similarities and related tensions in the workplace.” This approach recognizes diversity as more expansive than race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and other legal definitions to include regional, cultural, generational, and other differences. Our workforce has embraced this broader approach providing buy in necessary for success.

Another fundamental step in creating a sustained diversity initiative is our diversity council composed of individuals from various departments, job classifications and geographic locations in our firm. With resources and endorsement of our management team the diversity council can, and has, created programs such as diversity training for all employees and newly hired employees, which has helped communication, problem solving and teamwork skills throughout the organization.

Also important in our initiative is that we reach out through other organizations to lead diversity in our profession. Our attorneys are active in various Bar Associations participating in programs and events designed to promote diversity values within the profession and within their respective communities.

We have gone down this path as an organization to strengthen what we do and how we do it. Diverse thinking, teamwork, and the ability to deal with differences allow us to fulfill our mission of providing client solutions that exceed expectations. It is also great to be creating a better place to work. PDJ

March/April 2012

ACTION

Spitz, Jr.

CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

James A.

“ We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand

that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.”

Maya Angelou

The Fabric of Our Firm At Harris Beach, we recognize that our diversity is a significant source of strength. By supporting a broadly inclusive workplace, in which respect for the contributions of diverse individuals empowers each of them, our firm fosters innovative approaches that enhance the legal services we provide.

Diversity of Thought and Perspective Conventional and insular thinking yields conventional and predictable results. Critical thinking sparked by a meeting of diverse minds and opinions can yield breakthrough solutions. Valuing the unique skills of each individual, we strategically utilize our broad knowledge base to build dedicated, interdisciplinary, problem-solving teams that are greater than the sum of their parts.

Diversity of Practice As one of the country’s Top 250 law firms as ranked by The National Law Journal, Harris Beach and our affiliates provide a full range of legal and professional services for regional, national, and international clients. The Harris Beach family includes 40 practice groups and industry teams and two non-legal consulting subsidiaries, all of whom work in a highly collaborative manner that effectively leverages specialized expertise, relationships, and team synergies to help us fulfill our vision of providing client solutions that exceed expectations.

To learn more about our diversity initiatives, scan this QR code with your smartphone.

www.harrisbeach.com

ACTION CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

64

Mark S.

Stewart

BALLARD SPAHR LLP Chair

Progress Toward True Diversity

W

E WILL KNOW we have made meaningful progress

toward true diversity when written statements of support for diversity, like this one, are superfluous; when the movement of minority lawyers from associate to partner is the norm; when women and lawyers of color and gay lawyers are well-represented in all aspects of firm life; and when lateral candidates no longer need to ask where we stand. In other words, I look forward to the end of the need for diversity “champions.”

Diversity is a pursuit in which good flows directly from right. Our clients tell us that they care about diversity in their outside legal teams. We hear that message and we embrace it because we too believe that the best legal representation is that which incorporates a diverse range of backgrounds and viewpoints.

A decade ago, I co-chaired the firm’s newly formed Diversity Committee and in that role helped implement programs for minorities and women. The Committee started because we realized that we had extremely valuable women and minorities who were becoming increasingly important to the future of the firm and we were hearing from clients that they expected our firm to be more diverse when it came to practicing law. I think we thought we were doing a good job, but we understood that you can always do a better job. So we tested that proposition and now we try to make sure we do all that we can to make Ballard a welcoming place for all people.

Virginia Essandoh, our Chief Diversity Officer, is part of our Management Committee. In this capacity, she meets regularly with myself and other firm leaders. We look to Virginia to keep us honest regarding our successes and struggles and focused on our goals. We value what she has to say.

Virginia reminds firm leaders that we must extend to diverse lawyers the same support and mentoring from which we benefited when we were starting out. In doing so, we will help to cultivate the talents and capabilities of people who will be a credit to our firm and well-suited to assume leadership roles. Ultimately, we want Ballard to be a place where clients come to get great legal services and all lawyers come to have fulfilling careers. PDJ

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

HEADQUARTERS: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania WEBSITE: www.ballardspahr.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Law firm ANNUAL REVENUES: $273.5 million EMPLOYEES: 1,107 EDUCATION: BA, University of Delaware; JD, University of Pennsylvania; GC, London School of Economics FIRST JOB: Cutting grass WHAT I’M READING: The Checklist Manifesto, by Atul Gawande; Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds, by Robert Mann; Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand MY PHILOSOPHY: Keep things on an even keel—life is a marathon.

Take everyone seriously, except yourself.

BEST ADVICE: Listen FAMILY: Wife, Mary Gay Scanlon; Children, Casey, Daniel and Matthew INTERESTS: Running FAVORITE CHARITIES: Support Center for Child Advocates; Project Forward Leap

“ Diversity is a pursuit in which good flows directly from right.”

ACTION CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

William H.

RAYTHEON COMPANY

Swanson DL

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Business Leaders Need to Act as Role Models

W

E HAVE LONG recognized that diversity of tal-

ent and diversity of thought are important parts of a foundation for innovation. We rely on these imperatives to meet the challenges of our marketplace, and to help us generate some of the best technologies, systems and solutions our industry has to offer.

Tomorrow’s engineers, scientists and technologists will come from all walks of life. And they must work seamlessly together across complex organizations in order to perform effectively as teams.

As business leaders, we need to act as role models by providing all of our teammates with welcoming environments that foster the kind of innovative thinking and problem solving that truly diverse teams are known for. We have a responsibility to provide an atmosphere where everyone feels valued and empowered to perform to their full potential—individually and collectively.

When a culture values and respects diversity, it will also be able to retain and attract the best talent. Still, building an inclusive culture is not always easy. I like to think of it as a journey. It takes a tremendous amount of courage and personal reflection to recognize and change behaviors as individuals. Thus, it is something we all need to keep working as we strive to be better.

Raytheon provides a wide range of initiatives to support the personal diversity journeys of its employees. Through diversity summits, learning modules, competency models, leadership speaking panels and employee forums, resource groups and a variety of other resources, we directly engage our teammates with opportunities to experience and understand the importance of diversity at every level. Our approach includes going beyond what is obvious by actively advocating for diversity of thought and diversity of opinion in addition to diversity of background.

Our diversity, our inclusiveness, is really at the core of what we do and how we do it. When we value and respect each other and leverage our differences, experiences and backgrounds, we are at our best in providing the innovative and affordable systems and solutions our customers depend on. PDJ

HEADQUARTERS: Waltham, Massachusetts WEBSITE: www.raytheon.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Aerospace and defense ANNUAL REVENUES: $25 billion EMPLOYEES: 71,000 EDUCATION: BSE; MBA FIRST JOB: Golf course pro shop WHAT I’M READING: Profiles in Courage, by John F. Kennedy MY PHILOSOPHY: Think about the second and third order effects.

BEST ADVICE: Get alignment on actions.

FAMILY: Married with no children—I spoil everyone else’s.

INTERESTS: Wine, food, classic cars FAVORITE CHARITIES: Charities associated with education

“ We have a responsibility to provide an atmosphere where everyone feels valued and empowered—individually and collectively.”

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

65

ACTION CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

66

Gregory T. RYDER SYSTEM, INC.

Swienton

Chairman and CEO

Diversity Helps Capture Market Opportunities

W

E EMBRACE DIVERSITY and inclusion at Ryder not

only because it enriches our life experience, but also because in a very real sense, it keeps us competitive. As the world becomes more mobile and connected, demographics are changing, and customers and prospects are becoming more diverse. It’s essential to have a workforce made up of individuals who contribute a variety of approaches and perspectives to help capture market opportunities.

Specifically, we believe diversity and inclusion supports us in four key areas of our business: strategic alignment, talent management, customer retention and growth, and cost-effectiveness. A diverse and inclusive environment enhances our ability to attract and retain the best talent in the marketplace and helps us develop better solutions for our customers.

This is why today I personally chair Ryder’s Diversity & Inclusion Council, which is made up of 11 cross-functional business leaders from Ryder. Together we work to drive accountability for diversity initiatives throughout the company. One recent Council initiative was our Women’s Leadership Forum (WLF), a three-day gathering of Ryder women vice presidents and directors who discussed ways the company can be more inclusive, supportive, and attractive to women. The transportation industry has made strides in the past couple of decades, but there are still many opportunities to improve the ways we support women in our industry.

On a personal level, I am a strong supporter of diversity and inclusion because I am the grandchild of immigrants and have seen how an inclusive environment made it possible for my grandfather to come from Poland and work to give our family better opportunities. This is also why I am proud to serve on the board of trustees of St. Thomas University, a Miami-based university that has historically attracted first-generation Americans.

Ultimately, diversity is about much more than race or gender—it’s about the experiences we’ve had and the perspectives and skills we bring. Inclusion is also much more than simply working with people of diverse backgrounds—it’s about knowing how to leverage different strengths and points of views for success. When done well, it’s about including opinions, input, and solutions from all functional areas and levels of an organization.

A truly diverse and inclusive company stays ahead of the competition because it benefits from the ideas of the best talent in the global marketplace and develops the strongest, most innovative solutions. PDJ

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

“ Together we work to drive accountability for diversity initiatives throughout the company.”

HEADQUARTERS: Miami, Florida WEBSITE: www.ryder.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Transportation and logistics solutions ANNUAL REVENUES: $5.1 billion EMPLOYEES: 25,900 EDUCATION: MBA, University of Chicago; BBA, Loyola University Chicago FIRST JOB: Paper route, Harlem-Irving Times, Norridge, Ill. WHAT I’M READING: Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson MY PHILOSOPHY: “The truth shall set you free … but first, it may make you miserable.”

BEST ADVICE: Investing time, effort, and thought into your educational pursuits can make a tremendous difference in your life and the breadth of opportunities available to you.

FAMILY: JoAnn, wife of 38 years; one son, twin daughters, and six grandchildren INTERESTS: Military history, golf FAVORITE CHARITY: American Red Cross

ACTION CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

Paul

Varga

BROWN-FORMAN CORPORATION Chairman, Chief Executive Officer

The Day I Met Diversity

W

HEN OUR CHIEF Diversity Officer Ralph de Chabert

told me that I would be included in this special issue discussing my personal commitment to diversity and inclusion, I had several reactions.

First, it reminded me of the progress we’ve made over the past few years in the area of diversity, from creating our seven Employee Resource Groups to improving to our employee benefits to enhancing our diversity recruiting efforts. It is also reminded me that while I am heartened by our progress, we still have work to do, especially in the U.S. Finally, as I thought about my personal commitment to diversity, I recalled something I wrote in 2010 paying tribute to Ralph and the company’s diversity journey. It’s an example of how I felt then and how I continue to feel today.

Right when I thought, Candidly she told me, I knew this crazy game, just what she would do, I met someone new, “I’ll only join your company, Diversity was her name; if you include me too;” At first introduction, Her conditions continued, I found her hard to hear, her words were plainly spoken, I soon discovered that, “I’m only coming aboard, my ears were filled with fear; when all glass ceilings are broken;” Later as I listened, Anxious to have amongst us, her words now getting through, this perspective so rare, She was trying to tell me, I assured her that at our company, what I was supposed to do; all would be treated fair; Purposefully she spoke, Because of our new friendship, encouraging me to care, it was clear for her to see, Her words brought clarity, Brown-Forman was a place, they also brought de Chabert; where she could just be she; Her message so simple, Expect to see her now, she asked me to empathize, everywhere that you might be, “Look at the world my friend, She’s working in the office, through someone else’s eyes;” right down the hall from me; doing as she said, Reality is we’re different, her words helped me to see, but our highest goal is the same, That the road to success, To keep our wonderful company, was somewhat easier for me; ahead in this endless game; enlightened by her wisdom, The future oh so bright, and her message of respect, and this I can assure, I asked her to join our company, With Diversity among us, as you might expect; Brown-Forman will endure. PDJ

“ ...While I am heartened by our progress, we still have work to do, especially in the U.S.” HEADQUARTERS: Louisville, Kentucky WEBSITE: www.brown-forman.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Alcoholic beverages ANNUAL REVENUES: $3.4 billion EMPLOYEES: 3,900 EDUCATION: BBA, University of Kentucky; MBA, Purdue University FIRST JOB: Tennis Instructor WHAT I’M READING: Grow, by Jim Stengel MY PHILOSOPHY: Keep the faith.

BEST ADVICE: “To thine own self be true.”

FAMILY: Wife, Melissa; three children, Ben, Abby, and Lauren INTERESTS: Golf, thoroughbred racing FAVORITE CHARITY: Brain Injury Association of Kentucky

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

67

KPMG LLP

DL

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Prioritizing Diversity Goals for 2012

I

“...All our decisions contribute to creating a culture where people, diverse and non-diverse, believe their career potential within KPMG is unlimited.”

HEADQUARTERS: New York City WEBSITE: www.kpmg.com/us PRIMARY BUSINESS: Audit, tax, and advisory services EMPLOYEES: 21,000 EDUCATION: BBA, University of Notre Dame FIRST JOB: Working in a warehouse, handling shipments and inventory WHAT I’M READING: Utopia, by Thomas More; next on the list is Touch Points, by Doug Conant MY PHILOSOPHY: Be honest and respectful with everyone you interact with, and make them feel valued at that moment.

BEST ADVICE: Don’t try to orchestrate every step in your career path. Just do every job as well as you possibly can.

FAMILY: Married with three children INTERESTS: Community involvement, golf, vacationing at the beach, Notre Dame sports FAVORITE CHARITY: KPMG’s Family for Literacy

68

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

TRULY BELIEVE diversity is a strategic business imperative for

KPMG. In addition to improving our ability to attract, retain, and advance a more innovative workforce and leadership team—what I refer to as talent sustainability— diversity also affords us an opportunity to engage our clients and our people, and create the type of shared value that benefits our communities.

Earlier this year, I brought firm leadership together to review our diversity strategy and the steps we’ve taken to move these larger objectives forward. I was very clear that we cannot sustain a high-performing culture if we are not diverse. During our discussion, we also reiterated that all must hold ourselves accountable for achieving our diversity goals. It’s essential to our long-term success.

