Companies that most effectively market diversity-related awards make the connection between the awards and talent development or customer populations:

PricewaterhouseCoopers, No. 1 in the DiversityInc Top 50, has an extensive awards page accessible through the About Us tab on its homepage. The page is divided into three sections that highlight awards related to the firm’s talent: Top Employer, Diversity/Inclusion and Women. Some of the awards featured prominently include:

• Ranking No. 1 on the DiversityInc Top 50 and ranking on five of DiversityInc’s other lists: No. 1 on Companies for Recruitment & Retention, No. 1 on Companies for Executive Women, No. 5 on Companies for Global Diversity, No. 6 on Companies for LGBT Employees and No. 8 on Companies for Asian Americans.
• Receiving a 100 percent rating on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index from 2006–2013.
• Receiving the 2012 NABA Corporate Partner of the Year Award from the National Association of Black Accountants, a key industry-related partner.

Kaiser Permanente, No. 3 in the DiversityInc Top 50, promotes its diversity awards in the News Center section of its website. For example:

–Debby Scheinholz, Vice President of Consulting, DiversistyInc

The post Ask DiversityInc: What Are Best Practices for Leveraging Diversity Awards & Lists? appeared first on DiversityInc.

Diversity Supplier Event Drives Success
WEST CHESTER, OHIO—Adriene K. Bruce, vice president of consulting at DiversityInc, addressed the South Central Ohio Minority Supplier Development Council’s 2012 Cincinnati Business Golf Classic on Sept. 14. This Driving ‘Fore’ Business and Economic Growth event, held at the Wetherington Golf & Country Club, featured two workshops for minority- and women-owned business enterprise (MWBE) suppliers: Measuring Your Progress and Reporting Your Outcomes, and Improving Fiscal Operations for Business Success.

NYC Admin Breakfast Celebrates LGBT Pride
NEW YORK CITY—Barbara Frankel, senior vice president and executive editor of DiversityInc, spoke at the City of New York’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services’ LGBT Pride Month Breakfast on June 27. Frankel spoke about what being an inclusive organization entails and the increasing importance of LGBT rights to corporate America. She is a member of the board of directors of GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network. Approximately 250 people attended the breakfast.

The post Diversity Events: How IBM Re-Launched Its Resource Groups appeared first on DiversityInc.

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.

The post Prudential’s New CDO, Plus Toyota Promotes Diversity Leader [Slideshow] appeared first on DiversityInc.

The presenters—David Casey, Vice President of Workforce Strategies and Chief Diversity Officer, CVS Caremark; Susan Autera, Director, Business & Technical Leadership, and Shivani Kathuria, Business & Technical Leadership Partner, IBM; and Christine Talbot, Vice President, Human Resources, and Barry Myers, Director, National Leadership Development, Kaiser Permanente—discussed:

• How CVS Caremark Tracks Talent Development: the company’s nine-box talent matrix rates employees’ current performance and future potential. The goal is to have a diverse in-house slate for higher-level openings.
• Why IBM Promotes Learning From Leaders: Rather than a traditional mentoring program, female high-potentials interview women senior executives in an effort to understand and document their career journeys. The company then tries to replicate recurring themes to accelerate the careers of its future women leaders.
• How Kaiser Permanente Sets High Standards: To make sure that high-potentials have the right tools to take on leadership roles, Kaiser has four management-development programs, including a Diversity Leadership Program that pairs executives and mentees.

Takeaways include: How to on-board of new hires to improve retention, set requirements for diverse candidate slates, use your executive diversity council to set diversity goals, and get senior-level executives involved in cross-cultural mentoring.

Please log in to watch the presentation and download the slides.

Not a subscriber? Buy this web seminar now, or request subscriber information and pricing for DiversityIncBestPractices.com. 

The post Web Seminar: Ensuring Diversity in Succession Planning appeared first on DiversityInc.

Q: I’ve been giving our current diversity advisory council some thought, and it prompted a question that I’d like to get your perspective on. Have you seen companies utilize their resource-group leaders as diversity advisory-council members?

A: As resource groups have matured, they have literally earned a place at the table. That table, increasingly, is the executive diversity council. [Watch our diversity web seminar on resource groups for insights on the growing importance of these groups.]

