Leaders in Global Equality and Diversity since 1962
A World of Difference
ORC's Monthly Newsletter for Diversity and Inclusion Specalists Making a Difference in Their Organizations. Sign up for ORC Worldwide's Global EDI mailing list.
February 2010
Best Practice of the Month: Outreach to Military Veterans
US-based pharmaceutical company Merck & Co, Inc has made outreach to military veterans a priority in its diversity recruiting. The company has coordinated a number of initiatives aimed at helping veterans transition to the civilian workforce, many of them spearheaded by the Veterans Leadership Network. The mission of the Network, established only ten months ago but already making a big impact, is "to serve as a Company resource on all veteran related issues, aligned with the Company's strategy to attract, select and retain employees with military service, serve as mentors to newly hired Veterans, and help inform hiring managers to the benefits of selecting candidates with military service..."
Merck's commitment to hiring veterans is signalled on its careers website, where a link to "military recruiting" is visibly displayed. The Military Recruiting page focuses on helping veterans understand how they can translate their military experience to civilian careers. It includes a:
- Video featuring a former Navy pilot talking about his transition to a civilian career in Merck and the company culture
- Functional job search tool that allows veterans to find Merck jobs that are compatible with their military experience
- Link to transitioning tips on the HireVetsFirst website
Merck shared details of their respective approaches at the February 3-4 meeting of the Workforce Opportunity Network (WON). WON members can find the presentation materials on the new Networks portal. Members must log in to download the presentations.
US Regulatory Update
Although the Obama administration has been in office for a year, political appointees are being confirmed very slowly by the partisan Congress. Since acting Vice Chair Christine Griffin's term ended in December, the EEOC has been operating with only two commissioners, Acting Chair Stuart Ishimaru and Commissioner Connie Barker. The good news for the agencies is that EEOC, OFCCP and the Department of Justice are starting to work together so that they can pool their resources; and, Congress increased the funding for EEOC and OFCCP in both fiscal year 2009 and 2010 to replace the employees lost during the Bush administration.
All three agencies are focusing on issues for veterans and the disabled. Two-thirds of the Department of Justice's pending cases involve the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), and the agency is finalising its Article 3 regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). OFCCP is conducting a series of listening town halls around the country to determine how to revise the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam-Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act to increase the hiring of veterans and the disabled, including the possibility of adding goals and timetables. EEOC is finalising new regulations under the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 that will substantially expand the definition of who is disabled in the workplace. EEOC is also focussing on system discrimination, especially in compensation practices.
Blog: Why has Race Receded from the Corporate Discourse?
Michal Fineman
The complaint that issues of race are not receiving enough attention is not new. Some diversity practitioners have argued for many years that widening the definition of diversity to include differences such as decision making style, personality, etc., which may have been intended to engage straight white men in the diversity agenda, has ended up diluting focus on the "big" issues that matter most, especially race. Although all the organisations ORC works with have race on their diversity agenda, certainly we have heard less about it in recent years.
I was reminded of this phenomenon by Chris Matthews's reaction to President Obama's state of the union address last week. "I forgot he was Black tonight for an hour" the MSNBC commentator said, praising Obama for being a "post-racial" president. The problem with Matthews's comment isn't that "post-racialism" is a bad goal (or even that he is unlikely ever to have said that he forgot President Bush was white for an hour, although that's certainly part of what makes the remark offensive). The problem is that shooting for post-racialism before racism has been fully addressed is not only naïve but destructive. It allows people to push issues of race to the side in the name of a loftier goal.
We are seeing a similar trend in the UK, where there has been a growing focus recently on the significance of socioeconomic inequality. Class is being discussed in some quarters not just as a legitimate area of concern but as a sort of post-racial issue that should trump race in what appears to be a zero-sum competition for attention and resources (Watch for the March edition of A World of Difference for more on this issue).
The diminishing of attention on race might be due to other causes as well. It may be that in our supposedly enlightened age, we just aren't comfortable admitting that racial prejudice still exists and still dictates our actions. ORC noticed something along these lines in the results that came back from our recent study of how diversity is integrated in corporate talent management practices (available in the Knowledge Centre). When asked about barriers to advancement of racial/ethnic minorities, only 35% of respondents cited bias. But, 46 per cent said managers' unwillingness to take a risk on non-traditional candidates was a problem. What is that reluctance about if not bias by another name? The drive to globalise D&I programs may also be having an impact. Since racial/ethnic categories differ around the world. Most global organisations do not include race in their global diversity goals, leaving it up to the locations to decide whether any such issues exists and how, if at all, they will be addressed.
If racial minorities are getting the short end of the diversity stick, what should employers do about it? Educating managers in unconscious bias and microinequities is a good place to start, and we are encouraged to note a renewed interest in this area among US and UK employers. It's also important to remember that barriers for minorities may be different than those faced by other groups, say, women or LGBT employees. The barriers faced by different minority groups will also differ. Organisations should be studying these dynamics and designing their interventions accordingly. (For a start, see p. 4 of the Executive Summary of the 2009 Talent Management Processes for a Diverse Leadership Team study mentioned above.]
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the blogger only, and do not necessarily represent ORC Worldwide or other ORC staff. To offer your remarks on this commentary, go to our blog.
Preparing the Next Generation of Diversity Leaders
In a recent posting on Diversity Executive, Dr. Robert Rodriguez worried aloud about the future of the diversity and inclusion profession. Where, he asked, are future diversity executives going to come from, and what are current diversity leaders doing to stoke the pipeline?
Dr. Rodriguez raises a serious issue. To maintain progress and take diversity efforts to the next level, we must prepare the next generation of diversity champions to understand the increasing complexity of diversity and inclusion issues, to work with and through the many groups and individuals who have a stake in the initiative, to develop the most impactful strategies for their organisations, and to weave D&I in the way business gets done day-to-day.
With this in mind, ORC Worldwide has drawn from more than 45 years of experience in diversity, organisation development and change management to create a valuable learning experience for new diversity professionals, line management champions and diversity council members, employee network leaders, HR generalists and specialists working to integrate diversity into people management processes, and others involved in building and leveraging a diverse workforce.
The seminar, Foundations of Diversity Strategy and Practice, will be offered twice this spring: 15 April in Los Angeles and 15 June in London. In this interactive seminar, participants will learn to:
- Understand the local and global context for diversity and inclusion efforts,
- Create a workable diversity strategy that is tied directly to an organisation's business strategy and goals,
- Drive lasting change by incorporating diversity principles into people management practices, and
- Apply practical methods and tools for building and sustaining a diverse, inclusive organisation.
For the full seminar agenda, comments from former participants, pricing, and registration, please visit: http://www.orcworldwide.com/hr/edi/seminar.php