That meeting, and the steps we took throughout 2011, reaffirmed that we were focused on the right priorities. I’m proud to say that as a result: • Four women and two ethnically diverse partners now sit on KPMG’s Board of Directors.

• Our new Vice Chair, Advisory—the top executive position of our fastest-growing line of business—is a woman.

• Our Leaders Engaging Leaders program continues to establish successful one-to-one sponsorship relationships between the members of our Board of Directors and Management Committee and our high-performing female and ethnically diverse partners.

• We’ve teamed with the National Academy Foundation (NAF) to strengthen high school accounting education at its Academies of Finance (AOF) nationwide, with pilot programs in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Seattle. Through this collaboration, KPMG assists NAF with its accounting curriculum, and guides and supports NAF’s accounting course sequence to ensure industry relevance.

• We expanded our role within Women Corporate Directors (WCD), a global organization of executive women who serve on more than 1,500 boards of directors worldwide.

These are only a few of the steps we’ve taken as we continue along our “diversity journey.” If we want to keep up the momentum, though, we must continue to hold ourselves and each other accountable for ensuring that all our decisions contribute to creating a supportive culture where all of our people, diverse and non-diverse, absolutely believe that their career potential within KPMG is unlimited.

I am personally committed to doing just that! PDJ

March/April 2012

ACTION

Veihmeyer

CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

John B.

HEADQUARTERS: New York City WEBSITE: www.whitecase.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Law ANNUAL REVENUES: $1.3 billion EMPLOYEES: 4,800 EDUCATION: BA, Université de Montréal, Université Paul-Valéry, Montpellier; LLM, Harvard Law School; LLB, University of Ottawa FIRST JOB: Student law clerk at Ogilvy Renault in Montreal WHAT I’M READING: The Legacy, by David Suzuki MY PHILOSOPHY: Give people the tools they need to succeed.

FAMILY: Wife Celia and three children INTERESTS: Ocean swimming, chess, conservationist Grey Owl FAVORITE CHARITY: Bhutan’s Kidu Foundation

“ By promoting diversity and inclusiveness in our offices around the world, we strengthen our “one-firm” culture.”

WHITE & CASE LLP Chairman

Awareness of Diversity and Our Need for It

D

I VERSITY HAS A special meaning in a global law firm.

Our people come from all over the globe, and our strength depends on our ability to draw on their varied experiences and perspectives to serve our clients.

That’s what our clients expect, and that’s why they come to us. They come from all over the world too.

A global law firm like ours, residing as it does at the intersection of our people and clients, reflects many more facets of diversity, including nationality, language and culture. Our notion of diversity, therefore, is complex, and it also changes with the environment—where, for example, a minority in one country may be a majority in another. All this deepens our awareness of diversity and our need for it.

Naturally, diversity is one of our core values.

But awareness and need do not alone give us the ability to draw on the diversity we have. That requires a commitment in every market to give everyone the opportunity to build a meaningful and rewarding career. We do this through a wide range of activities, including mentoring programs and affinity groups. By promoting diversity and inclusiveness in our offices around the world, we strengthen our “one-firm” culture.

In the United States, White & Case is now ranked as the second most diverse law firm on the American Lawyer’s 2011 Diversity Scorecard. In the United Kingdom, we are the ninth most diverse law firm according to the 2011 Diversity League Table.

But no national ranking can capture the breadth of global diversity.

So our national progress must be supported by global commitments.

This year, for example, we established our first global affinity group, for LGBT lawyers. Initiatives like these are driven by our global diversity committee composed of firm leaders representing all regions of the world.

Throughout my career, I’ve seen the power of diversity in action— from clerking for Canada’s first woman Supreme Court Justice, Bertha Wilson, to my experiences working as a lawyer in New York, Indonesia, Turkey and Russia, and in my role as Chairman of White & Case today.

As the chairman of a global law firm, my commitment to diversity is global too. PDJ

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

ACTION

Verrier

CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

Hugh

69

ACTION CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

70

Joel

Voran

LATHROP & GAGE LLP Chief Executive Officer

Developing a Meaningful Diversity Program

I

N MY FIRST address to our partners after becoming CEO of

Lathrop & Gage LLP a little more than four years ago, I listed developing a meaningful diversity program to attract and keep diverse attorneys as one of my top priorities. I said that “rather than giving lip service to the diversity issue, we need to find practical ways to work towards practical solutions.” Adding more women to management roles and looking to hire an outside consultant to help our firm develop a successful diversity program were also pledges I initially made.

These pledges have been fulfilled by increasing gender diversity on our Executive Committee–18 percent of members are women, including Allison Bergman, who chairs the firm’s Diversity Committee and reports to the Executive Committee on progress we are making in our diversity programs–and hiring Dionne King, a full-time Diversity and Associate Development Manager. Additionally, we have taken steps to change the attorney performance evaluation process to remove hidden biases and incorporate a more competency-based process with yearto-year benchmarks; presented a formal diversity inclusive education program with “road shows” to all of our 11 national offices; developed an online Diversity Resource Center; and formed affinity groups including the Minority Attorney Association, Women’s Affinity Group and Parent Lawyers Affinity Group to foster informal mentoring opportunities and create opportunities for professional development.

A key to retention for all of our associates is developing strong relationships with other attorneys in the firm. To that end, we have implemented a mentoring program that matches senior associates and partners with younger associates to help develop professional skills; and on a quarterly basis I have an informal lunch with our diversity attorneys in order to get to know those attorneys better and receive feedback from them.

At the end of the day our law firm will only be successful if we can attract and keep clients through high-quality work, and our diversity program will only be successful if our diverse attorneys develop professional relationships with our clients. We have reached out to clients regarding our diversity commitment and offered them opportunities for Lathrop & Gage to help further their diversity goals. These efforts have already attracted new business for one of our diverse partners. By continuing the increased management emphasis our firm began four years ago I am sure that many more success stories like this will be forthcoming in the future. PDJ

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

“A key to retention for all of our associates is developing strong relationships with other attorneys in the firm.”

HEADQUARTERS: Kansas City, Missouri WEBSITE: www.lathropgage.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Law firm ANNUAL REVENUES: $122.5 million EMPLOYEES: 666 EDUCATION: BS, University of Kansas; JD, University of Texas FIRST JOB: French Milling Company—an alfalfa mill WHAT I’M READING: Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand MY PHILOSOPHY: Hard work never hurt anyone.

BEST ADVICE: “Vision without execution is hallucination”—Albert Einstein FAMILY: Wife, Marsha; Children, Erica, Ben, and Ashley INTERESTS: Civic and charitable endeavors, travel, golf FAVORITE CHARITIES: Those that serve the hungry and educational needs.

ACTION CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

Mark L.

Wagar

EMPIRE BLUECROSS BLUESHIELD

DL

President & CEO, Empire BlueCross BlueShield, and Senior Vice President of its Parent Company, WellPoint, Inc.

Tailoring Health Services to Cultural Dictates

I

H AVE HAD the good fortune to live and work in several

states. At every stop, I learned more about diversity and the richness it adds to one’s life. But it wasn’t until I moved to New York, where millions of people live, work, eat, shop and commute shoulder-to-shoulder that I have come to understand why it is known as the “melting pot” of America and how transcendent a concept that is.

Empire BlueCross BlueShield is the largest insurer in New York, covering nearly six million people. Our membership includes hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers of African American, Hispanic, Russian, Arab, Italian, Asian, Irish and Native American descent, and many others—a cultural mélange that is fascinating and profound.

If Empire BlueCross BlueShield didn’t strive to understand our broad marketplace, we wouldn’t be a company that people choose to do business with. Nor would we be a company that attracts top talent. Here are some of the ways we’re incorporating diversity into our business.

As a leader, I am committed to recruiting a diverse staff that reflects our membership demographic. I created a Strategic Diversity Committee to promote an environment of understanding, inclusion and respect, and recruited Workplace Diversity and Culture Ambassadors to involve associates in worksite events. Our Community Ambassadors actively build relationships in several local ethnic communities.

I communicate to all of our employees regularly about diversity.

When New Yorkers were worried about a mosque being built near Ground Zero, we talked about the Ramadan celebration and the commonalities of religious faiths. I sent my holiday card out at the beginning of December, acknowledging and honoring not just Christmas, but Chanukah, Kwanzaa and Los Posadas too.

We tailor our health services to cultural dictates. When one of our Haitian members needed hospital care but couldn’t understand his doctor, we used one of our Creole-speaking associates to translate on the phone. We work to break down communication roadblocks between physicians and our members.

I sit on the boards of, and our company supports, dozens of initiatives that impact New Yorkers’ health status, increase access to services and help build strong communities…all of which support our company’s mission to improve the lives of the people we serve and the health of our communities. PDJ

“ I communicate to all of our employees regularly about diversity.”

HEADQUARTERS: New York City WEBSITE: www.EmpireBlue.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Health insurance ANNUAL REVENUES: $6.8 billion EMPLOYEES: 4,000 EDUCATION: Bachelor’s, Master’s, The Ohio State University FIRST JOB: Caddy, later greenhouse worker and farm worker WHAT I’M READING: Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, by Steig Larson; Killing Lincoln, by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard MY PHILOSOPHY: Whatever you do, say or decide, would it be the way you want your own family treated?

BEST ADVICE: Listen more, say less and have a bias for action instead of standing still.

FAMILY: Wife, Ellen; sons, Bret and Mark INTERESTS: Basketball, golf, travel, food, history, good times with family and good friends FAVORITE CHARITIES: Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, Jewish Community Relations Council, One Hundred Black Men Foundation, Asian Women in Business, The Ohio State University

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

71

ACTION CEO | LEADERSHIP IN

Michael J. FANNIE MAE

DL

Williams

Chief Executive Officer

Women in Technology, Minority Top Talent Help Foster Development

D

IVERSITY AND INCLUSION are more than words

at Fannie Mae. The diversity of people and perspectives that drives our culture and business strategy is key to our efforts to build a stronger company, and better serve the nation’s housing market and families.

We work to attract diverse talent because we know that unique skills and valuable perspectives contribute to the success of the company. Nearly half of our employees are women and minorities, making us unique in the financial services industry. To ensure we maintain this diversity, we actively work with organizations that support multicultural professional development to identify and hire the best talent.

We foster the growth and development of women and minority talent through programs such as Women in Technology, which supports the professional development of women in IT. We also participate in Minority Top Talent, which supports the professional development of high-achieving minority employees. And we identify women and minorities at the company to attend external leadership programs.

Diversity and inclusion across our business is another key component of our overall diversity strategy. Through our supplier diversity program, we pursue our long-standing commitment to ensure that our service providers reflect the diversity of the communities in which we operate. This approach also gives us an opportunity to contribute to economic growth and wealth creation in the communities we serve.

Through these and many other efforts, we make diversity and inclusion key components of our company and our business. This, in turn, helps us foster innovation, enhance our ability to pursue business opportunities, and overcome challenges through a better understanding of the marketplace. PDJ

72

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

HEADQUARTERS: Washington, D.C. WEBSITE: www.FannieMae.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Mortgage finance EMPLOYEES: 7,000 EDUCATION: BS, MBA, Drexel University MY PHILOSOPHY: I am a firm believer in the importance of the team.

FAVORITE CHARITY: Help the Homeless

“The diversity of people and perspectives that drives our culture and business strategy is key to our efforts to build a stronger company, and better serve the nation’s housing market and families.”

FEATURE

ging In Place:

Generational Challenges in the Contemporary Workplace

By Dr. Richard, Lewis, Jr. and Joanne Ford-Robertson

T

he United States is undergoing unprecedented societal change. Major differences are beginning to emerge in American society with amazing demographic changes in racial and socioeconomic composition. Hispanics and Asian-Americans are the fastest growing ethnic groups and the American middle class is becoming proportionately smaller each year. The United States in 2050 will be very different from the country we know today.

The age composition of the American population overshadows all other demographic change comAge dynamics will increasingly factor into the modern-day workplace in ponents. In fact, the most dramatic decades to come. change impacting society is age dyare the children of Traditionalists and they are the namics. For the first time in United States history, the second oldest grouping of individuals in the United workforce is comprised of individuals from four disStates. They were born between 1946 and 1964. tinct age cohorts. This has created new and profound Boomers have been described as optimistic and driven challenges in the American workplace. at work and play. The Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, and space travel frame their historical realAge Cohorts and Population Distribution ity. There are 77 million Baby Boomers.

An age cohort is a grouping of people assembled by Generation X is one of the younger age cohorts an age range who have common historical experiences.

These age ranges are generally correlated with important and it is comprised of the children of Baby Boomers.

Individuals in this grouping were born between 1965 societal and world events creating bonding through and 1979. They are known as the baby busters and shared experiences. In contemporary American society were characterized as “latch-key” kids. The fall of the there are five distinctive age cohorts; Traditionalists, Berlin Wall, the explosion of the Space Challenger, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and the iGeneration. With the exception of the iGeneration, in- and MTV are elements that frame this group’s historical focus. There are 49 million Generation Xers. dividuals from each of these age cohorts are represented The Millennial cohort is the youngest age group in at various levels in the contemporary workplace. the workplace. They are the children of Baby Boomers The Traditionalists are the oldest individuals in and Generation Xers. Individuals in this group were American society. They were born between 1922 and born between 1980 and 2000. An around-the-clock 1945. Traditionalists are known as loyalists, veterans, world, the World Trade Center attacks, homegrown and the Greatest Generation, having won World War terrorism, cell phones, and the expansion of the interII and endured the Great Depression. Baby Boomers

74

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

Figure 1. Population Age Distribution, 2000 and 2050.

18

3238/$7,21 ,1 0LOOLRQV

net are historical 16 events that frame this group’s refer0(1 14 ence. There are about 74 million 12 :20(1 Millennials.

The iGeneration 10 are the children

of Millennials and 8 Generation Xers

6 and were born after 2000. Their focus 4 is inward and it is being fashioned by 2 iPods, iPads, and other technology 0 which emphasize the individual.

