CHICAGO, IL- Diversity MBA Magazine, a national leadership publication targeting managers, executives in leadership; professionals, students, and the business community; publishes its seventh annual list of “50 Out Front for Diversity Leadership: Best Places for Diverse Managers and Women to Work Ranking -Best in Class Companies for RECRUITMENT.

Diversity MBA Magazine additionally recognizes Best in Class companies that have demonstrated outstanding systems, impact and results in their benchmarking categories of recruitment, representation, board diversity, succession planning, workplace inclusion & retention, and accountability.  This release recognizes the Top Ten Companies that have leading practices in the category of RECRUITMENT.

Diversity MBA Magazine is pleased to name the “TOP TEN BEST IN CLASS COMPANIES FOR RECRUITMENT” (in alpha order) include:  American Airlines, Citi, Colgate-Palmolive, CSX, Fannie Mae, GE, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, NJ, Kraft Foods, Verizon Communications and the US Navy. 

While large corporations struggle with the inherent gaps that exist in recruiting systems today, Diversity MBAs Best in Class companies understands how critical it is to have strong metrics for measuring effectiveness when sourcing and developing the talent pipeline.  Pam McElvane, CEO & publisher, says,” Diversity MBA Benchmarking for the category of Recruitment is focused on recognizing the top ten companies that have extraordinary excellence.  We are now recognizing leading practices; companies that not only do what is expected but go beyond and develop uniquely excellent recruiting initiatives.”

Our top ten companies have intentional strategies to seek diverse and women candidates. For example, all of the Best in Class companies have strong internship programs that deliver results.

Some Interesting Findings:

• 97% of companies have formal intern programs with an average of 67% being hired.
• 33% of experienced hires for MBA professionals are sourced through the diverse professional associations.
• 90% of companies recruit both graduate & undergraduate degrees with 5% primarily MBAs.
• 81% of companies actively recruit persons with disabilities.
• 87% of companies actively recruit veterans.
• 68% of companies actively recruit LGBTs.

Every year Diversity MBA Benchmarking provides in depth research to learn success factors and gaps of how companies are sourcing and developing their talent pools and pipeline. In today’s war on talent it is a business imperative that companies become very focused and creative in developing and sourcing talent.

Diversity MBA Magazine will also be recognizing Top Regional Companies, and specialty list including; executive and talent development; employee resource groups; supplier diversity; veterans, disability, LGBT, and the most innovative programs and/or initiatives.

Published quarterly, Diversity MBA Magazine reaches more than 1.75 million subscribers worldwide print and online. For more information, please visit http://www.diversitymbamagazine.com/

Thanks for reading Diversity MBA Magazine Names 2013 10 Best in Class for Diverse Recruitment. Visit Diversity MBA Magazine for more reading to help you build your career or your business.

CHICAGO, IL- Diversity MBA Magazine, a national leadership publication targeting managers, executives in leadership; professionals, students, and the business community publishes its seventh annual list of “50 Out Front for Diversity Leadership: Best Places for Diverse & Women Managers To Work” in its spring issue, which will distributed in May 2013.

The ranking for the 2013 50 Out Front Companies list has expanded its research evaluations to include companies that implement intentional strategies based on accountability, succession planning, representation, workplace inclusion, recruitment and board diversity; that allows and encourage managers and women of diverse backgrounds to advance and develop into leadership roles.

Pam McElvane, ceo & publisher, says,” Diversity MBA Benchmarking has achieved establishing marketplace metrics for diversity strategy trends.  We are proud to be able to provide best practice organizations that have demonstrated commitment in this space.  Our lens has expanded beyond best practices to leading practices.  We expect organizations to have systems and processes in place that support best practices; measures to support metrics and results that drive impact.”

Diversity MBA Magazine is pleased to name Verizon Communications as the new Number One Company for the “Best Places for Diverse Managers & Women to Work”.  Verizon has been focused on improving their existing internal talent systems and initiatives.  Verizon has made significant changes in their environment moving up our list from ten to number one.  Thus, proving that this organization is committed and has the metrics and systems in place to be sustainable and move women and people of color into top leadership roles.

Diversity MBA Magazine is also pleased to congratulate the 49 companies that made our list for the Best Place for Women and Diverse Managers to Work.  We will also be celebrating our Best in Class companies for the categories of Recruitment, Representation, Retention, Workplace Inclusion, Succession, Board Diversity and Accountability. We are also recognizing our Top Regional Companies, Best in Class categories and specialty list including; executive and talent development; employee resource groups; supplier diversity; veterans, disability, lgbt, and the most innovative programs and/or initiatives.

Published quarterly, Diversity MBA Magazine reaches more than 1.75 million subscribers worldwide print and online. For more information, please visit http://www.diversitymbamagazine.com/

2013 List of Best Places for Diverse & Women Managers to Work

Thanks for reading DiversityMBA Magazine Names 2013 50 Out Front for Diversity Leadership. Visit Diversity MBA Magazine for more reading to help you build your career or your business.

How often is the status quo really what you want? Most of us find ourselves on a career path determined largely by the influential people in our lives (parents, friends, colleagues) and by a market space that we have become familiar with. If this process has resulted in a life experience that finds you jumping out of bed because you can’t wait to get to work, you’re in the minority.  A recent survey found that 60% of the 26,000 Americans they asked claimed that they would like to choose a new career. 