We’ve heard from a number of companies that they are creating rotational spots on their executive diversity councils for one to three resource-group leaders. These spots usually last two years (although we’ve seen one- to four-year terms), and in some cases, the resource-group leaders are not voting members of the councils. When executive compensation is directly tied to company-wide diversity goals set by the council, the resource-group leaders usually are excluded from that. For more on resource-group leadership and selection, read DiversityInc’s exclusive resource-group research.

Their purpose on the council is twofold; they give the council insights into the middle layers of the organization and specific insights from their own affinity groups, which are incredibly valuable in determining business-related strategies to reach more employees, customers, investors and suppliers from these groups. The council experience is also a major talent-development initiative for the resource-group leaders and exposes them to interactions with the senior-most executive in the company. Kathryn Collins, former vice president of associate recruitment and inclusion & diversity, jcpenney, explains more about resource-group structures in the video below.

We started asking the question of what percentage of The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity has resource-group rotational positions on their executive diversity councils in the 2011 survey. The answer was 34 percent. We expect to see that percentage increase this year. The percentage of CEOs of DiversityInc Top 50 companies who meet regularly with resource-group leaders (defined as specific small-group meetings, not speaking engagements to large audiences sponsored by resource groups) is 88 percent, twice what it was five years ago.

So you see specifically where the trend is and why. You can get more information on this from our diversity web seminar on diversity councils, featuring IBM and jcpenney, and our recent roundtable on diversity councils, featuring KPMG, American Express and Aetna.

For more on the benefits of resource groups, read How Kraft Increased Promotions of Women in Sales by 39%. In the roundtable, Kraft’s Vice President of Diversity Jim Norman explains how resource groups not only helped the company increase its retention of Black, Latino, Asian and women employees (as shown in the video below) but also promote more women into its management ranks.

The post What Your Resource Groups Are NOT Telling You appeared first on DiversityInc.

In 1983, the company I was working for at the time of my accident, IBM, asked me to come back to work in a wheelchair. I was relocated to White Plains, N.Y., from 205 East 42nd Street in Manhattan, which was down the street from the United Nations building and across the street from the “Daily News.” (IBM is No. 8 in The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity.)

I married the love of my life, Maggie, in 1988. Since then, we have raised two children, both now living in Boston: our daughter, who is now an attorney, and our son, who is finishing up college at Northeastern University.

In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law. During the 20 years since the ADA was enacted, I have seen positive steps taken on many levels when it comes to changing attitudes regarding people with disabilities.

The ADA put the spotlight on a severely underrepresented group in our nation. Because of the ADA, people with disabilities are a group with a voice; we are now a legitimate constituency that has come of age. The disability community is a constituency that votes, that works, and that pays taxes. Human beings, who were once invisible, are now visible and can no longer be ignored.

The second prominent change I’ve seen in the last 20 years centers around the attitude of the American people and how our nation now perceives leaders. For example, the glass ceiling was symbolically and continually broken when women began to take on numerous leadership roles previously held by men.

You know these women as well as I do. In politics, regardless of political orientation, they include Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, holding powerful jobs previously held by men.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention another change in attitude we were all witness to: the historic election of our first Black president, Barack Obama. This attitude change in America bodes well for people with disabilities as we, as a community, aspire to similar leadership positions.

A New World

The third change I’d like to mention has to do with technology. For the first time in history, everything is connected—businesses, workflows and transactions.

There are 1.2 billion people, millions of businesses and perhaps a trillion devices connected to the World Wide Web today. In 2011, the Internet reached two billion people—nearly one-third of the world’s population.

Given the proliferation of technology, it shouldn’t be surprising that 70 percent of the computer chips produced today do not go into “computers.” They go into cars and planes, appliances, roadways, shipping containers, pacemakers, emergency rooms and every product with a radio-frequency identification tag … all “intelligent” and all connected.

With this technology revolution emerges a key point: Technology is the great equalizer for people with disabilities and will continue to play a major role in enabling people with disabilities to reach their full potential.

Between now and 2015, as the baby boomers retire, America will need between 10 and 15 million new workers. Add to that the demand for skills we see around the world and it becomes clear that businesses cannot afford to exclude any one constituency group from the talent pool.