There are 44 mil6RXUFH 8 6 &HQVXV %XUHDX ,QWHUQDWLRQDO 'DWDEDVH lion in the iGeneration and it will continue to expand.

The age composition of the American population Table 1.) Workplace dynamics are impacted by five will experience dramatic changes over the next 40 general characteristics associated with each cohort. years. United States Census Bureau information from These entail perception of the organization, work 2000 shows a line graph with the largest portion of ethic, view of authority, type of leader, and social the population, for both men and women, between 20 relationships. All four cohorts view organizations difand 59 years of age (see Figure 1.) ferently. Traditionalists tend to see the stability organiProjections illustrate a much different age composizations provide to society and lifestyle. Baby Boomers tion by 2050. Figure 1 shows a much older American focus on the strategic efforts that emanate from orgapopulation with large numbers of men and women nizations while Generation Xers are more concerned throughout the age groupings. It is estimated there with the operational nature of organizations. Lastly, will be 11 million women and 7 million men over the Millennials center on the particularistic aspects of orage of 85. ganizations which makes it difficult for them to deterWhat these projections imply is that people will mine the big picture. live longer and, therefore, be in the workplace longer Work ethic is defined as a set of values placed on in comparison to other historical periods. This situhard work and diligence. Some of the values of a ation will lead to potential competition and conflict work ethic are reliability, individual initiative, and between age groupings. In 2011 there are four distinct appropriate social skills. Traditionalists tend to view age cohorts in the American workforce; Traditionalist, work as a dedication or a life calling. Baby Boomers Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials. Each generally display a work ethic that can be characterof these age cohorts brings a unique perspective to the ized as driven. They tend to exhibit this orientation in workplace. This creates challenges within organizations both work and leisure time activities and expect othwith respect to employees working together effectively ers to do the same. Individuals in Generation X tend and efficiently. to have a balanced orientation toward work. They work diligently and do not allow workplace issues to Age Cohorts and Workplace Dynamics interfere with their personal lives. Lastly, individuals Each age cohort can be identified with a unique set in the Millennial generation have a questionable work of characteristics and values. These delineate memberethic because many of them have not had permanent ship and the way work is viewed and approached (see positions. Some are just completing college and have 85+

79

84 80-

75-

74 7 0-

69 6 5-

64 60-

4

59 55-

5 50-

49 45-

44 40-

4

39 35-

3 30-

4

29 25-

2 20-

19 15-

14 10-

5-9

0-4

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

75

FEATURE

AGING IN PLACE

Table 1: Summary of Age Cohort Characteristics in the United States, 2011 not had exposure to the contemporary workplace.

Gen X Millenial Age cohorts view authority very differ- Orientation Traditionalist Boomer Org. Perception Stability Strategic Operational Particularistic ently. Traditionalists are very respectful Dedicated Driven Balanced Questionable to people in positions of authority. Baby Work Ethic Boomers are quite similar in viewing au- View of Authority Respectful Love/Hate Unimpressed Confrontational thority if they are in charge. If they are Leadership Hierarchal Consensus Competence Unsure not in a leadership position, Boomers Relationships Self-sacrifice Self-gratified Reflective Detached tend to undermine those in authority positions. Generation X members are generally unimpressed with those in Determining Impact of Generational Issues authority positions while Millennials tend to be conOrganizations must begin to determine how they will frontational. be impacted by generational issues and there are several How each cohort views leadership is tied closely to ways to accomplish this. One is to complete a transition it sees authority. Where individuals in Generation X impact assessment. This is a systematic evaluation of are unimpressed with those in authority positions, they key demographic variables (including age composition) demand that leaders be competent. Baby Boomers and pinpointing their current and future influence on gravitate to consensual leadership and Traditionalists the organization. Another approach is workplace operaare strongly linked to perceiving leadership as a hitional planning. This entails empowering employees to erarchal relationship that should not be questioned. establish the workplace rules, etiquette, and work hours Leadership for Millennials can best be described as un- bridging age cohort differences. Application of technolsure at this time because of their limited participation ogy in the workplace is yet another approach for adin the workplace. dressing generational issues. This involves findings ways Relationships, whether they be personal or organito more effectively use cell phone, texting, and other zational, is another age cohort characteristic that can cutting edge technologies to link employees and enhance affect workplace dynamics. Detached relationships are work production. A final approach is mentoring and fostered through technology (cell phones, IM, e-mail, coaching. Organizations will need professional and sutexting, etc.) with little to no face-to-face contact. pervisory level personnel to become mentors and coaches The Millennial generation is the first cohort to have for younger employees. Enhancement of basic social and primarily detached relationships. Generation X tends critical thinking skills will occur through this interaction. have more of a reflective approach to relationships.

The age composition of American society will conMembers generally think through the implications tinue its evolution into a much older population over of relationships and how the implications may afthe next four decades. The workforce and workplace fect them. This has led to a perception of Generation will experience similar changes. Age dynamics and the X being non-committal to work and organizations. interactions across age cohorts will dominant the very Traditionalists view relationships as strong commitnature of work in the United States. Implementing inments based on self-sacrifice. In others words, they novations which mitigate age-related issues and mainwill sacrifice themselves for the good of the organizatain a vibrant, productive work environment represent tion or their family. Lastly, Baby Boomers center their the major challenge most organizations will face to relationships on personal gratification. Generally, they remain successful. PDJ pursue their professional and personal ventures at the expense of their families and friends.

Richard Lewis, Jr. is Professor of Sociology at the University of All five of these age-based characteristics influence emTexas at San Antonio. In additional to academic duties, Lewis ployee behavior in the contemporary workplace. As a reis a consultant and has conducted diversity related professional sult, individuals may view and frame organizational issues development training and strategic planning for 20 years. quite differently. Each characteristic has the potential for exacerbating employee miscommunication and conflict.

Joanne Ford-Robertson is also a consultant at Round Top Therefore, establishing an efficient and effective workConsulting Associates, LLC, in San Antonio, Texas. She teaches place becomes more of a challenge for organizations. sociology at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

76

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

Talent has no boundaries There is a place where ambitions are limitless.

Where every professional can leverage their unique skills to realize their goals.

It’s KPMG LLP. Where success can be achieved by all.

We’re proud that our chairman and CEO John Veihmeyer is providing the type of leadership that supports success.

kpmgcareers.com

© 2012 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and the U.S. member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. The KPMG name, logo and “cutting through complexity” are registered trademarks or trademarks of KPMG International. 25457NSS

EMPLOYEE RESOURCE GROUPS

3m ¬ Accenture ¬ Alliant ¬ Women ¬ American Express ¬ African American ¬Booz Allen Hamilton p Brown-FormanSuccessful Corporation p ¬ Charles Schwab & leaders discuss Co ¬ CSC ¬ Energizer g practices ¬ Generational ¬Fannie Mae best to help launch Ford Motor Company pimprove y ¬ Gannett/USA / Todayy ¬ LGBT or your own ¬ Disa ris Corporation p ¬ Kraft Foods groups. ¬Nielsen Lathrop p Gage g ¬employee Mercer ¬resource Native American ¬ Novartis Pharma AG ¬ Oliver Wyman y ¬ Working Pare Wealth Management g ¬ Robins, Kaplan, p Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. ¬ Hispanic p AmericanShell Oil ¬ WalMart Stores, Inc ¬ WellPoint, Inc

IGNITE YOUR ERGs | Introduction by Rosalyn Taylor O’Neale VP, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Campbell Soup Company

When Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) began

clubs into collaborative business partnerships en-

in the late 70’s they were often clandestine gath-

gaged in everything from recruiting and retention

erings where individuals shared challenges and

efforts to marketing products and services to con-

success strategies. ERGs provided a safe haven for

necting companies to consumers.

women and African-American pioneers to connect and gather enough strength to return to disin-

opportunities—four generations in the workplace

terested and often hostile workplaces where their

and shifting consumer preferences based on

words and work were overlooked or invisible. One

merged-cultural and multi-cultural experiences

leader, David Kearns, then CEO at Xerox, recognized

and communities.

the power of this informal network and invited them to help Xerox become an employer of choice.

Fast forward to 2012 and employee resource

78

Everyday there are new people challenges and

How does a CEO keep up with these rapid changes while paying attention to legislative shifts, global and local demands, and economic chaos?

groups—also known as affinity groups or employee

Employee Resource Groups are one of the best

networks—have evolved from safe haven social

kept secrets at her or his disposal.

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

RECRUITING NEW MEMBERS Nielsen PRIDE (LGBT) • Marty Siewert, Group VP

Internal newsletters are combined with word of mouth. Broad awareness of existence is key to generating interest; individual engagement via word of mouth is most effective at translating interest into participation.

CSC Abilities First Network • Leanne Thomas, Sr. Manager HR

The use of C3 (CSCʼs internal collaboration site) and broadcast messages are found to be most successful, allowing the ERG to reach a large number of people at the same time. The C3 environment allows the target audience to provide instant feedback and input on events and objectives of the employee resource group.

Alliant Energy Multicultural Network • Jamie Toledo, Manager, Corporate D&I

Social media allows the Alliant Energy Multicultural Network the opportunity to share the mission of the group and to be interactive and answer questions. This particular ERG holds an awareness breakfast each year, during this time they recruit and network with new potential members.

Mercer Women In Business • Sissy Pitts, Senior Client Services Team Lead

“Word of mouth is great,” says Pitts. “Friends bring friends to meetings, while talking up the events we do and the goals of the network. Email is great too since it goes to a broader audience.”

Shell Oil POWER* • Cynthia Rushing, Strategic Planning Manager

POWER is unique in that it is an intranetwork, which means that membership comes from those Multicultural ERGs. However, POWER prides itself on generating excitement from events primarily due to face-to-face interaction.

* for Women across

Promoting Opportunities Ethnicity & Race

LOOKING TO FORM AN ERG? START HERE 1

2 3

4

5

Gain executive support

It is critical to gain support from company executives to ensure the success of your ERG. Reach out to top level management people like the COO, CEO or CFO and ask for support for your group.

6

Develop a leadership team

The backbone of any group are the leaders within it.

Leverage Existing ERGs

7

Meet with previously established diversity groups. This is a great way to gain knowledge of the initial dos and don’ts when forming the ERG.

Increase Awareness

Draw up a plan with your leadership team to develop strategies for recruiting new members. Mediums to consider include: newsletters, company intranet sites, mass email campaigns, flyers included in paychecks, hosting events, advertisements on inter-office boards, word-of-mouth and face-to-face.

Secure Funding

8

9

Funding could come from a number of areas such as company diversity budget, membership fees, representative department’s budget and grants.

10

Develop Goals/Mission/Vision

∫ The name should reflect main goals and objectives of the group. ∫ The ideas should collectively define the group and its purpose. ∫ Example goals: Increase meeting attendance, increase membership. It is good idea to conduct end-of-year surveys and determine what changes can be made to improve the ERG.

Confirm Group Structure

∫ Determine the day/time/location of meetings ∫ Consider specific roles for group members to take ∫ Be aware of scheduling conflicts and make plans for alternative meeting agendas (teleconference/video conference)

Develop Business Case

By identifying a business need or shortcoming, the group can generate interest among members and executive sponsors.

By solving a key business problem through the ERG you can assure active recruitment/retention and budgeting strategies.

Maintain Momentum

One of the biggest challenges of a successful ERG is maintaining popularity among members. Here are some suggested activities to maintain momentum in your ERG: in-house networking events, workshops on topics related to the ERG, and outside speakers.

Measure Success

Benchmark yourself against other company resource groups.

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

79

EMPLOYEE RESOURCE GROUPS

ENCOURAGING ACTIVE MEMBER PARTICIPATION Gannett/USA Today - ConneXions Jeanette Barrett-Stokes & Desair Brown

Accenture Disabilities Interest Group Kathleen Becker, Supplier Mgt Specialist

Fannie Mae Muslim ERG Ambreen Rivzi, Operational Risk Analyst III

“Since our group started as a grassroots organization, the founding members are vested partners in its purpose and its success,” said ERG Leaders BarrettStokes and Brown. “Thus, active participation is a requirement for the group to be successful.”

“I ask people to lead or suggest topics. We are hoping that the web discussion board will help people connect and participate with active topics,” contributed Kathleen Becker, ERG Leader.

Fannie Mae’s Muslim ERG requests constant feedback, suggestions, and solicits support and participation to implement an action plan for the year which suits the interest of the membership with leads to creative programming.

Harris Corporation African American Resource Group (AARG) Lloyd McKenzie, Quality Eng. Group Leader

CSC Black Employee Network (BEN) Alvin Keith, VP National & Defense Programs

Novartis Asian Business Club (ABC) Yan Gao-Okundaye, Global Brand Mgr.

The BEN Intranet site provides a forum where members and leadership can pose questions to each other and respond. In this way, the group has been able to acquire information and find volunteers for various projects.

Asian Business Club developed and implemented a communications strategy, focusing on “WIFM” (What's in it for me) and the value ABC brings to the company and individuals. Now many individuals not only participate into ABC activities, but have volunteered to contribute and organize future events.

Encouraging participation from members is done through solicitation of input from each member including surveys and feedback from previous events. The African-American Resource Group also encourages members to lead the development of new events/activities they feel would be beneficial to the group.

ATTRACTING ENTRY-LEVEL EMPLOYEES Charles Schwab & Co. WINS* Kelly Livers, Southern Regional Branch Executive ERGs at Schwab are introduced right at the time new employees begin working at Schwab. ERG information is included in new hires’ welcome packets and presentations.

Energizer Generational Synergies and Excellence Adam Jakubiak & Nicole Thimke AGES is for young professionals, so it is an easy hook to get them involved, says CoChairs Jakubiak and Thimke. AGES reaches out soon after employees are brought in to the facility, offering them a platform and voice to make sure their concerns and ideas are heard.