I’ve spent the last two years looking for and interviewing the other 40%, the people that are happy with where their careers have taken them. I isolated the happiest, most prosperous people in this group and looked for the common career paths and behaviors that help explain their success.

I actually struck out on identifying the best career paths; it turns out that there are happy and prosperous people everywhere. What I did find, however, was a common set of habits that were exhibited by the most satisfied individuals. They tended to be people who enjoy learning and who had developed a high level of expertise within an area that they were passionate about. And whether they work in small or large organizations, they utilize an entrepreneur’s approach to their work. In other words, they aren’t satisfied by the status quo, bring a high level of energy to their work, and attract highly competent people to help them explore new ideas for better serving the markets they are passionate about.

What follows is a description of the 10 habits that I believe has enabled these individuals to experience highly satisfying, prosperous lives.

1. Build Your Own Prosperity Cycle.  Pursuing prosperity means breaking trail rather than following the crowd, and this approach requires self-confidence and an abundance of personal motivation. The prosperity cycle helps you build both by harnessing the energy generated by successive cycles of focused effort and exhilarating personal achievement.
2. Exploit Your Natural Curiosity. Successful entrepreneurs as well as intrapreneurs exploit opportunities that most others don’t see, using solutions based on insight that others don’t have. Where does the superior insight come from? From delving into the minutiae that determine the effectiveness of a solution. Indulging your natural curiosity makes it possible to effortlessly get deep enough into a subject of interest to build valuable insight.
3. Know Thyself. Prosperity is an existence that enables you to apply your passions, personal strengths, and values to work that is personally satisfying and fun while providing the financial resources to experience your envisioned life. Taking the time to understand your unique strengths, values, and passions is key to finding prosperity.  Doing work that you love and are pre-wired to excel at usually leads to financial success as well.
4. Build Creative Tension. Creative tension is an extremely productive force created within anyone who has undertaken an honest assessment of their own current reality and compared it to a personal vision of the life of their dreams. It works in the background of our daily activities to motivate actions that help move us toward our personal vision.
5. Learn From The Best People And Organizations. Malcolm Gladwell nailed it when he said it takes 10,000 hours to develop a differentiating level of skill in anything. But it only works if you’re learning the right skills from the right instructors. Confirm your life’s passion and accelerate your development of world-class skills by going to work for an organization that will teach you the essence of what it has invested hundreds of thousands of hours to understand.
6. Earn An “I Can Do Anything Attitude.” Being a pioneer is scary. Doing something that may or may not be successful is scary. But that’s where you are going if you’re pursuing prosperity. Gain the confidence that you need by looking behind the wizard’s curtain and learning the tricks that allow him to appear gifted. Then find the coach that will help you do the same.
7. Recognize And Quickly Analyze Opportunities. Successful entrepreneurs have learned to see and analyze the opportunities that stream by all of us every day. And they do it in real time. I call this being an entrepreneurial actuary. The trick to doing it is to embrace your inner rebel by throwing conventional thinking out the window so that opportunities can be seen, and then learning to quickly estimate market sizes and the rough costs of products and services that address the need.
8. Genuinely Care About Other People. Pursuing prosperity is a team sport, because not much worth achieving can be accomplished by yourself. Care about others because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it builds a very rare commodity — trust. Teams built on a foundation of trust have much higher levels of productivity and are more fun to work in. In the book, I give details on a concept I call carefrontation and how it leads to personal growth for everyone involved.
9. Partner Wisely and Broadly. Your choice regarding a life partner or business partner can put you on the fast track to achieving your personal vision or make it a virtual impossibility. The right partner is an enabler who helps you to hone your vision, offset your weaknesses, and give you the confidence that you might just get this damn thing done.  The wrong partner’s attitude and negative forays into the irrelevant will suck the energy from the room, and your mojo with it.
10. Find A Mentor, Or Three. An experienced mentor can take the pie-in-the-sky vision that you are hesitant to even say out loud and, through experience and personal example, lead you to the point where you can see yourself making it happen. In addition, build a database of guides who don’t need to know you as well as a mentor, but can effortlessly provide advice within specific areas of expertise.

Can a motivated individual develop these habits? Absolutely. Every one of the people I talked to managed to do it, and they had to figure it out on their own. In all of them, it started with a decision to make a change. That change led to the next, and the next, and the next. In fact, I think a lot of their satisfaction comes from the fact that their quest is never over; it’s just the end of one learning cycle and the beginning of another. The happy accident in all of this is that many of their prosperity cycles come with financial rewards from employers and consumers eager to make use of their better ideas. What’s your next quest?

Thanks for reading 10 Habits for A Successful & Satisfying Career. Visit Diversity MBA Magazine for more reading to help you build your career or your business.

Global business today continues to operate in a state of flux. As a major player, Japan — which was overtaken by China as the world’s second-largest economy (after the United States) in 2011 – is no exception. Its business culture, like those in the global community as a whole, is simultaneously evolving and holding firm to centuries-old practices, including consensus building over top-down decision-making, patience over impulse, and long term relationship-building over ad hoc deal-making.