This is especially true when it comes to people with disabilities, a large and under-utilized workforce that is employed at dramatically lower rates than the population of people with no disabilities, both in the United States and around the world. In August 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the unemployment rate of people with disabilities was 14.5 percent, higher than the rate for those with no disability, which was 9 percent.

Looked at another way, the employment-population ratio—the proportion of the population that is employed—was 19 percent for people with disabilities. Among those with no disability, the ratio was much higher: 64 percent.

The U.S. Census Bureau has previously reported that 51 million people, or 18 percent of the population, have some form of disability. Globally, the World Health Organization reports that between 750 million and 1 billion people have a disability. In addition, this constituency group controls $1 trillion in aggregate income and more than $220 billion in disposable income annually.

This data suggests that we should be able to leverage more of this under-utilized talent than we do today, if for no other reason than because it is good business—and people with disabilities are both customers and part of our talent base.

Global Challenges for People With Disabilities

The global environment argues against the exclusion of talent of any kind. Globalization, in my view, actually favors people with disabilities in the workforce, more than at any other time in history.

This is the new world of work, a world I believe is extending a hand to people with disabilities to not only participate but to lead. This is a time of great opportunity for people with disabilities to be a leader in business, government or other areas of employment. But more must be done to close critical gaps that will allow people with disabilities to become more fully integrated in society and the workplace.

To achieve this, we must strengthen partnerships with government and non-governmental organizations to help people with disabilities get to work as well as earn enough to wean themselves off our well-intentioned social programs. To accomplish this, three areas require attention: transportation, technology and inclusion.

First, transportation: According to a National Organization on Disability/Harris survey, people with disabilities are twice as likely to have inadequate transportation when compared with the mainstream population (31 percent versus 13 percent).

Lack of mobility is a major inhibitor if one aspires to a leadership role. The inability to travel, or the perception that one cannot travel easily, may even remove people with disabilities from consideration for a variety of jobs, making career advancement more difficult. Is this perception right? The answer is no. Does it exist? The answer is yes.

Government and business must continue to partner and look at transportation from the perspective of people with disabilities. A holistic approach must be taken, beginning with a person with a disability at home and mapping a route from home to work and back. The basic elements include: education and training, healthcare needs to get up and leave the house, appropriate transportation (public or private), and a workplace that is accessible, flexible and inclusive.

Second, technology: The Harris survey also reported that Americans with disabilities not only rely on assistive technology but a third reported they would lose their independence without technology.

Many assistive-technology accommodations cost as little as $500.00. The investment in technology to employ a professional with a disability may be less than the price a business pays for repeated costs of attrition, recruiting and hiring. Investments in technology can help make all employees more productive.

Finally, we can all do more when it comes to inclusion—that is, being comfortable with people who are different than we are.

Integral, Not Isolated

For some employers today, the inclination is to think that if an employee has a disability, the employment issue can be handled by just providing technology that enables an employee to work from home. In some cases that may be true or even necessary. But I think it’s critical for people with disabilities to be visible and in the workplace. To overcome basic misconceptions, a professional with a disability must be fully integrated into the workplace, not isolated.

I’m sure there are many organizations that will hire a person with a disability with the right skills for a job, but how many have the vision to consider that same person to run their company or organization? Take a look at people with disabilities who are professionals in your own organizations; they may just be the leaders you are looking for—right under your nose and ready to lead. I ask that you employ people with disabilities not just for a job but for a leadership career in your organization.

Although we have seen significant changes in the world, we still have a long way to go. As you reflect on this topic, consider these questions: What do you see when you look at a person with a disability? Do you see just a blind person, a person who is deaf, or a person who uses a wheelchair?

The next time you meet a person with a disability, I would like you to see a business colleague … possibly a person who could be your next manager or even the next CEO of your organization.

Until we change our perceptions and paradigms, we will never see what is possible. Until we see and act upon what is possible, we will never change the present.

– Jim Sinocchi, Director for Workforce Communications, IBM Corp.

The post What Is Possible for People With Disabilities? appeared first on DiversityInc.

Research, including studies from Catalyst, shows that women and people from other traditionally underrepresented groups do better than the general population—in terms of engagement, retention and promotions—when they have mentors. Studies also find that formal mentoring programs are one of the most critical ways of retaining women, Blacks and Latinos and helping them develop in leadership roles.

