Michele C. Meyer-Shipp
Michele C. Meyer-Shipp has been named vice president and chief diversity officer of Prudential Financial, succeeding Emilio Egea, who retired. In her new role, Meyer-Shipp is responsible for leading and directing all diversity-and-inclusion initiatives for the company, and for ensuring ongoing compliance with federal and state equal employment opportunity/affirmative action laws and requirements. Prudential is No. 9 in The 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity.

Meyer-Shipp joined Prudential in April 2010 as vice president and counsel in the Employment and Labor Law group. She has also been general counsel for the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, vice president and diversity manager in Merrill Lynch’s Global Wealth Management division, and director of the state of New Jersey’s Division of Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action. Prior to that, she was a practicing attorney.

Meyer-Shipp is an active member of the Association of Corporate Counsel, the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, Corporate Counsel Women of Color and the National Employment Law Council. She earned a bachelor’s degree at Rutgers School of Criminal Justice and her juris doctor at Seton Hall University School of Law.

R. Fenimore Fisher
R. Fenimore Fisher has been named a deputy commissioner and the chief diversity and EEO officer for the City of New York. He is responsible for the leadership of the Office of Citywide Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity, and will design and implement strategies to position the city as a world-class leader in diversity and inclusion. Prior to his appointment, Fisher was managing partner of the R. Fenimore Fisher Group, a global D&I and alternative dispute-resolution firm. Fisher previously served as vice president of diversity initiatives and analysis for Walmart and as executive director of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition’s Wall Street Project.

A member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, Fisher serves on the national leadership council for GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network) as well as the corporate advisory council for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Fisher holds a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University, a Juris Doctor from Ohio Northern University and a labor-mediation certification from Cornell University.

Jennifer “Jae” Pi’ilani Requiro
Jennifer “Jae” Pi’ilani Requiro has been named national manager of diversity and inclusion at Toyota Financial Services. Her responsibilities include diversity-and-inclusion education and executive scorecards, mentoring and Toyota Business Partnering Groups. She also develops strategies to increase market share, capture more multicultural customers and increase partnerships with diverse suppliers. Requiro has a bachelor’s degree from UCLA.

Barbara Frankel
Barbara Frankel, senior vice president and executive editor of DiversityInc, has been named to the newly established global advisory board for WEConnect International, a corporate-led nonprofit that facilitates sustainable economic growth by empowering and connecting women business owners globally. Others named to the 22-person board include Kathleen Matthews, executive vice president and chief global communications and public affairs officer, Marriott International; Julie Oyegun, chief diversity officer, the World Bank Group; and Catherine Rodgers, vice president, Global Opportunties and Business Development, IBM.

Margaret E. Burke
Margaret E. Burke has been admitted into PricewaterhouseCoopers’ partnership. In her ongoing role as U.S. Advisory human-capital leader, Burke oversees the strategic development, direction and implementation of the Advisory practice’s recruitment, development, talent management, rewards and retention programs. Burke holds a bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College. PricewaterhouseCoopers is No. 1 in the DiversityInc Top 50.

Tracy Nolan and Pushpendu Pal
CVS Caremark has appointed Tracy Nolan and Pushpendu Pal to new positions, Nolan to vice president of strategic product delivery and Pal to senior vice president of the information technology division within the company’s prescription benefit management (PBM) business. Nolan, who comes to CVS from WellPoint, is responsible for operationally expanding flagship product offerings and for newly developed products and programs. Pal’s promotion is a reflection of his work in leading the division in delivering stable and robust internal-application services and deploying information technology.

Terrez Thompson
The Coca-Cola Company has promoted Terrez Thompson to vice president of global supplier diversity. She will lead and promote the company’s efforts to maximize procurement opportunities with diverse businesses as suppliers, contractors and subcontractors. Thompson has held a variety of roles in more than 25 years at The Coca-Cola Company, including controller of The Coca-Cola Trading Company. The Coca-Cola Company is No. 46 in the 2012 DiversityInc Top 50.