Even against a backdrop of mild recession and political recalibrations, opportunities in Japan still exist for Western companies. Chief among the internal realignments was Shinzo Abe’s landslide re-election as prime minister in December, after serving less than a year as Japan’s leader in 2006 and 2007, and three years after his Liberal Democratic Party (Japan’s conservative party) was voted out of office in 2009.

Taking advantage of opportunities in Japan and with Japanese businesses abroad requires deftness, patience, and cultural sensitivity – the same elements typically involved in succeeding in any market not native to one’s own business.

Japan’s Contracting Economy

In a nutshell, it’s doubtful Japan will ever return to second-largest economy in world status. Most predictions foretell China reaching the top spot within a generation or so. Moreover, India, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and other areas now compete with Japan as their economies grow and consumer classes expand. Many of Japan’s aging corporate leaders seem stunned by a world in which “Japan Inc.” isn’t in ascendancy, which often translates into decision-making paralysis. This, in turn, causes formerly-venerated Japanese business behemoths such as Sony, Panasonic, and Sanyo being caught flat-footed by their foreign competitors in terms of innovation, market savvy, and global vision.

With one of the world’s most rapidly aging populations, Japan has witnessed the steady dismantling of the three- and even four-generation family living under one roof. Over the past generation, a more modernized, mobile society brought with it a declining birth rate and growing inability of younger family members to accommodate their elders’ daily care and medical needs.

This contrasts sharply with India’s and Southeast Asia’s younger population.

Further, continuing general tensions and long-standing territorial disputes between Japan and China, Taiwan, and South Korea have created disruptions in trade and manufacturing relations. Last September, protests, some violent, occurred at Japanese plants and offices in China over Japan’s refusal to “return” the uninhabited Senkaku Islands to China after more than 115 years of Japanese control. It caused companies such as Toyota and Honda to suspend production, and in the aftermath compelled Japanese businesses in China to rethink how or if they can continue under such volatile conditions. Understanding the nonsustainability of the situation, Abe, even before being sworn in as prime minister, announced that he would send envoys to China and South Korea to reduce tensions and mend fences.

Finally, there was the March 2011 tsunami, which devastated much of Japan’s northeast coastline, took over 18,000 lives, and precipitated the meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor. The socioeconomic disruptions caused had not been seen in Japan since the last months of the World War II.  Between the high death toll, scale of destruction (imagine all buildings and roads a half-mile to one or more miles inland from San Diego up the California Coast through Santa Monica being destroyed or heavily damaged), and poor government response, Japan faced challenges unknown by many industrialized nations. And as an added factor, virtually unprecedented flooding in Thailand also hit Japanese facilities hard. In October 2011, Reuters reported that Setsuo Iuchi, president of the Thailand arm of the Japan External Trade Organization, confirmed that production was halted or disrupted in over 300 Japanese plants there.

Positive Factors Still Abound

But in the midst of Japan’s economic turmoil, an argument can be made that the American company that ignores it as a market or partner sells both Japan and its own potential returns short. The facts are compelling. For a decade, the yen has strengthened against the U.S. dollar; American-made products are relatively cheap to buy in Japan. Abe’s efforts to weaken the yen will bring only marginal relief to Japanese exporters. An exchange rate favorable to U.S. manufacturers seeking Japanese markets will remain in place for the foreseeable future. If, on the other hand, the yen does weaken significantly, notes Ken Hokugo, an independent business consultant with Tokyo-based United Partners and former Sumitomo Mitsui Banking executive, “Foreign businesses will have more opportunity to seek and buy Japan-based SMEs with craftsmanship, innovation, and technologies which cannot be easily mimicked. There are tons of such companies, but they are neglected and on the verge of extinction. If Japan can’t help itself, foreign capital can acquire and utilize ‘Made in Japan’ quality.

Second, Japan remains the United States’ fourth largest trading partner, behind Canada, China, and Mexico. From January through October 2012, almost $58.4 billion worth of goods were exported from the U.S. to Japan, largely American-made medical devices, scientific supplies, pharmaceuticals, sports/fitness equipment, and machinery.

Notwithstanding its recession, Japan’s unemployment rate is 3.8%, a number that would be considered close to full employment in the U.S. The number has largely held steady for the past two years.

Buying and selling also continues. In 2011, Japanese companies spent a record $88 billion on mergers and acquisitions and, if Japan telecom giant Softbank’s $20.1 billion purchase of 70% of Sprint (announced last October) goes through, the deal will put Japan on course for another record-breaking year. On the other side of the ledger, cash-poor Panasonic, Sharp, and Sony will sell off approximately $3 billion in assets, including office buildings and stadiums, which presents investment opportunities for global investors.

Internally, Abe has pledged to increase public works and construction spending to the tune of $116 billion, which has been very well-received. On the Monday following his election, Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s (TEPCO’s) stock rose almost 33%. Ostensibly, the infrastructure repair and development program will focus on Northeast Japan, where the tsunami destroyed roads, rail lines, and ports. Whether this will actually translate into the 600,000 new jobs the LDP hopes it will create remains to be seen. Abe also plans to reduce corporate taxes and push the Bank of Japan to loosen its monetary policies.