As discussed in our 90-minute diversity web seminar on mentoring with Sodexo (No. 2 in The 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity) and ADP (No. 27), 39 percent of managers at DiversityInc Top 50 companies are in mentoring programs, as opposed to just 19 percent in 2005, with 94 percent reporting a cross-cultural component.

Cross-cultural mentoring not only ensures that high-potential people get the right tools and support they need to advance their careers; it also provides key benefits to a company’s talent pipeline.

Build Your Talent Pipeline

DiversityInc convened a panel of chief diversity officers from AT&T (No. 4), Ernst & Young (No. 6), Merck & Co. (No. 16), Wells Fargo (No. 33) and Northrop Grumman (No. 42) with the highest scores in talent-development initiatives and results.

They discussed the benefits and best practices of mentoring programs and how best to form these cross-cultural pairings.

For example, Ernst & Young formalized “a Career Watch program that watches careers and helps people get to partners,” said Beth Brooke, global vice chair of public policy, sustainability and stakeholder engagement. “We also have something called EYU, which is Ernst & Young and You. There are three components. One is the traditional, the learning, but the other is making sure they’re experiencing very different things in an inclusive way. Then the third element is coaching, which is mentoring.”

Read more in Increasing Diversity in Talent Development.

Improve Diversity in Promotions

As more companies formalize their mentoring, the importance of cross-cultural pairings increases, as diversity leaders from Sodexo, Deloitte, IBM and WellPoint (Nos. 2, 8, 17 and 34, respectively) explained at one roundtable. These four companies are successful at mentoring their employees at all levels—and utilizing cutting-edge strategies to make sure their workforce develops equitably.

IBM’s Ron Glover, vice president of diversity and workforce policy, human resources, gave a detailed example of the company’s integral mentoring programs, the Business and Technical Leader Process: “Every year, people who are currently executives, and those who are identified as having potential for executive leadership, go through this process. They are assessed against a set of competencies, and one of them has to do with the ability to manage cross-culturally and globally. Leaders are asked to evaluate their own competencies as a part of that exercise, and then where they come up needing development, specific efforts and opportunities around both mentor and mentee occur.”

Read more in Mentoring Roundtable.

Increase Retention & Satisfaction

One way to ensure your employees are primed for success is to have mentors to teach them the nuances of corporate culture, which can be hard to navigate for both long-term employees and new hires.

To assist in this, Kraft Foods offers an on-boarding program for all of its new hires to teach them about the “unwritten rules” that often cause people—especially those from underrepresented groups—to leave. The program started nine years ago but has been strongly emphasized in the last two years, and a noticeable improvement in retention of new hires from these groups has occurred.

Jim Norman, vice president of talent acquisition, diversity and inclusion, and Wayne Canty (retired) of Kraft Foods (No. 7), presented the details of this program at our Innovation Fest!

Read more in Innovation Fest! Presentation by Kraft Foods: JumpStart, Developmental Training for New Employees.

The post Cross-Cultural Mentoring: How IBM, E&Y & Kraft Increase Diversity in Management appeared first on DiversityInc.

Photo credit: Northfoto/Shutterstock.com

Augusta National Golf Club announced former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and business executive Darla Moore as its first female members this week. But many media reports and social-media comments question the sincerity and timing of the club’s decision to end its 80-year-old men-only policy.

Some Twitter users said Augusta National’s “motives were questionable at best” and wondered why an LPGA “pro wasn’t first or even at all” offered membership. Some “suspect sponsor pressure had something to do with it.”

IBM’s Female CEO

Augusta National’s men-only policy came under increased scrutiny during the Master’s Tournament this April after Augusta National failed to extend membership to IBM’s CEO Virginia Rometty, the company’s first female CEO. Augusta National traditionally offers membership to CEOs of the tournament’s sponsors—this year, that included IBM, AT&T and Exxon—that contribute about $18 million annually. IBM is No. 17 and AT&T is No. 4 in The 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list.

All four of Rometty’s male predecessors received membership. Rex Tillerson of Exxon and Randall Stephenson of AT&T are also members.

Rometty, who does play golf, later attended the Master’s sporting a pink jacket, reports Forbes, creating further criticism of Augusta as well as its corporate sponsors’ decision to endorse its discriminatory practices.