Kevin Jennings
The Arcus Foundation, a leading global foundation advancing pressing social-justice and conservation issues, has named Kevin Jennings as executive director. Jennings was previously CEO of Be the Change Inc., where  he was instrumental in launching the Opportunity Nation campaign to promote economic opportunity and social mobility in America. Jennings has also served as assistant deputy secretary of education under President Obama and founded the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN). Jennings has a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and master’s degrees from Columbia University Teacher’s College and New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Jesus Soto Jr.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has appointed Jesus Soto Jr. to further solidify the leadership team charged with building the nation’s safest natural-gas delivery system. He will serve as senior vice president of gas transmission, operations, engineering and pipeline integrity. Soto is responsible for overseeing four major functions: public safety and integrity management; project engineering, design and management; gas transmission; and gas system operations.

Richelle Parham
Richelle Parham, chief marketing officer of eBay North America, has been elected to the board of directors of Scripps Networks Interactive. At eBay, Parham directs the company’s core marketing functions. She is also responsible for brand engagement, driving eBay’s seasonal marketing calendar and leading its customer-insights and marketing-analytics functions.

Richard Mark
Richard Mark has been promoted to chairman, president and CEO of Ameren Illinois. Mark’s responsibilities include the company’s natural-gas and electric delivery business, customer service, natural-gas and electric supply, community relations and government relations. Prior to joining Ameren in 2002, he spent five years as COO and six years as president and CEO at St. Mary’s Hospital in East St. Louis, Ill.

Daisy Auger-Dominguez
Daisy Auger-Dominguez joined the Disney/ABC Television Group as vice president of organization and workforce diversity. Auger-Dominguez focuses on helping the company attract, develop and retain diverse talent in support of business objectives, and is responsible for continuing to develop the company’s diversity-and-inclusion strategy, goals and plans. She previously served as a diversity executive at Time Warner and Moody’s Corporation. She has a bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University and a master’s degree from New York University.

Ramona G. Blake
Ramona G. Blake has been appointed director of diversity and inclusion at TIAA-CREF Financial Services. She is responsible for diversity-strategy design and implementation, special initiatives and training in the following areas: marketplace, supplier, workforce and workplace. Previously, Blake was manager of diversity and inclusion at PSEG. She has a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a Certified Diversity Professional certificate from Cornell’s ILR School.

Dermot J. O’Brien
Dermot J. O’Brien has been named chief human resources officer and corporate vice president at Automatic Data Processing. In his new role, O’Brien works with ADP’s senior leadership team to develop workforce plans and programs that align with ADP’s overall strategic objectives. His responsibilities include forecasting ADP’s global talent needs; implementing initiatives that effectively attract, develop, deploy and retain a diverse talent population; overseeing succession planning and management development; and improving ADP’s already strong levels of employee engagement. Prior to joining ADP, O’Brien was executive vice president of human resources at TIAA-CREF. A Dublin, Ireland, native, O’Brien has a bachelor’s degree from Pace University. ADP is No. 27 in the 2012 DiversityInc Top 50.

Dr. Antonio Flores
Dr. Antonio Flores, president of the Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities (HACU), invited DiversityInc CEO Luke Visconti to become a member of the organization’s 17-member Corporate & Philanthropic Council. The council’s goal is to provide guidance and assistance to Dr. Flores and the association’s development division and public-affairs office to ensure its mission, programs and events receive support and that its strategic plans are realized. Other council members include: Raymond Arroyo, Aetna; Alma Guajardo-Crossley, General Motors; Jim Fjelstul, Sodexo; Jerry Gattegno, Deloitte; and Angel Herrera, ARAMARK.

Anthony Salcido and Mónica Gil
The Hispanic Scholarship Fund inducted six new members into its Alumni Hall of Fame on Oct. 17 in New York City. The 2012 inductees are: Dr. Yolanda García Romero, professor of history, North Lake College; Mónica Gil, senior vice president, public affairs and government relations, Nielsen Company;  José P. Chan, MIT Sloan Fellow in Innovation and Global Leadership and adjunct professor, Parsons the New School for Design; Cyrus Amado Salazar, equal opportunity manager, U.S. Air Force; and Gilbert and Jacki Cisneros, president and vice president, The Gilbert & Jacki Cisneros Foundation. Additionally, Melanie L. Healey, group president, North America of HSF partner company Procter & Gamble, accepted an honorary recognition on behalf of P&G for contributing more than $4 million to HSF since 1986.