A Nation Poised For Change

Where do businesses that don’t entertain billion-dollar transactions in Japan begin?  Relationship-building and market research are probably the best starting points. Over the years many U.S. companies have taken take two extreme paths regarding Japan: fearing the commitment to the point of passing up opportunities, or jumping into it with naive zeal.

Mitsuhiro Kawai, a strategic marketing consultant at MKJ Inc. in Tokyo, cites two common mistakes made by foreign companies: The refusal to adopt a “when in Rome” attitude when seeking to bring a product to market in Japan, and embracing unrealistic expectations. In one case, Kawai recalls a major Philippines-based software firm that refused to hire one of its countrymen who had lived in Japan and spoke and read passable Japanese. Instead, it insisted on documents being translated into English by its prospective Japanese partners, rather than using its own translator. The firm’s attitude ultimately doomed its chances of success, despite interest in its product line on the Japan side.

In another situation, Kawai tells of a European vodka maker that insisted on initial orders of 10,000 units or more. Instead of building up to that level and potentially growing beyond original goals, as well as developing long-term relationships with Japanese distributors, the company attempted to impose its best-case scenario on the market. The venture failed.

Patience and a willingness to change one’s product to fit the Japanese market are necessary to maximizing the likelihood of success. For several decades, Columbus, Georgia-based Aflac, the insurance company with the well-known duck mascot, has enjoyed stunning growth and success in Japan. As of December 2011–the most recent available figures–it provided insurance to almost one out of every four Japanese households, with 32,749,000 policies and riders in place. Kenneth S. Janke Jr., Aflac executive vice president and deputy chief financial officer, says, “American companies conducting business in Japan should adapt to the local market. While our products have some nuances, we never try to reinvent the wheel. We took products that were successful in the U.S. and adapted them in ways that best suited the needs of the Japanese consumer. To this day, our policies in Japan address the same types of risk as our U.S. products, but in a culturally sensitive way. In terms of distribution, we learned that you have to recognize the business culture and fundamentally fit your model into the Japanese way of doing business, rather than try to take a one-size-fits-all approach.”

Understanding the “Japanese way” takes some time. Numerous consulting companies offer seminars on doing business there, and they’re not without merit. While there’s no substitute for actual experience, there’s definite value in learning various pro forma customs and protocol, including removing one’s shoes when others do; understanding that the typical “Western” voice carries loudly; paying attention and deference to who’s really in charge of a meeting; avoiding idioms, even among English speakers, who may not know what “no-brainer,” “loose cannon,” or “let’s not lose our heads” means; giving and accepting gifts with two hands; bringing along plenty of businesses cards (meishi) with English and Japanese on either side; respecting the consensus-building nature of Japanese decision-making; resisting the temptation to fill in gaps of silence that often occur during meetings; and so on. In short, It cannot be emphasized enough that the company considering branching into Japan must commit to a learning curve longer than that a native New Yorker would need to adopt in order to bring off a deal in, say, Portland, Oregon or Savannah, Georgia.

In the final analysis, Japanese businesses continue to refine, re-set, and re-design its place in the world as inside and outside influences change. New construction projects, a freer flow of capitol, and a growing hunger in Japan to not be relegated to the world’s economic sidelines should create opportunities for U.S. companies. For American businesses that bring both a long-term vision and a willingness to learn by doing, and who can apply common sense and imagination, embrace diligence, and — as Japan must increasingly do — welcome adaptability, Japan’s challenges can be offset by significant rewards.

Thanks for reading Demographic & Cultural Realities Reshaping Japanese Business. Visit Diversity MBA Magazine for more reading to help you build your career or your business.

Poonam Gupta-Krishnan is a woman with purpose, vision and determination.  With two master’s degrees, she founded and oversees a successful tech business, sits on a number of boards, and has been lauded with numerous awards and honors.  She also has a loving husband and two children.

Yet, she says she is not fulfilled, because her life mission is to give back and help others.

Fostering Innovation to Help Communities

To that end, Gupta-Krishnan meets each month with corporate executives and government leaders to discuss forming productive partnerships with an emphasis on technology. Her goal is to bring technology experts and the government together to define best practices and devise innovations and solutions to help government function better. She says that will ensure optimal utilization of resources, create jobs, provide great services for residents, and help to build a sustainable economy.

“Those from the public sector can share their needs, frustrations, problems and go back to their jobs,” says Gupta-Krishnan. “From the corporate and entrepreneurial side, the execs can bring possible solutions from which the public sector can choose, study and make decisions. This all involves sharing ideas, sharing resources, sharing talent and money.  When we share, costs go down. That’s what I am trying to do.  Reaching out to more corporations is my goal.  I’ve gotten great responses from corporations and government-side professionals as well.”

To advance her mission, Gupta-Krishnan hosts an annual Technology Innovation Summit. The last one, in October 2012, focused on the theme Sustaining Main Street with Innovation. Featured participants included Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Sam Pitroda, advisor to the Prime Minister of India on Public Information and Infrastructure and Innovations. Gupta-Krishnan says she’s had productive follow-up meetings since the summit that may lead to new partnerships.