WellPoint SOMOS* Angela Lopez, LPN/LVN Utilization Review I “We are piloting a program which we are titling “SOMOS University” in which various topics are discussed to help provide additional skill sets to our members.” *Hispanic/Latino ERG Means "we are" in Spanish

*Women's Interactive Network at Schwab

Accenture Northern California Asian Pacific American Interest Group • Swee-May Ngeow, Senior Manager The main draw at Accenture’s Northern California Asian Pacific American Interest Group for entry-level professionals is the promise of networking with other peers, as well as more senior members. The group also tries to tailor event activities to be of interest to entry-level professionals, encouraging greater participation. More formally, as part of a new hire, entrylevel orientation, time is set aside for an overview presentation of the various ERGs, with contact information distributed for anyone interested in joining one.

80

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

EVENTS & PROGRAMS Nielsen - Asian American Link (AAL) Marylyn Nguyenkien, Associate Project Manager

Booz Allen Hamilton - GLOBE Christopher Westcott, Associate

Asian Americans Link has participated in Diversity Awareness functions internally and through community outreach and various cultural celebrations with the company to build group awareness.

GLOBE participates in hiring events that have a specific GLBT recruitment channel to continue building diversity into the firm. They also offer courses and brown bags to support staff training, and have recently begun developing a GLOBE-focused mentoring network.

Harris Corporation - GRAD*, DC Chapter Haythem Hedda, Contract Compliance Analyst

Women of WellPoint (WOW) Helen Drexler, VP Large Group Sales - Anthem BCBS Colorado

Internally, the ERG focuses on providing opportunities for leadership and personal/professional growth to its membership. In the six months since the ERG was created, they have coordinated a career development discussion featuring an executive panel, workshops focused on individual development and career advice, and several college spirit- and sports-based charity drives to support the United Way.

WOW was active in support of the Associate Giving Campaign in the fall of 2011 and is sponsoring a Go Red for Women campaign in the first quarter of 2012 to raise awareness of heart disease as the leading cause of death for women. In addition, the ERG has supported a strong mentor/mentee program and also continues to promote monthly meetings to share information about this ERG.

* Graduate Acclimation and Development

INTERNAL

EXTERNAL

Nielsen - Southeast Chapter of PRIDE David Elsey, Staffing Project Manager

Lathrop Gage - Women's Affinity Group Nancy Roush, Partner

Nielson’s Southeast Chapter of PRIDE participates in community outreach, including Pride festivals, volunteer efforts at food banks, various meal deliveries, professional development through Lunch-and-Learns, Out & Equal Affiliations, and communicating with outside ERGs.

Lathrop Gage’s Women's Affinity Group organizes and sponsors various networking opportunities, including receptions for high-profile women in the community and women-owned businesses.

Harris Corporation - Women in Engineering Jennifer Ogburn, Program Manager/WIE ERG Co-Chair

Brown-Forman - GROW* Cathy Herald and Dee Ford

“We participate in many Harris-sponsored outreach activities including the annual HERO backpack drive, United Way Canthropy contest, and the Kaboom playground build, and we have sponsored two clothing drives for United Way agency Serene Harbour. Our members have also joined together for a Breast Cancer Awareness Walk for the past three years around our Palm Bay Campus.”

GROW members attend ERG events hosted by other companies, share best practices with other company ERGs and organizational development leaders, have initiated a coalition of external leading employers with women diversity focus, participated in Business Diversity Network forums, and supported many community activities which support women’s leadership and issues. * Growing Remarkable and Outstanding Women

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

81

EMPLOYEE RESOURCE GROUPS

SECURING FUNDING American Express - Black Employee Network (BEN) • Kelley Williams, Manager, Marketing & Communications The Leadership Team of the Black Employee Network works to develop the strategy and goals for the upcoming year starting in quarter three of the prior year. The ERG provides the proposed strategy, plan and budget to the executive sponsor for approval.

Charles Schwab & Co. - Women's Interactive Network at Schwab (WINS) • Kelly Livers, Southern Region Branch Executive At Schwab, ERGs are funded by the Diversity and Inclusion Office. Aside from the budget they receive every year, they partner with other organizations' women's affinity groups in to maximize impact and resources. They focus on sharing the costs of a program and create a community with that approach.

Harris Corporation - Hispanic Resource Group (HRG) • Maria Bruno, Test Engineer Harris’ Hispanic Resource Group submits a proposal to HR with the results for the current fiscal year, emphasizing the value delivered to the employee and company. The group uses the results as a baseline to address the proposed activities from a value perspective for the upcoming fiscal year.

Oliver Wyman - Gays & Lesbians at Oliver Wyman (GLOW) • Jorge Davo, Consultant & Co-Chair of GLOW GLOW has been fortunate enough to receive strong support from Oliver Wyman’s leadership. By building a business case for diversity and inclusion at the firm, and by proving the value of GLOW to the firm through Cultural Transformation and Business Development activities, they have secured funding from Oliver Wyman and the parent company.

GAINING SUPPORT FROM SENIOR LEADERS WellPoint - Veterans' Organization of WellPoint (VOW) Rick Swett, Mandates Planning & Evaluations Manager

Robins, Kaplan, Miller, & Ciresi LLP - LGBT Resource Group Amy Slusser, Associate

“We approach them with our business plan laid out in a nice presentation,” communicated ERG Leader Swett.

“We also leverage our executive sponsors who are great at knocking on doors and getting other leadership buy-in.”

“As a functioning working group of the firm's Diversity Committee, we directly report to the Diversity Committee Chair and the firm's Managing Partner,” said ERG Leader Slusser.

Booz Allen Hamilton - Women's Forum Elizabeth Tribelli, Associate

Wal-Mart - Hispanic/Latino Associate Resource Group (HLARG) Ramon Portilla, Sr. Director Brand Marketing

The ERG is assigned a senior leader each year who supports its efforts while giving recommendations on the way forward. Utilizing a partner to send communications and provide access to senior leaders the group may not normally work with is important. The group is also in the midst of establishing a Board of Advisors made up of senior leaders to give guidance on a strategic plan and direction.

HLARG established quarterly meetings with an officer sponsor that summarizes results achieved and allows them to present and submit for approval and future plans. The group then asks for specific commitment from them to support some of the plans. In addition, HLARG has an Officer Engagement chair whose role is to expand the exposure of the HLARG strategies to a broader officer base.

Kraft Foods - Women Sales Council (WSC) Michele Byrd, National Customer Manager The WSC core is engaging with all levels of senior management on a quarterly basis. The group provides updates about what the WSC is doing in the markets and how others can become more involved. WSC leverages the initiatives as development opportunities for their teams. “As the chair of the WSC, I communicate with headquarter leaders and the diversity management team on annual initiatives and their role in the success of the group. Fortunately for the WSC, Kraft Foods is a firm believer in ERGs and the importance they play in making the organization the best it can be!,” said Boyd, ERG Leader.

82

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

MEASURING SUCCESS Nielsen - Support and Employee Resources for Veterans (SERV) Jeremy Davis, Engineering Manager

Brown-Forman - Bring Your Own Diversity (BYOD) Fabricia Mounce & Emma Hutchens, LGBT ERG Co-Leaders

“We measure success by active membership. I think members will stay active as long as we can avoid doing too little or too much (boredom vs burnout),” said Jeremy Davis, SERV leader.

The BYOD ERG measures success in a number of ways. The company engagement survey results, co-leadership survey results, attendance at events, event feedback (developed into metrics), senior leadership feedback and allocation processes.

American Express - Women's Interest Network (WIN) Caisey Kakasci, Director of Human Resources

Wal-Mart - Women's Resource Council (WRC) Mandy McDonald, Director Intl HR Project Management Office

American Express’ WIN has recognized a gap in measuring the success of the ERG in the past. For 2012, the group has established a dedicated Success Metrics team to help better define both what success looks like, as well as how it will be measured. Previously WIN gauged success by attendance alone, but the group hopes to do more in the future.

Director of HR Caisey Kakasci says, “This is a journey we are only just beginning.”

While Wal-Mart’s WRC is working on perfecting the way they measure success, the things they would like to measure include year-over-year performance ratings for members, a change in competency scores of members who attended events focused around certain competencies, and overall improvement in inclusion index scores, which are measured on annual Associate Opinion Survey.

MEETING AGENDA Kraft Foods - Women's Sales Council Michele Byrd, National Customer Manager A typical meeting runs so: 1.) Welcome; 2.) Meeting objectives; 3.) Opening remarks; 4.) Lunch with mentor/sponsor; 5.)

Lunch diversity overview; 6.) 2010 WSC accomplishments/2011 goals; 7.) Guest speaker; 8.) Break; 9.) Panel: career development; 10.) Awards presentation; 11.) Networking with senior leaders; 12.) Dinner RBC Wealth Management - Gay, Lesbian, Allied Diverse Employees (GLADE) Ellen Krider, VP - Financial Advisor A typical agenda at GLADE: 1.) Introduction; 2.) Review events/activities that have taken place around the country; 3.)

Discuss upcoming events; 4.) Update any corporate or national LGBT developments; 5.) Ask for feedback

Charles Schwab & Co. - Black Professionals at Charles Schwab (BPACS) • Devona McClinton, Sr. Project Manager A typical agenda includes the following: 1. Message from national chair (updates from leadership); 2. Regional updates on planning and recaps of events; 3. Membership updates; 4. Q&A

Ford - Ford Hispanic Network (FHN) • Carla Traci Preston, Director Supplier Diversity Development A typical agenda entails such: 1.) Welcome; 2.) Chair remarks; 3.) Budget update from the treasurer; 4.) Committee chair and affiliate chapter updates: (i.e. open action item status, status to objectives, workplan review/next steps, open issues, etc.); 5.) Roundtable/open discussion; 6.) Review of new action items; 7.) Conclusion

PDJ March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

83

FROM THE EXPERTS

GOOD JOB?

by Craig Storti

I

WAS TAKEN ABACK A FEW MONTHS AGO WHEN A PAKISTANI IN ONE OF MY WORKSHOPS ASKED ME: “Do Americans

mean it when they say: ‘Good job’?” My instinct was to say: “Sure. What makes you think they don’t?” But then I realized the answer was more complicated, and it actually gets down to a key difference between American and other work environments.

What I finally ended up telling the man was this: “They mean it in the sense that they genuinely appreciate it when people do something for them, even if it’s the person’s job, but it’s also not very significant because they say it all the time and to pretty much everyone. In short, don’t get too excited when your manager says “Good job.”

And the man’s response was quite revealing: “Thank you,” he said, “because that did not come through in my recent performance evaluation.”

I realized the man had interpreted “good job” as fairly strong praise when in fact it was just the American’s way of expressing appreciation. To put it another way, in cultures where managers do not routinely thank employees just for doing their jobs, positive feedback of any kind is unusual and potentially quite significant, signaling a very favorable performance evaluation and maybe even a promotion.

This was actually not the first time I have encountered this cultural difference. Europeans often become annoyed with the amount of positive feedback Americans dish out, and some even find it patronizing. They feel that you are given a salary for doing your job and to be praised for that is almost to suggest your manager was not expecting you to do your job and is relieved. I have actually heard the same point made by Americans, in the other direction: “European managers don’t appreciate us; they never tell us we’re doing a good job.” To which a European would probably reply: “Of course not. We don’t treat our employees like children.”

So what’s going on here? In particular, what accounts for the American tendency to thank people for doing their job? To be honest, I’m not completely sure. I’ve pondered this for some time, and the best explanation I have found for this behavior is somehow related to the deep egalitarian streak in American culture. For example,

84

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

a core American belief is that no one is inherently better than anyone else, whether by birth, social class, education, or wealth. Indeed, it was precisely to escape the negative impact of social and economic distinctions just like these that people came to the New World in the first place, so it’s not surprising that in the world they created egalitarianism became such a core value.

Americans do not believe all people are the same—far from it—but they fervently believe that everyone is equal.

Some people are wealthier, smarter, better-educated, and better-looking than others, but at the end of day even the president of the United States is not inherently better than a bellman or a chamber maid. Indeed, one recent president of the United States, Jimmy Carter, went to great pains to make exactly that point when he was shown on national TV carrying his own suitcase into the White House after a weekend trip to Georgia. The message was unmistakable: I may be president of the United States, but I can carry my suitcase into my house just like everyone else does. It’s noteworthy in this context how candidates for president always stress their humble roots or, if their roots are clearly not humble (John Kennedy, George Bush), then how they have rubbed elbows with the hoi polloi all their lives.

The point is that if we are all equal, then no one owes anybody else anything; we may choose to do things for other people, but we are under no obligation. Even in the workplace no one can compel us to do our job; the most they can do is fire us if we don’t. But the choice is ours.

How else to explain why we thank the plumber who fixes our leaking pipes, the waiters and waitresses who serve us our food, the taxi driver who drops us at our destination? We’re paying these people, for heaven’s sake!

I think we thank them because we want them to know that we know they did not have to help us.

Back in the workplace when we say “good job” or when we thank someone for doing what we pay them to do, in some sense we’re simply acknowledging that everyone has a choice in these matters. And it’s just good manners to express appreciation. And that’s the point—it’s just being polite, but it’s not really praise. And it’s very indiscriminate. But if you come from a culture where expressions of this kind of appreciation are uncommon, like my Pakistani friend, you can be easily misled and get the wrong idea about your job performance.

So if you’re a non-American on the receiving end of “good job,” don’t read too much into it. And if you’re an American handing out “good job” right and left, you may be giving your non-American staff the wrong impression. PDJ

Craig Storti, a consultant and trainer in the field of intercultural communications, is the author of seven books.

FROM THE EXPERTS

INSPIRATION FROM WOMAN LEADERS THROUGHOUT HISTORY

by Linda Jimenez

E

Chief Diversity Officer & VP – Diversity & Inclusion, WellPoint, Inc. DL

RLIER THIS YEAR, I SAT THROUGH AN INCREDIBLE ACTING PERFORMANCE BY MERYL STREEP IN HER PORTRAYAL OF MARGARET THATCHER IN THE IRON LADY . While no

woman has been president of the United States yet, the movie made me reflect on several thousand years of leadership by other great women—Cleopatra in Egypt, Isabella of Castile, Queen Elizabeth in England, and Catherine the Great of Russia—and the qualities that made them effective leaders. I believe the single greatest quality they all shared was self-confidence. And, of course, Margaret Thatcher herself was the epitome of self-confidence in her role as prime minister of England.