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It’s the question that has landed the “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” and its TV network, ABC, in the middle of a racial-discrimination lawsuit, which is reportedly the first lawsuit filed against a reality show.

The case: After 10 years and a collective 23 seasons, neither “The Bachelor” nor “The Bachelorette” has yet to feature a Black, Latino or Asian person. Out of a collective total of 610 contestants, only 16 were Black; none were selected for the lead, according to an evening newscast by The Insider on April 18.

It’s a misstep that the plaintiffs—Black football players Nathaniel Claybrooks and Christopher Johnson—say is intentional.

ABC, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company, one of DiversityInc’s 25 Noteworthy Companies, declined to comment. “ABC does not comment on pending litigation,” a company spokesperson said via email.

Warner Horizon Television gave the following statement: “This complaint is baseless and without merit. In fact, we have had various participants of color throughout the series’ history, and the producers have been consistently—and publicly—vocal about seeking diverse candidates for both programs. As always, we continue to seek out participants of color for both ‘The Bachelor’ and ‘The Bachelorette.’”

The Allegations

Both Claybrooks and Johnson, according to TMZ, say that they were treated differently than white contestants when they auditioned for “The Bachelor” at a casting call in Nashville this past August. Johnson says he was turned away and not allowed to audition at all, while Claybrooks says his audition time was cut notably short in comparison to other white contestants, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Both spoke about their experience in a press conference yesterday afternoon:

The two men filed Case 3:12-cv-00388 on April 18 in Nashville, Tenn., federal court. They are seeking a class-action lawsuit against ABC as well as the show’s Executive Producer Mike Fleiss and its production companies, including Warner Horizon Television, Next Entertainment and NZK Productions.

Claybrooks and Johnson are represented by three firms: Barrett Johnston, Mehri & Skalet and Perkins-Law. They claim it’s a violation of the 1866 Civil Rights Act. Mehri & Skalet, a class-action plaintiff law firm based in Washington, D.C., has a history in dealing with civil-rights cases. “Our firm is highly selective about which cases we bring. One factor is the impact a case can have on society outside of the company. Here,  this popular show reinforces stereotypes and creates a ripple effect of discrimination. With this case, our clients can have a small part on the journey for a more inclusive, more tolerant America,” the lawyers said.

LaNease Adams, a Black woman who was chosen as one of the female contestants during the first season of “The Bachelor” and was one of the final eight women vying for the bachelor’s heart, notes the lack of Blacks and Asians on the show. However, she paints a different view of the producers and says she never felt discriminated against. She describes her experience in an interview with The Insider below:

ABC had another issue last year, when the LGBT and Latino communities were angered over a show that only aired two episodes: ‘I’m Puerto Rican—I’d Be Great at Selling Drugs’ and ‘Not Married? She Must Be a Lesbian’

Read more racial-discrimination lawsuits from legal expert Bob Gregg.

From 1/16 Cherokee to the First Black Bachelor

The allegations of racism on the show aren’t new. The Huffington Post called out ABC for the shows’ all-white casts in January 2010. Additionally, during an interview in March 2010, Entertainment Weekly asked Fleiss, “Will we ever see a bachelor or a bachelorette who is not white?” His reply: “I think Ashley is 1/16th Cherokee Indian, but I cannot confirm. But that is my suspicion! We really tried, but sometimes we feel guilty of tokenism. Oh, we have to wedge African-American chicks in there! We always want to cast for ethnic diversity, it’s just that for whatever reason, they don’t come forward. I wish they would.”

So far there are only a handful of social-media users commenting on the news, the majority of which do not seem shocked by the allegations. On tumblr, one user refers to Fleiss’ explanation as “pathetic,” while tweets trending on #Bachelor include “I guess a spray tan and the occasional Asian does not diversity make …” and “I’d be shocked if they ever have a [B]lack man on The Bachelor … and it would be forced.” As of this morning, 13 comments and 50 “likes” were left in response to an article posted by The Root on its Facebook page, which calls attention to other TV networks that should be sued for a lack of diversity.