Gupta-Krishnan has done all of this while still running her primary business. In 2000, she founded Iyka Enterprises Inc., a global company that provides data management services to government, health care, telecom and financial institutions. Iyka was listed among the top 10 fastest growing Asian businesses by the Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce, designated as a top employer to work for by the Business Ledger, and rated “the fastest growing minority company” by the Chicago Minority Supplier Diversity Council.

She points out that her community efforts are separate from Iyka’s mission. “This is not what I do with my company,” she said. I wanted to go beyond my business. I want to give back. Helping is where my heart is.”

Determined to Succeed From an Early Age

Her determination was evident when she was a girl growing up in a humble village in India. She was determined even then to stretch the limits of her expectations and chart her own path. By the time she was 13, she was tutoring children in her village and performing other tasks so she could earn money to buy books. “Books opened my eyes to the world,” she says. “From books I learned that the United States was a great place with opportunities for women as well, and I wanted to go there.”

After high school, she earned two bachelor’s degrees and a masters in science at Kanpur University, becoming the first woman in her family and village to study beyond high school. Still she was determined to study in the United States. Her father, a college professor who was an official with the Reserve Bank of India, initially expressed support for her goals– until he realized she was serious.  Others in their village criticized him for letting his daughter travel so far away rather than making her marry, as was traditional in India.

“People in the village thought my parents were crazy to let me go,” she says. “My mom was quiet, but my dad threw tantrums. When boys in the village went to study in the U.S., their families threw big parties for them.  I didn’t know of any other girls who had gone away to study.”

Despite the discord, the young woman was not deterred. She worked, saved money and found someone to drive her to New Delhi to get a visa and passport, but her father would not pay for her plane ticket to the U.S. Still, she managed to get to Bloomington, Ill., where she had been accepted at Illinois State University. She arrived with less than $20 and felt out of place with her two long braids and speaking British English.

After earning a master’s degree at Illinois State, she worked for multinational companies Cabot Corporation and INX International, but left when she had her first child to start her own company.

Over the years, Gupta-Krishnan has served on the boards of numerous non-profits and helped disadvantaged people in India as well as the U.S. She says having a major impact on the lives of others has given her self-confidence. Her advice to others in the business world: “Go beyond your job and personal aspirations. When you see someone doing something global to improve the world or lives of others, learn about it and contribute. Leave a legacy that goes beyond just profits.

“Making money has never been my primary objective,” she added, “but making a difference in people’s lives has always been at the core of my being.”

Thanks for reading A Global Woman Entrepreneur with a Social Purpose. Visit Diversity MBA Magazine for more reading to help you build your career or your business.

Tuskegee University celebrated the life and work of its founder, Booker T. Washington, during a graveside ceremony that marked its 131st anniversary. For the second year, university and community members gathered and a wreath was laid at Washington’s gravesite on campus in Tuskegee, Ala., officials said in a news release.

Robin Washington-Banks, the great granddaughter of Tuskegee’s founder, attended the event and said it helped to raise awareness of the university’s July 4, 1881 opening. The ceremony also helped to increase support for a statewide holiday honoring Washington and the school’s founding, officials said. The event was sponsored by Sodexo and Friends of Booker T. Washington Day in Alabama.

Robin Washington-Banks, the great granddaughter of Tuskegee’s founder

“Nobody here needs a reminder of what Booker has done for this community, what he has done for the state, the country and for the world,” Washington-Banks said to the crowd, according to a news release.

Washington-Banks began the program by reading a passage from Up from Slavery, where Washington expresses doubt about establishing the university: “The work that must be done to lift these people up seemed beyond accomplishing. I was only one person. … I wondered if I could accomplish anything and if it was worth it for me to try. ”

Tamara Lee, Tuskegee University interim chief of staff, seized the moment to reflect on the history of the university’s beginnings and the importance of continuing Washington’s work.

“Many years ago, we started in a one-room shanty at Butler Chapel, it is truly amazing that we are standing here on a 5,000-acre with over 100 buildings,” Lee said in the release. “So, we stand now on the shoulders of all those who have come before us with the leadership of [President ] Dr. Gilbert L. Rochon. His vision continues the vision of Booker T. Washington.”

Tuskegee rose to national prominence under Washington, who headed the institution from 1881 until his death at age 59 in 1915, according to the school’s web site. During his tenure, institutional independence was gained in 1892, again through legislation, when Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute was granted authority to act independent of the state of Alabama. He is buried on the campus of near the University Chapel.

Thanks for reading Booker T. Washington Celebrated as Founder of Tuskegee University. Visit Diversity MBA Magazine for more reading to help you build your career or your business.

The bravery of Rosa Parks is legendary. The Alabama seamstress and NAACP activist   refused to move to the back of the bus in 1955. Her arrest sparked the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott, a defining moment of the modern day civil rights movement. By the time the year-long boycott ended, Parks had become an American icon and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., soon emerged as the leader of the national movement for racial equality.

Women Leaders Made Amazing Contributions

However, most people don’t know that an African American woman named Ella Baker helped lay the groundwork for the boycott years earlier when she worked with Rosa Parks and others to develop the NAACP in Alabama. Even fewer people are aware that the person who originally proposed the Montgomery Bus Boycott and stirred community support was another black woman named Jo Ann Gibson Robinson, a local college professor and community activist.

