President George W. Bush understands that race (and gender) matters. Though he is a 54-year-old white male, this born-and-bred Republican has cast aside some of his party's historic conservatism for a more "compassionate" approach: one that embraces the value of diversity. A New Millennium leader, Bush has assembled a Cabinet very different from the monochrome Republican teams of yesteryear. This one reflects a changing America -- two white women, one Asian woman and one Asian man, two African-American men, and one Hispanic man -- out of 14 members.
If only the Captains of E-Commerce grasped what George W. does. Our institutions -- whether our governments or our most important businesses -- flourish most when they build leadership teams that mirror their constituents. Not just because it's politically correct, but because it makes for stronger, more informed teams at the top. Time and again, the brightest and the best come to work for companies that demonstrate a respect for difference. They tend to stay as long as they see role models whose sensibilities correspond with theirs and who are willing to mentor them toward success.
UNASKED QUESTIONS. Moreover, people of color and women in positions of power see what white men often don't. It's not that they're smarter, it's simply that their experiences allow them to view the world through a different lens.
Until Jesse Jackson pressed Boeing CEO Phil Condit to include people of color as managers of Boeing's pension funds, for example, the company had not looked to minorities for fiscal advice -- even though many minority financial firms were qualified to take on the work. True, critics have questioned Jackson's motives and the fact that the two firms Boeing eventually selected have financially supported his organization. But Jackson's arguments still led Condit to think outside the box. "I had never stopped to ask how many minority-managed pension funds we had. The Reverend did [ask]," Condit told me. "So we looked at it, and we realized he was right. So we made some changes."
Though e-business is among the newest and most important industries transforming the economy, it's behind the curve when it comes to diverse management teams. Some prominent tech executives say it's about time e-biz makes some changes. What follows is a selection of comments on diversity from three e-business executives who spoke with BusinessWeek's Roger O. Crockett:
Kathy Bushkin, president, AOL Time Warner Foundation.
Bushkin is the only woman among the top rank of AOL Time Warner's corporate management, and Richard D. Parsons, co-chief COO, is the sole person of color. Still, the company has been at the forefront of the industry's push for diversity.
On why e-commerce companies haven't made diversity in the executive suite a top priority:
This industry grew so fast in the past 10 years that there was only one thing on our radar screens: rapid growth. Now [diversity] is firmly on the agenda for a lot of companies.... It now has our energies, time, and focus in a way it didn't have before -- when companies weren't thinking about much else other than just getting started.
On why diversity is a good for companies:
It is the right thing. Also our audiences are becoming more diverse -- viewers, readers, customers. Especially as we want to expand globally, we need to have content and products that will appeal to a wider array of audiences. Newspapers and magazines have proven that adding women to editorial posts does bring a different perspective to the table. The same is true for African Americans and Hispanics.
Diversity today is being viewed not only as important to your workforce, it's also making sure there's diversity and an accuracy of voices in your content, ensuring that your purchasing dollars are being spent on a diverse array of suppliers. For us, minority and women business development means helping our purchasing departments find minority suppliers and vendors for products and services they're buying.
On other ways to reach out to women and people of color to enrich an organization:
We do what we can with our dollars to help create new businesses and help them grow. We're looking at allocating some funds for investment in minority- and women-owned companies. We're co-sponsors of a venture fair, called i-DEAL Flow, to be held in Atlanta in November. The idea is that access to capital is one of the hardest things for small companies to achieve and even harder for a minority-owned company. And VCs are constantly saying, 'We never see minority-owned companies.' The fair will put about 30 of the most promising companies in front of a powerful group of VCs in hopes of marriage. It includes a boot camp to provide coaching and scrubbing of business plans.
On what needs to be done for e-commerce to become more diverse:
You need a commitment at the top, a passionate buy-in that this is the right way to run a company. We have that. Diversity is on our list of values the company stands for. You need your businesses to understand it's not only a good thing, but it is important to future growth. You need to think not only about a diverse workforce but a diverse market, customer base, and supplier base. All of that will affect the way the company is portrayed and achieves its goals. You need a plan...an agreement on putting together programs across the company.