Additionally, a social-media campaign that has been lobbying for Lamar Hurd to become the first Black “Bachelor” (@1stblkbachelor) may finally have paid off. CBS Los Angeles reports that the show’s producers are considering the Black sportscaster from Portland as their next pick. (Watch his audition video below.) One news source, Weekly World News, says ABC made the announcement yesterday months ahead of schedule, presumably in response to the lawsuit.

Diversity in Reality TV and Entertainment

Ethnic diversity, however, does not seem to be a challenge for the rest of the reality TV segment, which an LA Times article reports to be typically more diverse than scripted sitcoms and shows. The article references Black and Asian participants on shows such as “The Amazing Race,” “Survivor” and “The Biggest Loser.”

PopWatch notes “Dancing with the Stars” for its diverse casting. The show is also broadcast by ABC. Seven of this season’s 12 dancing pairs have either Black or Latino representation: Super Bowl champion and Green Bay Packers receiver Donald Driver, Disney Channel’s Roshon Fagan, Grammy winner Gladys Knight, Latin soap opera and VH1 actor William Levy, “TV Extra” host Maria Menounos, “The View” co-host Sherri Shepard and “Family Matters” actor Jaleel White.

Last year, GLAAD applauded the show for featuring its first transgender person, Chaz Bono, and gay stylist Carson Kressley.

So what happened with “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette”?

Lesson Learned?

The entertainment media is facing quick backlash on these issues on social media these days. Remember the recent racial controversy surrounding box-office hit “The Hunger Games” and its abundance of Black actors?

It calls attention to changing demographics—and expectations—among the American audience. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the white population is decreasing and projects that whites will make up less than half of the total population by 2050.

DiversityInc research and analysis illustrates companies’ increasing emphasis on clarity of values in their messaging, branding and staffing.

Read these DiversityInc articles for more insight on how crucial diversity is to a business’s connection to the marketplace:

Ask the White Guy: Decision Making, Clarity of Values & What to Do When It Goes Horribly Wrong
Are you violating your values? If you are, you can’t hide from the repercussions.

Did Komen’s Lack of Board Diversity Cause Its Crisis?
The nonprofit organization’s board of directors is mostly Texan, homogeneous and wealthy. Here’s how the lack of diversity fueled its misstep over funding to Planned Parenthood.

Diversity Web Seminar: Resource Groups
Innovative marketplace solutions from resource groups at American Express and Procter & Gamble provide best practices in using cultural competence to increase sales.

Diversity Training Goes Way Beyond Compliance
Our employment expert reveals how REAL diversity training can help keep your company from being sued for discrimination.

Do White Men Really Need Diversity Outreach?
How companies are showing white men what’s in it for them.

Top 5 Ways to Use Your Resource Groups
Here’s how more than 20 companies use their groups to find and develop talent and connect to customers/clients for business results.

Cross-Cultural Mentoring: How IBM, E&Y & Kraft Increase Diversity in Management
These companies’ cutting-edge best practices can help create and manage a successful mentoring program.

The post Is ‘The Bachelor’ Racist? ABC Sued for Discrimination appeared first on DiversityInc.

Straight men in dresses using urinals. Comments such as “I’m Puerto Rican—I’d be great at selling drugs” and “No, she’s not married. She must be a lesbian.”

What was ABC thinking when it allowed its new comedy “Work It” to air Tuesday night? The show, whose premise is that two unemployed straight men dress as women to get jobs as pharmaceutical sales reps, had dismal ratings. It has been dubbed by gawker.com as the “worst television show in history.” It has been vociferously attacked by LGBT and Latino organizations, as well as every television critic we can find.

What lessons should ABC and other corporations have learned in cultural competence from their employee-resource groups, diversity councils and diverse senior leadership to avoid such missteps?

Ironically, ABC, owned by The Walt Disney Company, one of DiversityInc’s 25 Noteworthy Companies, has long been heralded for the diversity of characters on its shows in terms of race/ethnicity, orientation and disability. Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), noted this in a statement from GLAAD demanding this show be cancelled:

“As a network with a record of positive portrayals of LGBT people, ABC should know better than to air this offensive program that even has the potential to jeopardize the safety of transgender people,” he said. ABC has not released a statement on the criticisms of the show.