In fact, today when most people think about the architects, organizers and strategists of the civil rights movement—from its infancy through its zenith—the names that generally come to mind first are those of the charismatic and visionary African American male leaders who were the major public voices of the era: Dr. King, the Rev. Andrew Young, Julian Bond, the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., John Lewis, Roy Wilkins, James Foreman and the list goes on.

To be sure, King was a prominent leader and all these men were righteous warriors who put their lives on the line in the struggle for social change and inspired thousands to support the civil rights movement. But they did not act alone. Scores of African American women led from behind the scenes and on the frontlines throughout the civil rights era.

Some of these women activists of the 20^th century could even be called prototypical transformational leaders whose lives continue to provide lessons for us in the 21^st century. They were courageous change agents.

Ella Baker: SCLC & Grassroots Organizer

It is no coincidence that when a group of ministers led by Dr. King established the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957, they hired Ella Baker, the veteran NAACP activist, to single-handedly establish the infrastructure of the fledgling organization and oversee its day-to-day operation. She then successfully launched the organization’s first initiative, the SCLC’s Crusade for Citizenship. But Baker believed that the grassroots masses should determine the direction of the civil rights movement instead of a handful of charismatic ministers.  And so within SCLC, she worked to empower other women, men and children not only to protest, demonstrate, and vote, but also to become leaders themselves.

Baker rallied students from throughout the South and North in the summer of 1960 and spurred them to create the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

Ruby Doris Smith: Leading Student Activism

Young people like Ruby Doris Smith, a Spelman College student, embraced Ella Baker’s collective leadership approach to social change and became a transformational leader herself. Smith started as executive secretary of the Atlanta Student Movement in 1960. The next year, she became involved in SNCC and quickly became the first full-time southern campus coordinator for that organization. Known for her fearlessness and resolve, Ruby Doris Smith joined the Freedom Riders to push for the desegregation of interstate buses throughout the South.  She was the one who established SNCC’s “jail, no bail policy.” In 1963 Smith was appointed SNCC’s administrative secretary and a full-time member of the central office staff. Three years later, she succeeded James Foreman as national executive secretary of SNCC, planning and overseeing the grassroots initiatives in the South and North. She was the only woman to ever serve in that capacity. The infrastructure and systems that Ruby Doris Smith established during her tenure as a leader of SNCC helped ensure the success of mass voter registration drives and demonstrations against segregation.

Fannie Lou Hamer: Leading the Fight for Recognition

Fannie Lou Hamer, another transformational leader of the movement, grew up picking cotton on a Mississippi plantation and continued to work there as an adult until she decided she was “sick and tired of being sick and tired” and became an activist. She helped SNCC organize the Mississippi Freedom Summer in 1964 and advised black and white students who came to the South to assist in voter registration.

Hamer went on to become a leader of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and traveled to the 1964 Democratic Convention to challenge the all white delegation from her state. Eventually, the Democratic Party established a policy for the 1968 convention mandating states to send delegations representing all their citizens. That change came about, in part, as a result of Hamer’s public testimony about the abuses she and others suffered when they tried to register to vote.

Septima Clark & Dorothy Cotton: Leading Community Activism

Septima Clark and Dorothy Cotton were two educators who taught, inspired and empowered grassroots men and women to claim their voting rights. Clark developed and taught literacy and citizenship workshops at the Highlander Folk School in Tennessee, a major training ground for black and white activists in the struggle for social change. As the Education Director for SCLC, Cotton was the highest-ranking woman in the organization. In the early 1960s both women, along with Rev. King’s lieutenant, Rev. Andrew Young, established the SCLC Citizenship Education Program (CEP).  Through this program, they prepared black adults for the literacy tests they would be required to take before being allowed to register to vote.  They also trained grassroots African Americans to establish citizenship schools and lead protests in their own communities.

So Many Unsung Heroes

The activists mentioned here are just a few of the transformational women leaders of the civil rights movement. Most of these women made their contributions without fanfare, even downplaying the importance of their personal leadership. They focused instead on ensuring the success of the collective efforts they organized and directed: Initiatives devoted to claiming black voting rights, improving African Americans’ quality of life and obtaining equal access to education, jobs and public facilities. All of them kept the movement going in spite of the complexity, ambiguity, uncertainty and constant danger that always surrounded them.

And eventually because of their stealth, dedicated leadership style, a nation was transformed.

Thanks for reading Recognizing Transformational Women Leaders. Visit Diversity MBA Magazine for more reading to help you build your career or your business.

Identifying disability by geography, especially by region, is complex.  For instance, prevalence of disability in the Asia‑Pacific region ranges from 1 percent in Laos to 18.5 percent in Australia. There are also stark differences between the policies of individual nations.

China for example, has a formal disability policy and a disability plan of action that includes comprehensive disability legislation inclusive of a 1.5 percent quota, meaning 1.5 percent of a company’s workforce should be individuals with disabilities. China also has anti-discrimination laws. Japan has a policy, action plan and comprehensive legislation including a 1.8 percent quota yet it has no anti-discrimination laws on disability. Less than a year ago, the government of India created a new Department of Disability Affairs to strengthen existing policies and devise new ones.