I recently read about an experiment called the “Goldberg paradigm,” in which people were asked to evaluate a particular newspaper article or speech, supposedly written by a man. Others were asked to evaluate the same material, but were told it was written by a woman. Regardless of their country of origin, participants in the study rated the materials they thought were drafted by a man higher. One notable finding from this research was that for men, self-promotion is a successful strategy. However, the study demonstrated that when women promoted their own accomplishments, it was less effective and often perceived as “pushy.”

What is clear is that confident, effective women leaders are willing to stand out from the crowd and take risks to make their mark. They often have strong networks of influencers who help them get things done. Knowing people who have power can be a confidence builder for women leaders. They are able to identify the right gatherings where they can be in the company of the right people with the right contacts to help them meet their goals.

Now, more than ever, we need confident women leaders. According to an Intuit, Inc., study, the way women live and work is expected to change during the next decade. In addition to the powerful worldwide consumer force that women represent today, factors such as urban migration, increased access to education, mobile technologies, “micro-credit” and low market entry costs are expected to create a global “she-conomy” in which more than a billion women will enter the workforce or start

businesses by 2020.

In fact, beginning this year, women will officially outnumber men in the workforce. And, women have many strengths and talents that are well-suited to respond to the challenges of today’s economy—but only if they have the confidence to put their ideas into action and inspire others to follow their lead.

I have the honor of being one of the co-chairs of Women of WellPoint (WOW). Frequently I am asked by members to share my thoughts on what makes a great female leader. My answer is this: There shouldn’t be a different standard for men and women leaders. On the contrary, I believe that the definition of a “great leader” is evolving to integrate a balance of traditional masculine and feminine traits—combining what are traditionally considered “female” traits of compassion, inspiration, empathy and collaboration with more typical “male” traits of bottomline thinking, focus, directness and healthy competition.

While men have created the majority of the leadership systems that are the framework for today’s businesses, looking towards the future, I believe our best bet is to create a new framework that combines both masculine and feminine models and stresses collaboration and innovation. We then need to groom strong, confident female leaders to take the helm. After all, since women will begin to outnumber men in the workplace this year, shouldn’t the leaders of our major corporations mirror their workforce and consumer base?

If we look back at female leaders throughout history, those who were regarded as successful maintained their self-confidence even among men. To be a strong female leader, you must be confident in your abilities. If you don’t have the confidence to make decisions and maintain commitments, then empowerment is just an empty word. l believe that confidence is the foundation of great leadership. Conversely, great leadership means having the confidence to make decisions and not being afraid to step up and rise to a challenge. PDJ

Linda Jimenez has spent 20 years specializing in labor and employment law.

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

85

FROM THE EXPERTS

ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF DIVERSITY, DOES ITS PURPOSE DESERVE A SECOND LOOK? by Trevor Wilson Author and Global Human Equity Strategist, TWI Inc. DL

T

75% of Fortune 1000 companies have a diversity initiative and the business case for diversity has been embraced enthusiastically. Nonetheless empirical support for the business case is scant. Indeed although some evidence exists to support the general idea that positive outcomes can result from having a diverse population, research indicates that the impact of diversity is not always positive.

– The Diverse Organization Finding Gold at the End of the Rainbow

HIS YEAR DIVERSITY WILL CELEBRATE ITS TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY. It may be hard to believe that it

was 25 years ago that the Hudson institute predicted the huge demographic shift in the North American workforce prompted by the expected retirement of baby boomers coupled with an unprecedentedly slow natural labor force growth.

These demographic projections were followed by several hopeful predictions of the changing nature of the North American workforce. The first prediction was that the workforce would become more diverse. A more diverse workforce, it was postulated, would be more creative, more productive, and if managed properly more cohesive. However, it would appear that the most recent evidence suggests that not all of these predictions have materialized.

In a recent paper, The Diverse Organization Finding Gold at the End of the Rainbow, three academic authors challenge the truisms surrounding diversity. As the opening quote infers, the article poses several unflinching questions. Does diversity, in fact, enhance creativity?

Does diversity enhance problem solving or improve organizational flexibility? Does diversity reduce costs? Does it influence stock prices and in general improve financial performance? In other words, the authors’ research may not be good news for the diversity industry.

Perhaps the biggest promise of diversity yet to be fulfilled surrounds the idea of representation in leadership.

The 25-year promise was that by embracing diversity an organization would diversify its applicant and employee base which would inevitably lead to more diversity in leadership. Once again, the promise deserves a second look.

This brings us to another unmet promise, i.e. increased

86

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

gender representation in leadership would pave the way for other underrepresented diversity groups. So if there has not been success on this representation promise with women it is no surprise that it hasn’t happened for other groups either.

Perhaps it is time to take a sober second look at the promise of diversity. Perhaps it’s time for us to revisit why we are doing this. One of the best speeches I have heard recently is the TED.com speech by Simon Sinek who has written the book Start with Why. Sinek makes a compelling argument that if you can clearly articulate why you are doing something, the what and the how are easy. However without a compelling why, it is virtually impossible to inspire change.

In 1995 I wrote a book called Diversity at Work: The Business Case for Equity. The book was meant to identify a bottom-line reason for diversity beyond legislation and corporate social responsibility. The book argued that if you show leadership the impact of diversity on business outcomes such as productivity, profitability, and attraction and retention of best talent then diversity would become an essential leadership imperative. This paper has caused me to re-think my position. In light of the evidence, I think it is definitely time for us to create a new “why” for diversity. PDJ In 1996 Trevor started TWI Inc. to specialize in the area of equity and diversity as a business issue. In the same year, Trevor published a highly acclaimed book titled Diversity at Work: The Business Case for Equity. The firm’s clients include some of the most progressive global employers. TWI’s Human Equity™ approach was instrumental in catapulting Coca-Cola’s South African division to the top performing division worldwide.

FROM THE EXPERTS

THE BELOVED COMMUNITY OF D&I

by Pamela Arnold

F

President, AIMD DL

Where Are We Going?

REQUENTLY I RECEIVE LETTERS AND CALLS OF REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE AND INPUT FROM STUDENTS PERFORMING RESEARCH ON DIVERSITY. The requests come

from all educational levels and confirm the need for continuous learning in the diversity field. Last week, I received two requests on the same day for information on a similar topic—the “beloved community” vision that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote and spoke about. The students wanted to better understand what the “beloved community” is and how do we build this community.

While preparing my responses, I started thinking about the opportunities we have in the twenty-first century to move closer to achieving the beloved community that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. discussed. The beloved community is when all perspectives are brought together in a collective effort to achieve goals for the common good. This community would be inclusive of all peoples and include various perspectives regardless of race, gender, class, ethnicity and all elements of diversity. In other words, creating and defining a culture of inclusion where ideas are exchanged, collaboration and innovation thrive, and communication flows amongst the stakeholders for a shared vision.

Our diversity and inclusion activities in organizations across industries confirm the common goal we all strive for in obtaining a beloved community. What does that look like?

As quoted by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.”

We are all committed to making the “qualitative and quantitative” changes to engage all our citizenry, organizations and communities. A number of D&I programs, networks, and foundations exist to achieve this. The more challenging news is that we need to work together in a more cohesive approach to advance and better evaluate diversity work.

Our Road Map

tions we can use to help create a sustainable roadmap for the D&I work needed to achieve the beloved community:

In the book Global Literacies, researchers Patricia Digh, Marshall Singer, Carl Phillips, and Robert Rosen surveyed over 1,000 senior executives of seventy-eight companies about business leadership and national cultures. Based on the responses and feedback, they outlined five universal ques-

• Improved business results • Inclusive environment leveraging differences and similarities • Engaged associates/students/citizenry

How Do We Get There?

• Strategic diversity management leadership competencies • Alignment and inclusion to the business, including communication plans and strategies • Technology—internet, social media, digital universe • Education programs across all levels

What Resources Do We Need?

• Diversity capable leaders • Stakeholder support • Financial support • CEO and board support • Associate resource groups

How Do We Work Together?

• Strategic stakeholder alliances—internal and external • Collaboration/partnerships across sectors and industries (corporate, academic, government, non-profit) • Leveraging technology

How Do We Measure Ongoing Success?

• Metrics—surveys, feedback, focus groups • Organizational cultural benchmarking surveys • Measurement against stated outcomes

Our Accountability

An ongoing assessment of our D&I work will keep us on target for reaching our goals. The key question of “where are we now” has to be a fundamental thread that is present at all times as we move our organizations to achieve Martin Luther King’s vision.

Alienus Non Diutiu

The Latin quote is posted at the entrance to Pixar University in Emeryville California. These three words, meaning “alone no longer” summarize an approach for our journey in the diversity field. Proactively and aggressively working together will move us collectively forward. PDJ Pamela W. Arnold is President of the American Institute for Managing Diversity, Inc. The organization is a 501(c)(3) public interest nonprofit dedicated to advancing diversity thought leadership through research, education, and public outreach.

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

87

FROM THE EXPERTS

CURTAIL THE BULLYING OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES THROUGH EDUCATION

by Nadine Vogel

H

President, Springboard Consulting LLC DL

ARASSMENT OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES STARTS YOUNG. Nearly forty percent of children

bullied in our schools are students with disabilities, says Joyce Bender in Bullycide. A survey by British disability advocacy organization Mencap reported that eighty-two percent of students with intellectual disabilities had experienced some form of bullying and sixty percent had experienced physical injury as part of the bullying. About half of the children and youth reported that the bullying was chronic.

It doesn’t get much better as those children move into the workforce: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reports that “harassment” tops the list of formal complaints received from both people with mental disabilities and with physical disabilities. A poll conducted by UNISON (a British trade union) found that more than a third of workers with disabilities said they were being bullied at work. Twenty-two percent reported the problem as ongoing. Another British poll found that workers with disabilities were not only subject to lower expectations and negative social treatment, but they experienced workplace violence at nearly twice the rate of nondisabled workers.

Why are people with disabilities targets? Bullies target others they see as vulnerable. They also focus on those who are outsiders, who don’t appear to have a social peer group who will stand up for them. People with intellectual disabilities may not pick up on social cues, making them an easy target. Sometimes it’s the sense of “difference” that surrounds the victim: bullies and those who encourage them may not even know about the existence of a disability.

What’s to be done? Training, especially training that focuses on disability etiquette and awareness, helps companies to head off harassment and bully-

88

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

ing issues before they begin. Though the root causes of bullying are many, education about disability can dispel myths and fears that make people with disabilities easy targets. Perhaps more importantly, it can encourage “fence sitters” to stand up for their colleagues with disabilities, instead of becoming observers or participants. Although employers understand the value of such training, making it a top global best practice, they often express frustration that such training is not provided earlier, perhaps in college or in K-12 school diversity programs. Interestingly enough, parents of students with disabilities ask the same question.

Though bullies may continue to pick on those who are different, education can and often does help by explaining and minimizing the differences surrounding disability and at the same time, providing guidance on how best to work side by side, communicate and engage with someone with a disability and doing so in a way that make them and the other individual comfortable. By providing training that provides accurate information and offers a “safe” environment for managers, recruiters, and others to ask questions, much of the fear and misinformation surrounding employing someone with a disability can be negated and co-workers can become workplace allies. PDJ

Nadine Vogel is President of Springboard Consulting LLC. Springboard is considered a global expert, working with multinational corporations to mainstream disability in the workforce, workplace and marketplace.

FROM THE EXPERTS

SENIOR LEADERS: DON’T BE LULLED

BY RECRUITING SUCCESS

by Julie Kampf

W

President and CEO, JBK Associates, Inc. DL

HAT KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT AS A DIVERSITY CHAMPION IS THE THOUGHT OF WHAT SENIOR LEADERS MAY BE SLEEPING THROUGH. It’s great that nearly every company recruits

diverse talent. At JBK Associates, diversity ranks among the first things clients talk about with our recruiting team when conducting an executive search.

But then, too often, companies fall silent.

For many hires, trouble starts on day one. That’s when new employees begin evaluating whether the culture will be a good long-term fit, and diverse hires in particular face an unfamiliar culture. Yet while Aberdeen Group reports that 76 percent of firms now have a formal onboarding process, few onboarding programs offer alternate approaches for diverse employees.

Asking some questions of the onboarding process can help companies take necessary steps toward creating a competitive, diverse and inclusive environment.

Do new hires learn about the company’s commitment to diversity as part of their orientation? Are there ways to make the company more family-friendly?

Does onboarding include the chance to meet and learn from other diverse employees who have established themselves in the organization? Would peer mentoring make onboarding more effective for different groups?

Questions like these become even more important for senior-level hires who place critical importance on their first 90 days. And after all the work that goes into attracting star talent from diverse backgrounds, it’s worth the effort to retain and engage these employees.

Nearly all companies need to do a better job at engagement, so it’s good news that 2011 research from Mercer suggests renewed enthusiasm for Employee Resource Groups. Younger employees may show particular interest in ERGs, and that’s helpful for com-

panies that will feel the loss as 10,000 baby boomers retire each day. Businesses that identify ways to make ERGs more effective—whether through better use of technology, better measurement, or more active engagement from leadership—may find as Sodexo has that ERG members serve as “mini-chief diversity officers.”

Leadership development also needs higher priority. Women make up more than half the professional workforce and minority populations are growing, yet the leadership statistics remain dim. And while companies searching for a senior leader invariably want to see a diverse slate, they rarely can point to a diverse internal candidate who is qualified for the role. With a disciplined commitment, companies can build a diverse leadership pipeline to compete in a global marketplace that demands innovation.

It’s time to put hard policies in place. Empower Chief Diversity Officers with the authority they need to shape the culture as well as have significant input into the talent management/acquisition process. Engage every employee from the first day on the job through the exit interview and even beyond.