Stephenson applauded Augusta’s addition of Rice and Moore. He said in a statement: “As a sponsor of The Masters, we applaud today’s historic announcement by Augusta National and warmly welcome Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore as members of Augusta National.”

The club’s membership policies have come under attack multiple times in the last couple of decades. Augusta’s first Black member was admitted in 1990 as a response to civil-rights protests at Alabama’s Shoal Creek Country Club.

Similarly, National Council of Women’s Organizations’ Martha Burk organized a protest in 2002 that pressured Augusta National to remove its gender barrier, as DiversityInc reported in “What in the @#!% Is Wrong With Golf?” But then-chairman William “Hootie” Johnson stood firm on the club’s policy, refusing to allow what he termed “social pressure” to be the catalyst for change.

Burk notes to news sources that her protest greatly influenced Augusta, along with continued attention from other women’s groups. “My first reaction was, we won — and we did,” Burk says. “We gave them a pretty big black eye in April … And I think they knew they could not sustain it.”

ESPN journalist Bob Harig writes that Augusta National Chairman Billy Payne was “waiting for the right time, the right place, the right way” to veer away from his predecessor’s decision.  He notes that Payne may have shown his more inclusive sentiments after the 1996 Olympics had to exclude golf because of  Augusta’s men-only policy. Payne said the event was his “biggest personal disappointment.”

Charlie Hanger, executive editor of Golf.com, disagrees. “Payne seemed genuinely flustered with the harsh questioning this year, and I wonder if behind closed doors that led him to push for the change. The issue was clearly not going away, so they really didn’t have much of a choice,” he writes.

Baby Steps to Gender Equality

Is Payne’s decision purely out of good will? Or is it a PR-savvy play? One article on BleacherReport suggests that Augusta’s motives remain gray and highlights that two women among the club’s speculated 300 male members isn’t enough to “all join hands and start singing.” Augusta’s new 0.6-percent representation is well below the total 20 women now serving as Fortune 500 CEOs (a total of 4.0 percent).

Rice is the first Black woman to serve as secretary of state, and Moore, vice president of Rainwater, was the first woman to be featured on a cover of Fortune magazine.

The golf industry has traditionally been a white and male sport. The formation of the LPGA in 1950 and star Black golf players Joe Louis in 1952 and Tiger Woods in 1997 helped the sport gain publicity in the public eye. In 2010, core golfers totaled 18.0 percent women, up 17.8 percent from 2005, according to the National Golf Foundation. Black core golfers total 3.9 percent, Latinos total 7.7 percent and Asians total 8.9 percent of core golfers, says research from the 2009 World Golf Foundation.

Diversity & Inclusion at Your Office

Currently, women account for 50.8 percent (157.2 million) of the total U.S. population and about 49.8 percent of the world population. Our Women’s History Month Facts & Figures show that women increasingly are obtaining educational degrees and assuming management roles.

DiversityInc Top 50 companies, in particular those in The 2012 DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Executive Women, have made progress in achieving parity in representation. That’s why they have more women in top management and CEO positions (8 percent) than the Fortune 500 and are able to connect to the marketplace better.

Here are their best practices for recruiting and promoting women:

Resource groups: Also known as business resource groups or networks, resource groups are particularly helpful for enhancing the talent development of women, providing a peer support system and gaining insight into the key concerns/needs of your female customers.

Mentoring: Our DiversityInc Top 50 data reveals that mentoring is a key way to improve retention, engagement and promotion rates for women. More on mentoring is available in this diversity web seminar.

Work/Life Benefits: Keeping women in line positions so they can reach senior management is one of the top challenges organizations face. Providing telecommuting, flexible work schedules and onsite childcare, among other work/life options, are not just company “perks” anymore but key strategies for approaching the global talent war. Additionally, a DiversityInc networking event on global female talent development revealed that leaders also need to educate managers about the need for flexibility. Watch the video below.

The post Augusta National Found Only 2 Qualified Women Out of 3.3 Billion on the Planet? appeared first on DiversityInc.

Corporate Case Study No. 1: IBM

At 26, Inhi Cho Suh was a rising star at IBM, the youngest person on her team and the manager as well. Fortunately for her—and for IBM—a mentor showed her how to respectfully supervise older people and how to flourish in a demanding corporate culture.