There are also differences in how disability is defined. In Hong Kong, persons with disabilities are defined as those who (i) have been diagnosed by qualified health personnel as having one or more of the nine conditions, namely, restriction in body movement, seeing difficulty, hearing difficulty, speech difficulty, mental illness/mood disorder, autism, specific learning difficulties, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and intellectual disability; or (ii) have perceived themselves as having one or more of the first four of these conditions which have lasted, or are likely to last, for a period of 6 months or more. South Korea, on the other hand, defines disability as a physical or mental disability that impedes daily life or social activity over a long period of time.

With over one billion people with disabilities around the world, this segment represents a population the market size of China.  The sheer size of the segment, coupled with hiring quotas, government operating standards, tax incentives and increased global competition for talent, should make companies see these individuals as a new diverse pool to drive talent acquisition strategies. To do this effectively however, requires a comprehensive understanding of the segment, geographic and corporate cultures, ever-changing local legislation and corporate best practices relative to the outreach, employment and retention of people with disabilities. It also requires an understanding of how to connect the employment of this segment with business goals and objectives, not always an easy task.

More importantly, it requires an assurance of organizational readiness. No matter where in the world a company is located or whether an employee is born with a disability or acquires one as a result of accident, illness, age or military service, making it comfortable for everyone to be who they are and bring their full selves to the workplace is critical to everyone’s success. But an organization must be ready to do this to ensure not only productivity but mitigation of risk along the way.

For many companies in Asia, the business imperative to hire people with disabilities is in its infancy. Although limited, best practices are emerging.  Although many Asian countries employ quotas for hiring individuals with disabilities, candidates and employees are still hesitant to disclose their disability, whether due to cultural biases or fear of retribution. This has resulted in a best practice to offer intranet-based disclosure guidance to assist employees in determining if they should disclose and if so, when, how and to whom.

This guidance alleviates some of the fear of causing potential harm to their career. Another best practice, which in many countries has also become the first practice, is the delivery of disability etiquette and awareness training.  Before any talent acquisition strategy can be successful, management and others must become comfortable in knowing how to communicate, engage and work side-by-side with someone with a disability. This is especially true in Asian countries, where “saving face,” or maintaining one’s honor, is very important.

To learn more about these and other global best practices for the outreach, recruitment and retention of individuals with disabilities, contact Springboard at info@consultspringboard.com.

Thanks for reading Asia-Pacific Nations Confront Disability Issues. Visit Diversity MBA Magazine for more reading to help you build your career or your business.

Today, a company’s corporate social responsibility initiatives are increasingly connected to the success of its business. This is also true when creating and maintaining a culture of inclusion and diversity.  Accenture’s core values — including Best People, Integrity and Respect for the Individual — support our diverse workplace, and we’ve found that extending our inclusion and diversity efforts to suppliers has been important and effective.

In 2006, Accenture launched the Diverse Supplier Development Program (DSDP), a formal mentoring program, which matches diverse suppliers with Accenture senior executives as one-on-one mentors to help develop and build the capacity of their businesses. The first class of 10 minority- and women-owned businesses from the United States graduated in 2008. The second class increased to 16 suppliers and included LGBT and small business enterprises. In 2012, the program welcomed the largest class to date, with 24 diverse suppliers.

This 18-month program focuses on knowledge exchange and collaboration among the suppliers so they can explore ways in which they can do business together or team on business opportunities.  It also allows our company to convene high potential companies and help support and improve their sustainable business practices.

Over the course of DSDP, the owners and senior leadership of these suppliers are offered quarterly training symposia, such as business development, marketing and social media, change management and leadership development. Frank Payne, chairman & CEO of PQC International – a professional services company in Atlanta and a graduate of our third U.S. DSDP – participated in these training symposia. He found that the benefits “from the mentorship, networking, and robust training content enabled PQC International to refine existing processes and increase engagement with its associates, resulting in an increase in productivity and client acquisition.”

We’ve seen – especially with the graduation of our third class – that these diverse suppliers were able to increase the capacity of their business and enhance their client service.  As DSDP has grown, so has the ability of these suppliers to develop a strategic vision and focus, better identify potential partners and improve internal processes. To date, we’ve mentored 50 diverse suppliers in the United States.

The DSDP doesn’t just help an individual business owner or a small company.  It also brings insights to our company and helps us gain a more complete understanding of the market, learn how to better nurture supplier sustainability, see new perspectives and get ideas from these suppliers.  In addition, we discovered how supporting diverse suppliers can lead the way to making a powerful difference in the communities in which we live and work.  By breaking down barriers so diverse companies can better participate in the marketplace, we engage a multiplier effect that adds more jobs, more revenue and more vitality in communities across the country.

As a result of this program, we found innovative ways to not only help suppliers build scale, but also to promote collaboration in and between industries. The result is a creative exploration of ways to work together and grow their businesses. As we look ahead to our fourth class, we will focus on the continued evolvement of the program and the positive return on investment it brings to our business, our people and our suppliers.