Understand where the CEO is willing to put a stake in the ground, and work with executives at every level of the organization to hold that ground.

Most importantly, for those of us who are diversity champions, vocalize the message that hiring is just the start. Sometimes the best way to rest easy is to help others wake up. PDJ

Julie Kampf is President and CEO of JBK Assoicates. Kampf has much experience in the field of consulting on recruitment and retainment in the workforce.

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

89

THOUGHTLEADERS

| VP of Editorial Services Damian Johnson sat down with Sarah Michel, Professional Speaker, Trainer, and Author of Perfecting Connecting, to discuss successful networking. In this interview we tackle sponsorship and mentorship—the ever constant gender disparities in the workplace, advice for introverts, and imperatives for successful relationships.

What’s the difference between sponsorship and mentorship?

A: Basically, mentoring is a great for professional development, and what I see that happens often with women is that they will have a mentoring relationship with another woman, which is great, but it tends to be less of an active role and more of a friendship. With men, on the other hand, mentoring quickly goes to action. Their mentor or sponsor says, “I’m going to take you golfing with the CEO,” or

90

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

“I’m going to take you to lunch with this person.” Things seem to happen more quickly with men. Time and time again, you wonder why women don’t get promoted faster, and a lot of it happens because men get sponsored.

Why don’t women get sponsored?

A: I think women don’t ask for someone to sponsor them. I think women don’t know they can or don’t feel they can, while I think men don’t want to sit around

If Your Goal is Success, Get a Sponsor

By Dawn Siler-Nixon, Diversity & Inclusion Partner, Ford & Harrison LLP

I

t can be especially difficult for women and minorities to rise through the ranks in corporate America. Historically, having a mentor gave you an edge—someone who would act as a teacher/counselor; a guide through the tangled web of unwritten rules, secret handshakes and bureaucracy. Although having a mentor is helpful, an executive who will put his or her reputation on the line for you is invaluable. A sponsor takes responsibility and therefore credit for advancing your career. This person has a vested interest in your success.

Many types of mentoring programs, whose purpose is to advance the careers of women and minorities, have been largely unsuccessful. Companies are gravitating towards sponsorship relationships and networks. It is important to create connections in which a sponsor is willing to go to bat for his or her protégée, be an advocate, and champion your advancement.

If your goal is success, get a sponsor. Finding a sponsor depends on building relationships, through connections, commonalities and a community of interest with a company leader. Map out your career goals. Define your success. Where will you be when you retire? What role best positions you for opportunities? Write it down.

Research potential sponsors and build a relationship.

Introduce the relationship by saying yes to work, volunteering for the sponsor’s project, serving on that person’s committee/organization, attending an event he or she supports, or finding a commonality you share. Use creative opportunities to expand the relationship and show your tenacity and potential for success. Ultimately the sponsor will invest in you and be willing to stake his or her reputation on your success.

If faced with a choice, I would say bypass the mentor and find a sponsor. Sponsorships may grow out of mentoring relationships, but more often, a mentoring relationship will develop from sponsorships.

talking about feelings or personalities. Mentoring relationships are really important, but I see mentoring as grooming, coaching, and personal. In fact, I think men need to be mentored more. But this is different from an active “can you help me get connected and make this happen?” type of situation. What I tell people is, look for people that can actively open doors for you and approach them as “how can I be a resource

Weight of Sponsorship Greater than Mentorship

By Elizabeth A. Campbell, Partner and Chief Diversity Officer, Andrews Kurth LLP

I

f I were to guess, in-group professionals (i.e., members of the traditional majority group) might admit to having a mentor, but they really believe that their career success was primarily self-made.

They probably do not realize the “informal” mentors they have had. Because of the like-me inclination that we all have, these in-group professionals undoubtedly have had in-group sponsors—people going to bat for them without even being asked to do so.

Conversely, I would guess that out-group professionals (i.e., members of historically underrepresented gender/ racial/ethnic groups) would say that mentorship played a significant role in their career success. It did for me. Absent formal mentorship, out-group professionals generally find navigating career paths very difficult, if not impossible, in workplace environments steeped in traditions in which outgroup members are virtually invisible.

Coaching is one thing; sponsorship is another— requiring courage and confidence. In today’s competitive workplace, even the best mentoring programs may not be enough. The stakes are higher and the need is greater for people with influence to step up and sponsor those professionals under their mentorship. Having a sponsor to speak up for you when you are not in the room and when others of influence may not realize your worth is the recipe for success in the twenty-first century workplace.

Call to action: identify a sponsor who will champion you!

from you?” Of course, this isn’t universal across the board, but I think generally women don’t ask, men do.

Is it ever too early for someone to seek sponsorship?

A: No. If you’re right out of school, you just need to assess how you can be a resource to someone.

What do you do if you’re an introvert?

A: Introverts can make the best networkers out there.

The bottom line is it’s about talking to one person at a time and listening. It’s about honing in and asking open-ended questions to find out how you can be a resource. For introverts, I think it’s good to have openended questions, and think about them ahead of time.

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

91

THOUGHTLEADERS

5 A Gartner survey showed mentees were promoted 5 times more often than those not in a mentoring program.

60 62 71 Percentage of college and graduate students that indicated mentoring is a key factor in job selection.

It’s a good idea to look at the list of who is attending [a networking event], see if there is someone you’d like to meet, and then go to your network of people you know and see if someone knows them and can pre-introduce you. It won’t be as hard to initiate when you’re there because they will be expecting you.

Time and Relevance Needed

By Camille Mirshokrai, Global Director of Leadership Development, Accenture

T

here are two main challenges in being a sponsor—time and relevance. Senior executives may be approached to act as sponsors quite often and you must have time and energy to give honest and actionable feedback as well as make the necessary connections for the sponsored person. You also need to be relevant to the person’s goals. Is your network relevant to the sponsored person and their goals in terms of level, industry, experience? A network of CEOs may not help a new college grad and a network of engineers won’t help an aspiring accountant.

There are two things a person looking for sponsorship needs to consider. First is performance. A sponsor endorses a person and their abilities so you have to make sure your performance is worth advocating for. Second is taking an inventory of your network, in other words, who knows your performance and your potential and who has relevant connections they would use for you.

92

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

Of more than 300 organizations polled by The Institute for Corporate Productivity, 62 percent of organizations indicated that mentors are utilized by 5% or fewer employees.

Percent of Fortune 500 companies that utilize mentorship programs in their organization.

What kind of investment is required from both parties in a sponsorship?

A: It’s definitely an action relationship. The person that is sponsoring you is going to actively open doors for you. On the receiving end, look for ways to give back, and not only be a resource but show gratitude. I’m a huge proponent of handwritten thank you notes, and a text or email is not the same thing. Gratitude and appreciation has to be there from the receiver’s end. And then of course, paying it forward. If someone sponsors you, you have the obligation to look for ways to sponsor somebody else.

Sarah Michel is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) and a networking expert. As a certified Myers-Briggs personality style expert, Sarah works with organizations around the world on how to be a more effective connector. She currently resides in Colorado Springs.

DECISION: SPONSORSHIP WINS! While finding a mentor can provide much value, and may be an excellent springboard for building relationships, its focus on the personal benefits as opposed to the career advantages of sponsorship makes it the fallen contender in this bout. Having a sponsor to vouch for you in your absence can be the difference between being promoted and being looked over. For women and underrepresented minorities seeking to get ahead, sponsorship is decidedly necessary. PDJ

THOUGHTLEADERS

Invigorating Diversity in an Ailing Economy

D

By Ray Carson, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, Highmark Inc.

I VERSITY IS EVEN more important in a down economy.

Companies today are sensitive to the need for providing employees with a work environment that is safe and secure.

The reason is simple. Apart from the direct toll on human life, aggressive acts cause untold financial loss from resulting lawsuits and damage awards, workplace disruptions, insurance premium escalations, declines in employee productivity, workforce retention issues and customer anxiety.

To remain competitive, businesses must evolve by maximizing the potential of their employees. When everyone contributes and feels valued, the company is better positioned to succeed.

Innovation is key to making diversity a priority.

94

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

Challenging business environments require innovation.

Original ideas happen most often when diversity of thought is supported and rewarded in an inclusive organization.

Don’t allow diversity and inclusion programs to fall victim.

In this light, diversity and inclusion are smart business and hold the key to your competitiveness—even more so as talent and consumer markets change. Companies that fail to account for demographics in the current environment will fall behind as the economy accelerates.

How do you maintain diversity and inclusion commitments from your organization?

Listen to your customers and make sure that you are representative of your total customer base. Monitor your talent pools. Internship programs are particularly helpful ways to get in front of changing workforce demographics.

Why Diversity is Essential in an Economic Downturn

I

By Andra Greene and Laura Evans, Irell & Manella LLP N TIMES OF economic distress it is essential for

law firms to give attorneys with diverse backgrounds opportunities to thrive. Diversity allows us to be representative of our clients and community, which is essential for many clients. Diversity also brings a variety of perspectives to the workplace and promotes the creativity and exceptional problem solving for which our firm is known. Rather than view diversity as a luxury, we’ve chosen to view it as a core tenet in our firm’s business strategy. Despite the economic downturn, our firm is still competing for the best and brightest attorneys; our focus on diversity helps us to recruit and retain talented attorneys.

While many firms have cut diversity programs recently, we have strengthened our commitment to diversity.

Take, for example, gender diversity. Here, our efforts have included joining Catalyst, a leading nonprofit working globally with businesses to build inclusive workplaces. Irell has also joined a Los Angeles coalition

collaborating to advance and retain women lawyers.

Internally, our Women’s and Hiring Committees are leading focused efforts to recruit and advance women attorneys at Irell. This past year, these committees collaborated to recruit an increased number of women, with great success. The 2012 women summer associates class will be the largest Irell has ever had, with 18 women out of 34 summer associates. Because most of our permanent hiring results from these summer associates, coordinating recruiting efforts are an essential first step. Ultimately, we maintain our firm’s commitment to diversity through the dedication of individual attorneys who care about the success of the firm.

Irell & Manella LLP is a premiere AM LAW 200 firm. Andra Greene is the managing partner of Irell’s Newport Beach, California office and a member of the firm’s executive committee. Laura Evans chairs Irell’s Associate Committee and is an active member of its Women’s Committee.

Weathering the Storm

Brought on by a Challenging Economy

By Hayward Bell, Chief Diversity Officer, Raytheon Company

I

T ’S NO SURPRISE that well-

built homes are more equipped to withstand storms. Similarly, if a company’s Diversity and Inclusion program is an integral part of its business strategy and anchored in leadership behaviors, than that company too can weather the storm brought on by challenging economic times.

As businesses look to do more with less, D&I practitioners should

prepare for potential impact to their programs and be able to demonstrate the value of those programs to company leaders. To ensure continued support, it’s vital to have the value proposition of D&I ingrained into a company’s business strategy before economic challenges arise.

When funds are short, practitioners need to look for ways to become more efficient so that the company continues along its diversity journey without interruption.

DL

Within Raytheon’s Diversity program, we recently re-evaluated our processes to create a Diversity and Inclusion center of excellence for the company, ensuring our diversity resources are leveraged to better engage every employee.

Companies can also benefit from enhancing the work of their employee resource groups. These networks act as Diversity and Inclusion ambassadors and strengthen the company along its journey. PDJ

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

95

Global Diversity | VP of Editorial Services Damian Johnson spoke with

author and diversity consultant Melissa Lamson, CEO and President of Lamson Consulting, discusses global diversity and business growth in the first of an ongoing series.

Why should companies globalize their approach to diversity?

A: Diversity is all about the people in an organization. The people that we work with today, whether it’s a local or international project, are from all different kinds of backgrounds.

Our workforce is global whether we are working internationally or not.

So we need to understand that we are going to have diverse approaches, methods of decision-making, presentations, implementation of solutions, and management of projects. We need to become savvier at adapting our styles to other cultures.

What is the top qualification leaders should be looking for in hiring new talent today?

A: There have been new studies lately that have shown that leaders of large, multinational companies are looking for people with a global mindset. They are looking for ways to assess and determine whether people can work effectively across cultures and in global contexts.

This is a pretty new way of looking at best practices in business.

Recruiters used to ask questions like, “Did this person come out of the best business school? Do they 96

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

| Number Two Language Remains Relevant in Business have good work experience?” Of course they are still asking that, but they’re focusing more on the behavioral aspects of agility and empathy. Recruiters today ask questions like, “Can this person be flexible? Can this person show empathy towards a person with a multicultural background?”

It is well-known that English is no longer the most-spoken language in the world, beat out only

by Mandarin Chinese.

English, though, continues to be relevant in the global market.

TalktoCanada is reporting that English continues to be the number one language for international business and succeeding Photograph credit: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons abroad. TalktoCanada was established in 2006 to provide English training courses online. The company has trained students from over 80 countries, including Fortune 500 companies such as Ernst & Young, Novartis and Fidelity Investments.

According to a study by Language Monthly, there are 115 countries that use English as a main language. This number far outperforms French, which ranks second with 35 countries.

The combined population of countries using the English language is nearly 5 billion.

“Companies entering the international business world discover quickly that competition is intense and challenging if your staff do not master English.

Whether you are selling to customers abroad, entering a joint venture, or managing foreign staff, it is critical that your staff undergoes some form of English training to succeed,” says Marc Anderson, Managing Director of TalktoCanada.com.

Even China, with its population of 1.1 billion, is embracing English as a necessity to compete internationally. According to Premier Wen Jiabao, more than 300 million Chinese are presently studying English.

There are currently 326 million English-speaking users on the Internet (28.9%), and 166 million Chinese (14.7%). With the evolution of social media and crowd-driven content, the English language is estimated to continue to grow.

How can an employee develop their global mindset?

A: If a company has a budget to do more in terms of employee exchange, even letting someone live in another country for three to six months, is an excellent option. It’s not necessarily something that a lot of companies feel like they can do, or employees may not necessarily want to leave home, but there are alternatives. We can get this information digitally.