Today, at 34, Suh has 100 direct reports and another 100 people globally for whom she is responsible. She is vice president of information management product strategy in the IBM Software Group.

Last year, she met Tami Cannizzaro, who had been working in IBM’s finance department but was switching to marketing. She admired Cannizzaro’s high energy and positive attitude but felt Cannizzaro could benefit from some guidance on how to become a manager.

“I saw she needed a transition from being a strong individual performer to being a team leader,” Suh recalls.

What’s interesting about this mentoring relationship is that Cannizzaro is actually six years older than Suh and their backgrounds are quite different. Cannizzaro, who is white, knew Suh, who is Asian, because they had worked on a few projects together. Based in New York, Cannizzaro is now the director of IBM Marketing’s Smart Work Technology.

IBM has a strong culture of mentoring, especially for women.

“I asked Inhi if she would be my mentor. I was very impressed with her and how she handles herself in meetings—her demeanor and her business acumen,” Cannizzaro says.

Suh recalls Cannizzaro seeking her out when Cannizzaro was returning from maternity leave and wanted to know how to position herself to become a manager. She gave her an exercise asking others for feedback on how they perceive her and she started a word game with her on how she brands herself. Suh gave her mentee a list of 10 famous people and told her to name the first three adjectives that came to mind about those people.

“I wanted her to understand that we have impressions of people, even those we don’t know, and your name carries your reputation. It’s the same thing in business and you have to find your brand,” Suh says.

Since Suh works out of North Carolina and Cannizzaro is based in New York, they only meet a few times a year.

Sheila Forte, who manages the worldwide mentoring program for IBM, says this is common. The corporation has three types of mentoring: expert mentoring, in which a specific discipline or technological knowledge is transferred; socialization mentoring for new hires; and long-term career guidance and coaching, which is what this relationship is all about.

IBM employees report an 85 percent to 95 percent satisfaction with the mentoring program, and the company evaluates relationships midway through the program as well as when it’s completed.

Forte, who is Black, has mentored many people in her years at IBM, including several cross-cultural relationships. She recalls a Latina mentee, new to IBM and right out of college, who had very good technical skills but “did not have the personal characteristics and attributes to be successful. She was very abrasive.”

Forte sat down with her and said: “Do you realize how you are coming off to others and how damaging to your career this could be?” The young woman was very open to constructive criticism and worked with Forte to change her behavior. She later sent a note to Forte thanking her and saying: “Now I feel comfortable with IBM and know that I can succeed.”

Forte also recalls her first mentor at IBM, a white man, who “saw something in me I didn’t see in myself. He told me I needed to do a personal assessment and see what my strengths are—and act on those strengths—such as being a team player, having strong negotiation skills, being strategic and being open to other points of view.” She says he taught her that “there’s a delicate balance between confidence and arrogance.”

Corporate Case Study No. 2: Sodexo

Ronni Schorr joined Sodexo three years ago and experienced a culture shock. Schorr had more than 25 years’ experience as an entrepreneur and had founded a company called e-Touch International, which helped consumers order and pay for food with nutritional analysis via their desktop or kiosk. When her company was acquired, she stayed on with the acquired company for a year and then joined Sodexo as the vice president of brand management in corporate services.

“I was new to a company this size and I didn’t understand how to navigate the system. I needed to understand the rest of the organization—our value proposition,” she recalls.

Enter her mentor, James Taylor, president of the senior-services division. Taylor, who joined the company nine years ago, has held major operations roles. He started his career as a dishwasher and has had the discipline and drive to work his way up. He’s been recognized by Black organizations and national organizations for his leadership.

Sodexo’s IMPACT mentoring program, which is cross-cultural and cross-divisional, put Taylor and Schorr together. The selection process is very secretive, but Taylor, as a senior person, had a say in it and sought Schorr out after observing her. Sodexo has had 125 partnerships in IMPACT since it was started in 2004. The cross-cultural lens is key. Pairs make a one-year commitment and are assessed on their progress.

“As I live out my leadership role in Sodexo, I want to bring the best and brightest to the company,” he says. “I’ve always been excited about how we let people live their dream within Sodexo. We offer people a different lens to look through as they think about how they view work.”