Going forward, we’re exploring bringing DSDP to new geographies and markets. Canada was the first venture outside of the original U.S.-based program, and our first class of six there has graduated.  Our second, which grew to 11 suppliers, is currently in session. By expanding to countries such as the United Kingdom, India and South Africa, DSDP will further pave the way for a stronger supply chain, extended market penetration and more economically independent communities.

Accenture takes a wide view of diversity, and the Diverse Supplier Development Program demonstrates  that. It also demonstrates the multiplier effect of including many groups – mentee companies and their employees, Accenture and the executive mentors, as well as clients and communities – all of whom benefit from the focus on growing diverse businesses.

Thanks for reading Accenture Globalization And Diverse Supplier Development. Visit Diversity MBA Magazine for more reading to help you build your career or your business.

Perhaps you’ve heard about the phenomenon via television shows or movies. Maybe you’ve read about it in books and articles. Maybe your friends or family members have boasted experiencing it, but you’re still not convinced it’s real. How does it feel to truly love the place you work, and does your workplace truly love you? Is a loving relationship between the two even possible?

To answer the questions, there is one terrifically central concept that you and your organization must adapt if you are ever to enter a mutually-loving relationship: A good culture fit. This lies at the very center of your happiness together, regardless of job titles, job descriptions, desk space, office views, and all the other “hearts and flowers” that come with being in a relationship with your organization.

So the question remains: How can you screen a company for a good culture fit? Or, perhaps more importantly, how can you do this before getting in too deep and risking dissatisfaction?

The Need To Screen

You may ask yourself, shouldn’t it be obvious if the two of you aren’t meant for each other? After all. no immoral, unethical organization hides that easily under a drape of warm, fuzzy advertisements and happy people.

Maybe it’s not quite that extreme, but there are organizations that are hanging in limbo.  They haven’t quite figured out what’s most important to them, or they haven’t shared it with everyone in the organization. There’s doubt and uncertainty. Anyone that’s ever been in a relationship knows that including those ingredients will spoil even the heartiest of appetites.

Then there are those organizations that have made up their minds. They know what they want, and they know what is important to them. But despite all of the good aspects of the job, you can’t seem to launch yourself fully with the company’s vision. Wouldn’t you rather know now that you won’t be truly happy, rather than waiting around, dreaming of the day when your company changes its philosophy?

All of the above scenarios lead to unfulfilled potential, lack of focus, boredom and discontent, none of which, of course, are loving relationship material. According to the Gallup organization — which pioneered the Gallup 12 Poll to measure employee engagement — employee engagement stems from the manner in which an organization conducts its business. This focuses on how a company conducts business on a day-to-day level between co-workers, superiors, leadership teams, departments, vendors, clients, potential clients, partners, and so on. These are the core components of culture.

Additionally, discretionary thinking is a large part of any relationship. Are you 100% focused on your organization? Are you thinking about it when you’re not at work?

Discretionary thinking is what you do when you actively pursue a thought — spending it on exactly what you want to think about — at your discretion. What happens when you actively want to think about your organization, or your organization’s goals and your goals?

Of the total thoughts an individual has in one day — 60,000, according to the Institute for Human Health and Human Potential — the average person spends 8%, or 4,800 thoughts, on work-related tasks. If you throw discretionary thoughts into the work-thought mix, you can easily double that number. Consider the collected effect of an entire workforce doubling their work thoughts each and every day. How much more successful will that organization be?  It sounds like a place that cultivates a great culture. In fact, it sounds like those employees would love their jobs.

To prevent the realizations that you spent your “good years” playing house with an organization with which you can’t picture yourself growing old, you should start from the very beginning — before even going on a first date — by giving the company a sound culture-fit screening.

The Screening Process

Screening for culture fit isn’t as daunting as it may sound. In fact, several experts in the field have conducted studies, creating several tools and exercises you can use.

First, study the company’s web site(s) and find out everything that’s important to it. Does it prominently list its core values?  How do they match up with your own?  If there’s a disconnect, well, there’s no getting around these fundamental pieces of both the organization’s and your personal foundation. If your values differ, then it’s probably for the best that you bow out and move on.

If core values are absent in an organization, ask yourself if that will cause you stress and anxiety. The answer is almost always yes. If the organization doesn’t know what drives its decision-making, how can it help lead you or cultivate leadership skills in employees? How can the two of you grow together?  Lack of direction and values leads to an increase in stress level and unhappiness – major break-up material.

Finally, if a company does have core values that match your own, are those values visible to everyone in the workforce?  If they’re hanging on the wall, displayed as the background on computer screens, thumb-tacked up in cubicles, etc., then the workforce is in alignment, too.  Sometimes, organizations may have great core values, but how effective can they be in leading decisions and actions throughout the company if there’s no incentive to act upon them? The answer is, unfortunately, not very.

Screening for culture fit should be the foundation of any job hunt or decision to stay with a certain organization. If both the company’s culture and core values don’t align with yours, there is little hope that the two of you will grow old and gray together. You might experience a brief infatuation with a hefty paycheck, extra paid week’s vacation, or corner office with a view, but those are just distractions from the truth. The truth is that without a good culture fit, it’s extremely difficult to love your company.

Thanks for reading How To Screen A Company For A Good Culture Fit. Visit Diversity MBA Magazine for more reading to help you build your career or your business.