Ralph Garvin Jr., CEO of Woosh Inc.
Woosh, an e-commerce software company in Sunnyvale, Calif., was founded in April, 1999. Garvin has eight managers on his team, including one white woman and three Latinas. Garvin is black.
On diversity in his management team:
We're lucky because people feel that [because of our diverse team] the likelihood that this is a hostile environment for diversity is extremely diminished. We actively recruit Christians, people of color, and gays.... We're actively open to different viewpoints and different people. Cultural diversity along with diversity in thinking is a factor for us.
On the small number of CEOs of color in technology:
There's no simple reason why. A lot of it has to do with how the industry grew. What conditions existed in America 40 years ago and have only now just started to wane. The California backlash against affirmative action.... When our society has one area of pain, the entire society hurts.
On why diversity is important:
I believe it's important as a company to actively seek to represent the community within the company's walls. We look at a "qualified body" differently. We're looking to enhance the culture of the company. The goal is not just to drive profits. That's important to survive. But it's good if you can give someone a job, if you can somehow mitigate angst and become a stabilizing force, a place of rest.
Corporations as engines of the economy have the ability to affect change within our society. They have to recognize that this is an obligation. It is because of the community that you exist. It's important to understand the customer. What they feel, what they want. Colored markets have been underdeveloped, and there is a growing recognition that there is an opportunity for prosperity here. The ability to capitalize on that segment requires comfort with that segment.
On why it appears that many leaders of e-corporations don't recruit people of color:
Among CEOs there needs to be a visceral recognition of the need to find people better than yourself and complementary to yourself -- therefore, different than yourself. That will drive you to create a diverse organization.
On how to find qualified executives of color:
If you're looking for a Christian, you go to a church. If you are looking for black engineers, you go to the society of black engineers at Stanford. If you are looking for powerful black leaders, you go to the 100 Black Men of America [a nonprofit organization of elite black professionals]. We have a strong relationship with Plugged In [a neighborhood tech center targeting minorities]. Leaders need to be involved in communities that they want to represent. One of our first employees was a Latina who is in charge of recruiting and human resources.
On promoting people of color:
When you get qualified candidates, you have to give them the opportunity. So you have to get them involved in the construction of product and get them involved in managing product margins. It's so easy to lose sight of the importance of a diverse workforce. Many firms simply get distracted, it's not because of ill intent.
On how diversity has helped Woosh:
Diversity allows us to create communities within our corporate community. That sense of community creates a dedication that I've not seen anywhere else. I believe that homogeneity is inherently unhealthy. If you have everyone that has the same point of view, it's unhealthy. If everyone looking up the tree has the same perspective, you might not see that termites are crawling on the other side. Cultural diversity allows you to see things that homogeneity would never provide. The respect and dedication here is greater than it would be if everyone could say, "You are like me."
Lucas J. Visconti, President of DiversityInc.com
DiversityInc.com is a site devoted to news and research on issues of diversity. Visconti, who is white, employs two black men on his management team. He started Diversity Inc. a couple of years ago at the age of 40 because he remembered the words of a black co-pilot in the Navy. The pilot complained about how few people of color in the Navy made it to the officer level. "Diversity is this country's biggest and largest competitive advantage," he now says.
On why CEOs should pay closer attention to ethnic markets:
PC shipments are down, and yet, who are the ones using Net at a faster rate than others? Latinos and blacks. The reason CEOs need to recruit minorities for top jobs, and with vigor, is because [current leaders] don't have the answers for the next 10 years.
African-American, Asian, and Latino households accounted for 14% of consumer spending last year. This is projected to increase to 18% this year. Using reasonable projections, we estimate this will continue to increase to 25% to 30% in five years. And guess what? Most companies have no branding with these people.
If you don't get on the bandwagon now, if you're looking backward, you're not catching the tide, and the tide will come up and hit you from behind. You're going to be dead in the water. You see banks and retailers addressing this, but tech companies are nowhere to be seen.
Copyright 2001 , by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
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