They got together in March as part of the initial pairing and found they shared family values and a strong desire to help others. “What gets both of us excited is helping people, working with clients, customers and coworkers,” says Taylor.

Schorr recalls that early on Taylor had her write down everyone she knew in the organization and prioritize how well she knew them—who knew her name, who would greet her in the hallway. “It gave me a really good map of where the voids are in the organization and how I could get myself known,” she says.

She adds that “our values are the same. The cross-cultural perspective of getting to know each other as individuals reinforced that.”

Schorr recalls Taylor telling her to think about the president’s committee, which had all white men on it. He told her to “think about talking to them. How do you convince them from an operational and emotional standing that they need to buy into this?”

Taylor says he learned a lot from Schorr’s entrepreneurial style and adds that he intends to continue the relationship when it formally ends in March. As for Schorr, she’s signed up again for IMPACT—this time as a mentor.

Case Study No. 3: Target

Tia Whitlock had a stereotype in mind of what a typical buttoned-down white woman in finance would be like. To her surprise, Cathy Wright was nothing like what she had imagined.

“Cathy’s very authentic, real, direct and open,” says Whitlock, an HR manager for Target who is Black. “Immediately, there was a trust factor. She was willing to talk about whatever needed to be discussed.”

Whitlock was new to the company when they were paired together last year as part of a mentoring pilot program called Connections, which featured a cross-cultural component and was applicable to manager levels and above. The cross-functionality also was appealing to Whitlock, who had no experience with finance and was eager to learn more about different aspects of the company.

She needed help understanding how to present to people at the executive level. “Cathy is at a level [on which] I aspire to be. I needed to know if I keep my presentations at a high level or go into detail. I need to know if I experience things because of my gender or race,” Whitlock says.

She used Whitlock to assess her career development and run scenarios past her. “One time in a meeting, I got feedback that my communication style was very direct, that I say what’s on my mind. Black women get the stereotype—fair or not—that we’re aggressive. I wanted to make sure that wasn’t what was going on here,” Whitlock recalls.

Wright, who now mentors eight people at a time, said she had received similar feedback early in her career, when she was in industrial relations. “I gave her tactical suggestions—read your audience,” she says.

Their one-year formal mentoring relationship ended in August but they have kept in touch. Both are based at Target’s Minneapolis headquarters.

What did they each say was their major takeaway?

“I appreciate the authentic relationship that has evolved and my mentor’s availability to be that valuable sounding board, adding perspective and helping me to think outside the box,” says Whitlock.

“I have learned a great deal from the frank conversations and insights and appreciate her genuine respect for my perspective and experience,” adds Wright.

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Ron Glover, vice president, diversity and workforce policy, human resources, IBM (No. 17 in the 2012 DiversityInc Top 50), highlighted these issues during DiversityInc’s Talent Development/Mentoring networking lunch. Held during a DiversityInc event in Washington, D.C., the session offered the more than 50 participants—composed of chief diversity officers and senior executives—the opportunity to discuss best practices.

In this 1,743-word article, “Talent Development & Mentoring: How to Find & Develop Hidden Gems,” Glover shared insights into several key areas of talent development, including:

• Why diversity at the top starts with a well-planned, maintained talent pipeline
• How identifying talent early on is key to ensuring leadership is diverse and tailored for areas of expertise
• Why cross-cultural mentoring plays a vital role in preparing future leaders to move up
• How holding leaders accountable for mentoring results produces a sustainable pipeline

Glover provides real-life examples of the processes IBM has to develop talent and foster an environment of innovation, a meritocracy that starts even before people join the organization. IBM focuses on “identifying who the most talented people are with a commitment to diversity but with equal commitment to make sure that it’s not just diverse for diverse’s sake,” he said.

He also gave insight into how IBM effectively uses metrics, and he detailed its “Five-Minute Drill” for identifying and selecting talent.

Additionally, executives from CACI International, Deloitte (No. 8), and Kaiser Permanente (No. 3) weighed in.

Read “Talent Development & Mentoring: How to Find & Develop Hidden Gems” on DiversityIncBestPractices.com.

The post Talent Development & Mentoring: How to Find & Develop Hidden Gems appeared first on DiversityInc.