I encourage people to seek out alternative business news channels. Through the internet or on TV, make the effort to look at International CNN or BBC, or seek out one of the newspapers in the countries you are interested in. Wall Street Journal Asia is fascinating because it has a totally different perspective from the U.S. version of the paper. I recommend, if you are traveling on business in- tion, but I recommend it. Go to a one of the most enlightening parts ternationally, get out of the hotel. local restaurant and start a conver- of your trip.

It might take a little extra motiva- sation with people there. It will be As a person in charge of diversity within an organization, what are the steps they should take to globalize a company’s approach to diversity?

A: The most important thing they can do is to do a pulse check on what is happening now globally with the company. I highly recommend traveling to as many locaPhotograph credit: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons tions as you can, asking questions, March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

97

Global Diversity and listening. How are people communicating with each other?

What improvements do they recommend? Then from that data, develop some kind of educational program on teamwork or cultural sensitivity. If these are done well, they will be highly impactful and help individuals cooperate better with each other. Thirdly, look at procedures and systems and see where there could be potential bias.

Ask where are we doing things from a purely U.S. perspective that may not work the same way in another country, and how can we make sure that those procedures or processes are truly global?

| Global Diversity: Software vs.

Other Leading Industries Phyllis Stewart Pires - Vice President, Global Head of Diversity at SAP, a leader in the business software industry, with offices in over 80 countries, reflects on industryspecific global diversity challenges.

Approximately 80% of our workforce are college graduates, as opposed to other industries. As a result, we are managing a lot of smart people with strong views. It is extremely important to involve people in the dialogue and the conversation.

98

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

| Emphasizing Gender Balance, Flexible Work at adidas Danja Frech, Head of Diversity for adidas, Germany, weighs in on the biggest issues for global diversity in 2012 at the sports retail giant.

What are the specific focus points you have for global diversity in the coming year?

Photograph credit: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons A: Our main focus is to continue integrating Diversity in everything we do rather than making it a new or separate strategy. We consider this a value in all we do. This said, we will continue with many activities we already started that supports Diversity in all aspects, e.g. daycare centers in Germany and the U.S., health and fitness activities, sports and events, flexible work models (sabbaticals, part-time, home office, etc.) and specific Diversity events. adidas creates a work environment for all employees which supports the integration of work and life in different life cycles.

Why is gender a specific focus for German companies right now?

A: It’s been a topic for many years, but unfortunately we have not truly seen great improvements in the gender balance of big German companies.

Germany still ranks lowest when it comes to percentages of female leaders and the idea of implementing quotas for women in supervisory and executive boards of companies is currently being discussed. In 2011 adidas worked together with all other companies listed in the DAX-30 to review the unique challenges of the different companies, what commitments can be made for the future and what support we need from the politicians in Germany to change the picture. We all agree that gender balance is very important on all levels of the organization, but we still have some work to do when it comes to allowing families to balance work and life and to allow both partners to stay in the workplace.

A big challenge for us in the software industry is that we have fewer women coming through the educational pipeline, as opposed to law or medicine which has already come closer to its goals of recruiting and attracting more women.

One of the things that is also March/April 2012

unique to us is the speed at which information comes in, is processed, and influ­ences our decisions.

Although this is incredibly exciting, people like myself who lead diversity initiatives must be flexible and agile in making adjustments and open to input from others. PDJ

75% of our store MANAGEMENT Creating jobs and Nearly providing ASSOCIATES started out as opportunities. hourly associates.

WE NEED YOUR SPARK. Explore your career options with a company that is developing leaders.

See how your spark can make a difference. walmartstores.com/careers

Leadership Profile | Fannie Mae Retiree led Fannie Mae’s Katrina Response and Low-Income Financing for Millions

O

ver the past 11 years, Fannie Mae’s Multifamily Mortgage Business has financed 7.6 million units of rental housing under the seasoned leadership of Kenneth J. Bacon, executive vice president of the division.

Today, Fannie Mae is the largest single source of financing for rental housing in the country, ensuring that funds are available to build and maintain the quality rental housing that American families depend on.

Bacon will retire in March, concluding a 19-year tenure at Fannie Mae, which also included responsibility for management and marketing of Fannie Mae’s portfolio of multifamily loans and investments, and roles serving single-family housing and directing investments in community development.

Ken is from Houston and resides in Washington, D.C. A distinguished scholar, he has earned an MBA from the Harvard Business School, an MS in international relations from the London School of Economics (where he studied as a Marshall Scholar,) and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University. Bacon is also on the board of directors for Comcast.

Bacon has guided the multifamily business to a profitable niche serving the workforce rental market. Almost 90 percent of the units Fannie Mae financed in 2011 were affordable to low- and middle-income families.

“Fannie Mae has a terrific mission, to finance rental housing for millions of Americans,” says Bacon. “Keeping capital flowing to the market for affordable rental housing provides stability for our communities and the nation.”

Under his leadership, the multifamily business has provided a total of $289 billion in liquidity to the rental market. He also led Fannie Mae’s response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when 300,000 homes were severely damaged or destroyed along the Gulf Coast. Fannie Mae has worked with nonprofits, government agencies, and business partners and invested nearly $5 billion in debt and equity to finance multifamily apartments and support housing recovery after the devastating storm.

“Fannie Mae’s job is to support housing in all markets and at all times,” Bacon says. “That includes the national market as it grapples with the current housing crisis and also local and regional housing markets when they are affected by a natural disaster or an economic downturn.”

Bacon attributes the success of Fannie Mae’s multifamily organization to the strength of his team. “I take a lot of pride in what we’ve accomplished, and I do mean ‘we,’ he says. “Our employees bring years of experience, expertise, and energy to this business. They understand their customers and know the products backward and forward. These are folks who get things done. But more importantly, they enjoy the process of getting there.”

“Fannie Mae’s mission has never been more critical than it is right now.

Fannie Mae is committed to building a sustainable housing market and stable communities for the future,” adds Bacon. “I am proud of the legacy I leave behind and feel confident Fannie Mae is poised for continued success serving America’s rental housing needs.”

100

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

Kenneth J. Bacon

Executive Vice President, Multifamily Mortgage Business COMPANY: Fannie Mae DL HEADQUARTERS: Washington, DC WEBSITE: www.fanniemae.com PRIMARY BUSINESS: Financial services EDUCATION: BA, Stanford University; MS, London School of Economics; MBA, Harvard Business School WHAT I’M READING: Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson INTERESTS: Golfing, hunting, wine, education

What is your most rewarding career accomplishment? Establishing the Securitization Program while working for the Resolution Trust Corporation. The savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s had significant effects on the US economy, particularly on commercial real estate. The program that I established had never been done previously and was critical to settling this segment of the market.

What’s the worst mistake a leader can make? Remaining in a single position of power for too long and having a certain level of comfort. It is paramount that all of us, including those who lead, understand progression is necessary for continued growth, for ourselves and for our future leaders.

What was the best advice you ever received? My mother once told me that I was too old and too black to expect life to be fair. While it was difficult to comprehend initially, as I matured I understood that regardless of our best efforts, there are some things that will not go as we expect, and that some of these things will not seem to be just or rational. PDJ

Š 2012 Halliburton. All rights reserved.

Digital Diversity FROM OUR FOLLOWERS

LEXICON TERMS

@EdDeCosta: Thank someone today for being different than you. #Diversity is the spice of life. #catalyst @MiraontheWal: The diversity of our individuality co-existing with our unity and interconnectedness #ThingsToBeThankfulFor @Lucyb62: It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in #diversity there is beauty and there is strength.

@DiversityJrnl

FOLLOW US

Jenny DeVaughn writes: Congrats to Grace! She is deserving of this honor and we appreciate her innovative leadership at Waste Management.

Grace Cowan - Waste Management

Kevin Arnold writes: Congratulations LeAnn, you are a great role model!!!

Cultural Capital — The accumulation of subjective and objective cultural knowledge one uses to advance or become a leader in society.

@Mentorings

“Build a #network early on, and continue to grow and nurture these personal #relationships.

These contacts are invaluable.”

LeAnn Ridgeway - Rockwell Collins

From Women Speak Up at Work:

Congratulations to Moss Adams on making diversity a priority. Your article provides a blueprint that I hope other organizations will use.

102

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

YOUR INDIVIDUALITY

>

YOU KNOW

UNLEASH YOUR IDEAS, AND MAKE YOUR MARK. At UnitedHealth Group, diversity isn’t just a corporate buzzword. It’s the way we work, and it comes through in everything we do. From the high-performing people we hire, to the health care services we provide, we advocate the possibilities of unique thinking.

Our mission is to help people live healthier lives and every day, our efforts bring the advantages of the largest single proprietary network of physicians, hospitals, health facilities and caregivers in the United States to millions worldwide. Our employees have diverse cultural backgrounds, beliefs, perspectives, and lifestyles but they all have one thing in common - their ability to excel.

UnitedHealth Group is a diversified health and well-being company whose 80,000 + employees are helping to heal the healthcare system every day with a greater dedication to Integrity, Compassion, Relationships, Innovation & Performance.

A goal with this kind of magnitude requires the brightest, most forward-thinking minds around. We have them here. And they’re making a difference.

Make your mark of distinction at greaterthancareers.com or from your mobile phone at workatuhg.com.

Connect with us: facebook.com/uhgcareers

twitter.com/uhgcareers

bitly.com/uhglinked

Diversity creates a healthier atmosphere: equal opportunity employer M/F/D/V.UnitedHealth Group is a drug-free workplace.

Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.© 2010 UnitedHealth Group. All rights reserved.

youtube.com/uhgcareers

Diversity History Photograph credits: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

MARCH/APRIL

March 2, 1917: Puerto Ricans were granted United States Citizenship by President Wilson. Celebrate with mofongo and lechon, the traditional roast pig on a spit.

April is National Autism Awareness Month.

Nearly 1 in 110 children are living with autism in America, with numbers only growing. Contact your local Autism Society chapter to get involved.

March 17, 1969: Golda Meir became the prime minister of Israel.

The formidable Meir grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Meir took office at the age of 70, remaining in office during the controversial Yom Kippur War. 104

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

March 11, 1993: Janet Reno becomes the first female Attorney General of the United States. Appointed by President Clinton, Reno was the longest-serving Attorney General since 1829.

April 26, 1994: South Africa holds its first multiracial elections, with 22 million citizens stuffing the ballot boxes. Nelson Mandela became head of the new government, the first black leader in the country’s history. Mandela’s election represented a hopeful time in South Africa post-Apartheid. PDJ

Odds and Ends Photograph credits: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

IN MEMORIAM: CAMILLA WILLIAMS T

INSIGHT

“

he ninety-two year old opera singer was the first African American to receive a contract to a major American opera company, the New York City Opera.

After Williams, the daughter of a chauffeur, received her degree, she received a fellowship to study privately in New York. She traveled the United States and

C12031 Diversity HalfPg ad Final_Layout 1 2/10/12 1:51 PM Page 1

Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.

— Albert Einstein

Europe, becoming the first African American to sing a major role with the Vienna State Opera. She performed at the March on Washington before Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

Her husband was one of Malcolm X’s lawyers.

In her later years she became a voice professor at Indiana University, the first African American in the country to be appointed to voice faculty at a university.

CHARACTER At Campbell Soup Company, we are committed to creating a high performance culture that lives these values. We do this by building and sustaining a diverse, inclusive, engaged and socially responsible workplace focused on delivering business results with integrity.

To learn more about Campbell and our extraordinary opportunities: > Visit us: careers.campbellsoupcompany.com > Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/CampbellCareers > Connect with us on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/ campbell-soup-company > Follow us on Twitter: @CampbellSoupCo

COMPETENCE

TEAMWORK

Odds and Ends IN MEMORIAM: DON CORNELIUS D on Cornelius, founder of Soul Train, died on February 1 at the age of 75. The television host was the creator of the nationally syndicated music and dance show, which he hosted from 1971 to 1993. Originally from Chicago, Cornelius got his start as a DJ and reporter on local radio and TV. Cornelius began the show in Chicago in 1970, in the style of an African-American American Bandstand. Soul Train later became one of the longest running syndicated shows in history, finally ending in 2006.

Cornelius has been attributed to bringing AfricanAmerican soul music and musicians to prominence, giving black culture a dramatic platform.

Influencing the careers of many black entertainers, one of the first mediums for people of color to break through racial barriers, Cornelius is credited with

introducing superstars James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and Michael Jackson to a wider audience.

A pioneering black businessman, Cornelius widened the brand Soul Train to include an annual awards show and a record company that spawned musical acts like Shalamar. Cornelius hoped to further expand the brand into a feature film in recent years. With his signature deep, velvety voice, Cornelius famously ended every show with “Love, Peace, and Soul.”

www.

.com

Supporting women leaders and the organizations that employ them.

YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TO FOLLOW US AT:

twitter.com/mentorings

Nominate Your Women Executives and Browse Past Winners 106

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

®

DID YOU KNOW?

Wendy’s namesake originated from Wendy, the nickname of founder Dave Thomas’ daughter Melinda.

Xerox is named from xerography, a word derived from the Greek xeros, meaning “dry” and graphos, meaning “writing.”

53:

the number of square miles of farmland Wrigley needs to grow all the mint needed for its gums The American Express Black Centurion card has a

$2,500 $250,000

annual fee, and requires spent yearly.

Performance fueled by diversity At Jones Lang LaSalle, we know we are only as good as our people.

Creating an environment where our employees can be their best every day not only allows us to create innovative real estate solutions for our clients, but also allows us to attract and retain great talent.

