Do the appointments of Thompson and Brewer
mean that we are starting to see a greater embrace of diversity at the top?
Both are spectacular roles and both individuals are well-deserved in getting those roles, clearly. The great thing about these appointments is that they inspire others who have a desire for that type of role. Another positive is that the more it happens, the more people are comfortable and familiar seeing an African American that’s innovative in a major Fortune 500 corporation. In terms of overall diversity, I think that unfortunately we’re still at the onesie-twosie. One of the unintended outcomes is that people falsely relax around diversity. They say, “What are you talking about? You’ve got a guy who’s African American, and he’s running McDonald’s. You’ve got a black woman that’s running Sam’s. You have the president of the United States who is black. I mean what are you talking about? There is no need to do anything. It is over. It is solved.â€
In terms of the ELC’s call to action, how do you enlist corporations to embrace that mandate?
First of all, we start with our members. [Some] already are or have been CEOs or one or two levels below in Fortune 500 companies. Many of our members already serve on publicly traded company boards. Some are in the position to do the hiring. So No. 1: they need to hire some people, and No. 2: they need to definitely work on developing folks. No. 3: they need to win over their colleagues and their CEOs. Now how we go about that is providing the tool kit, the thought process, and the logic behind it.
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