Lesson No. 1: Vet Your Content With Your ERGs

Multicultural missteps are nothing new, and many companies have faced the wrath of consumers and critics. The best way to avoid them is to use employee-resource groups as focus groups to vet content with people from these underrepresented groups. ABC’s LGBT, Latino and women’s employee-resource groups would have raised red flags right away about this content and could have helped ABC retool the show to make it less offensive—or pushed to scrap it altogether.

The men in this show are portrayed as bumbling, macho stereotypes, and the women are stupid and insipid. The Puerto Rican drug comment (one of the two men is Puerto Rican) has organizations from the National Institute for Latino Policy to the Latino Leadership Institute infuriated. The Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD took out a full-page ad in Daily Variety asking ABC to cancel the show, primarily because of the impact it will have on transgender women, who face enough difficulties being accepted in mainstream America.

An employee-resource group, especially one whose leaders are trusted to meet regularly with senior management, would have pointed out how offensive these stereotypes are and how dangerous they are to the corporate reputation.

Lesson No. 2: Make Sure Your Senior Management Reflects the Population

Latinos are now more than 16 percent of the U.S. population, and that increases each year. LGBT people are estimated at 10 percent, and when you include their allies, that percentage skyrockets. Why alienate two such important consumer bases?

Companies whose senior management is diverse in terms of race/ethnicity, gender, orientation and disability have a different type of sensibility at the top. There is someone to say, “Whoa! Let’s put on the brakes. Have you considered the ramifications to MY community?”

Our research and DiversityInc Top 50 data shows that formal, cross-cultural mentoring is the most demonstrable way to bring diversity to the upper ranks. Other methods of including diversity in formal succession planning include requiring diverse slates and cultural-competency training for candidates.

Lesson No. 3:  Diversity Councils and CEOs Set Clearly-Stated Values and Hold People Accountable

A senior executive diversity council, led by the CEO, will hold executives accountable, primarily through compensation, for diversity results. They also will hold executives accountable for diversity missteps and for the marketplace consequences of those. They state their values clearly and consistently and never waver from them.

As this Ask the White Guy column by Luke Visconti demonstrates, clarity of values is critical from the start. When something goes wrong, as it did in the Tennessee chamber of commerce supporting an anti-LGBT law, several companies involved communicated immediately and clearly that they objected to this proposal and were disassociating themselves from the chamber activities.

Having a culture of inclusion in the workplace is important. But if that real belief in inclusion isn’t clearly communicated and demonstrated by external actions, it will fail to resonate with your constituents—employees, customers, shareholders and suppliers.  

Here’s a roundup of what’s been said about this show:

The National Institute for Latino Policy released a statement Jan. 4 on the imagery of Puerto Ricans in “Work It.” The NYC Latino Politics and Latino Leadership Institute both are calling Latinos to action: Julio Pabon, the blog’s author, picketed ABC’s offices with other Latinos.

GLAAD and HRC Tell ABC That ‘Work It’ Will Harm Transgender People
GLAAD and HRC ran a full-page ad in Daily Variety in December protesting the show prior to its premiere for its representation of cross-dressing and its misrepresentation of transgender people.

ABC’s Work It Unnecessarily Injurious to Transgender Americans
HRC President Joe Solmonese and GLAAD Acting President Mike Thompson published a post expressing that ABC should not air the “comedy.”

“Work It” Drawing Criticism from LGBT Organizations
National Center for Lesbian Rights provides a summary of the “Work It” pre-launch controversy and links to more information about the cause.

ABC’s “Work It” should be Fired Immediately
National Women’s Law Center comments on the legal inaccuracies of “Work It” and its offensiveness to several groups, including transgender people, women and Latinos.

LGBT Groups Condemn ABC Show Work It; Say Work It Doesn’t Work!
Transgender Law Center protested “Work It” before its premiere, noting the show “validates outdated gender-norms and expectations.”

Click here to watch a video clip of the show.

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