To learn more, contact us at: DiversityandInclusionCouncil@am.jll.com

The U.S. Marines were formed in a bar called “Tun Tavern” in Philadelphia on November 10, 1775. PDJ

CorporateIndex 3M.................................................................... www.3m.com..................................108 Accenture................................................... www.accenture.com..........................80, 92 adidas............................................................www.adidas.com..................................98 Aflac................................................................ www.aflac.com......................................8 Akraya, Inc....................................................www.akraya.com........................8, 39, 58 Alliant Energy Corp.................................. www.alliantenergy.com.............................79 American Express.................................www.americanexpress.com.........8, 82, 83,107 American Institute for Managing Diversity....... www.aimd.org................................8, 87 Andrews Kurth LLP................................. www.andrewskurth.com.........................8, 91 Army and Air Force Exchange Serivce..........................................................................

www.shopmyexchange.com...........................8 Ballard Spahr LLP.................................... www.ballardspahr.com........................38, 64 Bank of the West................................. www.bankofthewest.com......................8, 23 BDO USA, LLP................................................ www.bdo.com......................................8 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC................www.bcbsnc.com....................................8 Booz Allen Hamilton....................................www.boozallen.com......................8, 81, 82 Brinker International......................................www.brinker.com....................................8 Brown-Forman Corporation................www.brown-forman.com...............................

Inside Front Cover, 1, 39, 67, 81, 83 Burger King Corp.............................................. www.bk.com........................................8 Caesars Entertainment Corporation.............www.caesars.com...................................8 Campbell Soup Company....................www.campbellsoup.com...................78, 105 Catalyst..........................................................www.catalyst.org......................8, 20, 102 Catchafire Incorporated............................... www.catchafire.org....................12 thru 13 CDW LLC........................................................ www.cdw.com......................................8 Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.......................... www.schwab.com.....................80, 82, 83 Chevron......................................................www.chevron.com............................8, 93 Chrysler Group LLC...............................www.chryslergroupllc.com.............................8 Cisco Systems, Inc......................................... www.cisco.com.....................................8 Citi.................................................................... www.citi.com.......................................8

Coca-Cola Company, The...........................www.coca-cola.com................................10 Comcast Corporation...................................www.comcast.com...................................8 Corporation for Travel Promotion............. www.thebrandusa.com.............................36 CSC.................................................................www.csc.com....................8, 19, 79, 80 CVS Caremark...............................................www.cvs.com.... 8, Inside Back Cover Deloitte LLP.................................................. www.deloitte.com....................................8 Eastman Kodak Company............................. www.kodak.com.....................................8 Empire BlueCross BlueShield................... www.empireblue.com.........................39, 71 Energizer.....................................................www.energizer.com................................80 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.................................................................

www.eeoc.gov....................................88 Fannie Mae................................................www.fanniemae.com.......8, 38, 72, 80, 100 Ford & Harrison LLP.................................www.fordharrison.com..............................91 Ford Motor Company...................................... www.ford.com....................................83 Freddie Mac.............................................. www.freddiemac.com.................................8 Gannett Co., Inc........................................... www.gannett.com.................................80 General Electric................................................ www.ge.com...............................38, 49 Gibbons P.C.............................................. www.gibbonslaw.com.....................8, 39, 47 Girl Scouts of the USA................................ www.girlscouts.org.....................16 thru 18 Halliburton............................................... www.halliburton.com............8, 40, 56, 101 Harland Clarke Holdings Corporation..... www.harlandclarke.com.......................39, 46 Harris Beach PLLC................................ www.harrisbeach.com.................40, 62, 63 Harris Corporation..........................................www.harris.com...................8, 80, 81, 82 Harvey Mudd College...................................... www.hmu.edu..............................38, 55 Highmark, Inc..............................................www.highmark.com................................94 Hogan Lovells........................................... www.hoganlovells.com.......................38, 48 Indiana University..........................................www.indiana.edu................................105 Irell & Manella LLP.......................................... www.irell.com.....................................95 ITT Corporation.................................................www.itt.com........................................8 JBK Associates, Inc................................. www.jbkassociates.com...................8, 17, 89

Engaging

© 3M 2012. All Rights Reserved.

Diverse Perspectives

3M is an incredible place… a place where the cross-pollination of ideas - and the conversion of ideas into tangible solutions - never ends. If you have a natural curiosity and thrive on solving problems others have not, join in the collaboration.

See what opportunities could be in your future.

Visit www.3m.com/careers-us to learn more, see videos and apply for open positions!

And visit: www.facebook.com/3MCareers.US www.linkedin.com/companies/3M

www.twitter.com/3MCareers www.youtube.com/3MCareers

BOLD denotes Advertiser Jones Lang LaSalle............................www.joneslanglasalle.com...........39, 60, 107 Kelly Services........................................... www.kellyservices.com...............................8 KeyCorp............................................................www.key.com.......................................8 KPMG LLP....................................................www.kpmg.com..................8, 40, 68, 77 Kraft Foods Inc.................................... www.kraftfoodscompany.com..................82, 83 Lamson Consulting............................... www.lamsonconsulting.com..............96 thru 98 Lathrop & Gage LLP.................................www.lathropgage.com..................38, 70, 81 Lockheed Martin Corporation........... www.lockheedmartin.com......................8, 15 ManpowerGroup.................................... www.manpowergroup.com............................8 Marsh & McLennan Companies..................... www.mmc.com......................................8 Medco Health Solutions...........................www.medcohealth.com...............................8 Medical College of Wisconsin..................... www.mcw.edu.....................40, 59, 109 Mercer...........................................................www.mercer.com..................................79 MGM Resorts International.......................www.mgmresorts.com................................8 Moss Adams LLP......................................www.mossadams.com........................8, 102 MWV................................................................www.mwv.com......................................8 NASA - Johnson Space Center.......................www.nasa.gov..............................40, 44 National Grid.......................................... www.nationalgrid.com.................................

8, 38, 54, Back Cover New York Life Insurance........................www.newyorklife.com.........................8, 37 Newell Rubbermaid.............................. www.newellrubbermaid.com...........................8 Nielsen Company, The..................................www.nielsen.com......................79, 81, 83 Northrop Grumman..............................www.northropgrumman.com...........................8 Novartis AG..................................................www.novartis.com.....................39, 52, 80 Oliver Wyman Group................................ www.oliverwyman.com.............................82 Perfecting Connecting........................www.perfectingconnecting.com...........90 thru 92 PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., The....... www.pnc.com.......................................8 Procter & Gamble Company, The.................... www.pg.com...............................38, 57 Quarles & Brady LLP................................ www.quarles.com....................40, 45, 73 Raytheon Company.................................. www.raytheon.com.........8, 11, 38, 65, 95 RBC Wealth Management......................... www.rbcwm-usa.com...........................8, 83 Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P............. www.rkmc.com................................8, 82 Rockwell Collins......................................www.rockwellcollins.com..............39, 53, 102 Round Top Consulting Associates, LLC.........................................................................

www.roundtoplewis.com................74 thru 76 Royal Dutch Shell........................................ www.shell.com.........................8, 29, 79 Ryder System, Inc.......................................... www.ryder.com.............................39, 66 SAP................................................................. www.sap.com.....................................98 Science Applications International Corporation..............................................................

www.saic.com......................................8 Society for Human Resources Management.............................................................

www.shrm.org.......................40, 50, 51 Sodexo..................................................... www.sodexousa.com...............3, 8, 39, 43 Solamar Marketing Agency..................www.solamarmarketing.com.........................13 Soul Train Holdings..................................... www.soultrain.com...............................106 Spellman College........................................ www.spellman.edu.....................30 thru 33 Springboard Consulting LLC............... www.consultspringboard.com....................8, 88 Sprint..............................................................www.sprint.com.....................................8 Symantec Corporation.................................www.symantec.com..........................40, 61 Target..............................................................www.target.com.....................................8 The Lifetime Healthcare Companies..............www.lifethc.com.....................................8 Time Warner Cable............................... www.timewarnercable.com....................40, 42 TWI, Inc..........................................................www.twiinc.com...............................8, 86 U.S. Census Bureau...................................... www.census.gov..................................75 U.S. Marine Corps........................................www.marines.com...............................107 U.S. Tennis Association...................................www.usta.com....................................10 Union Bank N.A..........................................www.unionbank.com.................................8 UNISON....................................................... www.unison.org.uk.................................88 United States Air Force Academy.................www.usafa.af.mil................. 8, 34 thru 35 UnitedHealth Group.........................www.unitedhealthgroup.com.................8, 103 University of Maryland..................................... www.umd.edu........................26 thru 28 University of Texas at San Antonio................. www.utsa.edu........................74 thru 76 University of the Rockies...............................www.rockies.edu....................................8 US Airways, Inc.......................................... www.usairways.com.................................8 Vanguard...................................................www.vanguard.com.............................7, 8 Verizon........................................................ www.verizon.com.............................8, 21 Vienna State Opera................................ www.viennaconcerts.com.........................105 W.W. Grainger, Inc.......................................www.grainger.com...................................8 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc............................ www.walmartstores.com......8,10, 82, 83, 99 Waste Management, Inc............... www.wm.com / www.thinkgreen.com............8, 102 WellPoint, Inc............................................www.wellpoint.com...................................

......... 8, 9, 39, 71, 80, 81, 82, 85 Wells Fargo................................................ www.wellsfargo.com...............................10 Wendy’s International, Inc............................ www.wendys.com...............................107 White & Case LLP...................................... www.whitecase.com.........................40, 69 Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company.............................www.wrigley.com................................107 Xerox Corporation..........................................www.xerox.com.................................107

B

e the difference that drives our excellence.

The Medical College of Wisconsin is blazing new paths in medical research, education and patient care, and you can be at the center of it all.

Uniquely positioned as a leader in the development of the next generation of physicians and scientists, we are also a full-service medical facility providing innovative care for adult and pediatric patients. Not only do we support a culture that embraces diversity, but we also encourage it and are committed to it. In addition to providing an environment with abundant opportunities to grow and develop, we offer an outstanding benefits package and competitive salary. We are seeking qualified candidates for the following positions and many more:

• Department Administrators • Administrative Assistants • Coding Specialists • Billing Representatives (Account Reps) • Lab Techs • Research Technologists, Associates and Scientists • Nurse Practitioners • Physician Assistants • Registered Nurses • Director of Business Development • IS Enterprise Application Developer • Certified Medical Assistants Our location is ideal: Milwaukee is right on the shore of Lake Michigan and right in the center of unlimited recreational and cultural opportunities. From professional sports to historic neighborhoods to family-friendly and affordable neighborhoods, ours is a city that embraces the important things in life.

There’s more than one way to benefit from a career at Medical College of Wisconsin. We offer health, dental and vision insurance plans; life insurance; 403(b) retirement plans; plenty of vacation, sick days and paid holidays; dependent care and tuition reimbursement; and much more.

Visit our website to search for the job opportunity that’s right for you:

www.mcw.jobs

© 2012 (Media:

Pro 3.75 B&W

EEO/AA - M/F/V/H

March/April 2012

WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM

109

| QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

We spoke to Dr. Paul White, psychologist, author, speaker, and consultant. White’s book, The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, is in stores now.

Q. You have over 20 years of experience as a

psychologist. How do business relationships compare to personal relationships?

There are similarities and there are differences. They both involve personality styles and communication styles. In business relationships, there’s often a power dynamic that is involved, because there is a supervisor to a supervisee. That reporting relationship creates a different dynamic than a personal relationship where that doesn’t usually exist. There tends to be more formality and distance, emotionally and physically. You have a different context that creates different expectations.

order to get tasks done.

Q. Is there ever a line one should not cross in a business relationship?

Absolutely. There are boundaries and expectations, social conventions that you don’t cross. It varies from situation to situation, and the types of relationships. Obviously, sexuallyoriented comments and touch are not appropriate, nor should there be verbal or physical aggression.

There are boundaries that different people have about how much personal information people should know about each other; there are also legal boundaries about how much you can ask or find out about someone’s personal life.

Q. What kind of rewards do you propose people receive at work?

We do talk about communicating appreciation that may be for something that they’ve done, but is not solely performance based, which is different from some business models that are highly performance based, like a sales team reaching their goals for a quarter. We are talking about character qualities and the value of the person individually. The fact that someone is honest and dependable can be valued even though it’s not performance-based.

Q. Do you think people are happier now or 20 years ago when you first started?

The research would suggest that people are less happy in the workplace than they were 20 years ago.

Generally speaking, it seems that the overall sense of satisfaction both with work and at work is less.

The demands at work are greater—people feel more stress. People clearly move from job to job more quickly. Especially right now, with the economic downturn, employees have been laid off. Research has shown that employees are doing 30% more work prior to the layoffs a few years ago and they’re not getting paid any more for it. So if you’re doing more work for the same amount of money, and with fewer resources and training and staff, that feels unfair to people and they resent it.

Q. Why are business relationships so important?

What benefits do they have for the company?

Business is built around people. You have customers, you have vendors, you have co-workers, you have employees, you have supervisors/owners, and you have the public as well. Work involves people; business involves people. Although it is more objective and data-driven than personal relationships, there are still relationships that are involved. It’s often the relationships within the work settings that create the most challenges and tensions for supervisors and managers rather than the actual tasks.

There’s the issue of communication—that you have to be able to communicate clearly with people in

Q. What is key to communication between diverse groups of people?

We have to understand the process of the communication. The challenge in culturally diverse settings or relationships is that the message sent and the message received can often be inaccurate. In some cultures, looking at an authority figure in the eyes is disrespectful. In some cultures, not looking someone in the eyes means that you are not paying attention. The key then is to understand not only your own culture but how messages might be interpreted and vice versa. It’s understanding different people’s backgrounds, values, sub-cultures, and the communication messages that are around. PDJ

110

PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL

March/April 2012

Bringing unique talents together is what sets us apart.

At CVS Caremark, we are able to achieve market-leading business results every day because we understand and truly value the power of diversity.

Through genuine respect and by embracing everyone’s differences, abilities and complexities, we have created an all-inclusive work environment and a more innovative, creative and rewarding organization. Join us and add your unique voice, strength and character to our mission of improving lives daily.

At CVS Caremark, we are committed to building an environment of inclusion and acceptance that values diversity across all areas of our business.

Join our team and experience a fulfilling career at CVS Caremark. Visit us at jobs.cvscaremark.com CVS Caremark is an equal opportunity employer supporting a drug-free work environment.

National Grid is proud to embrace diversity in the workplace.

www.nationalgrid.com