HAVE WE TURNED DIVERSITY INTO AN OBSTACLE FOR OUR COMMUNITIES?

In 2010 Senator Robert Menendez (D- NJ) conducted a survey asking Corporate America to share their commitments on diversity & inclusion. To me the most shocking result was finding that in corporations with formal diversity management programs, Hispanics tend to be on the losing end. Yet, in corporations with no formal diversity programs you can find Hispanics in high ranking positions and access to business opportunities. I can’t help but think as a crusader on the diversity battle... are we hurting our communities by pushing corporations too hard on diversity? 

As someone that worked in Corporate America for more than 15 years, I've experienced personally and professionally the internal struggle that corporations have in embracing, celebrating, adopting, and in some shameful cases tolerating diversity. As a national Hispanic community and diversity advocate, I also see the struggle that our communities face when opportunity and access are limited, controlled, and in some cases blocked. It is due to this dual perspective in diversity that I want to address the most recent criticism of corporate America, specifically on AT&T and Comcast. 

First and foremost, both corporations have supported our organization for a long time. If it were not for the financial support of corporate partners like Coca Cola, Univision, Verizon, Miller Coors, McDonalds, News Corporation, Ford Motor Company and others, we would not have been able to engage Congress in getting healthcare reform for our constituents or provide Juniors and Seniors in college the leadership training needed to land a job. We would not have been able to fight for educational opportunity for the future of America, our children and we would not have been able to defend the Medicare benefits of our elderly. Our cause is noble, and Corporate America needs to be at the table to support financially as they seek to execute their responsibility as a good Corporate Citizen. 

What concerns me the most about a recent print article was the direct accusation that our community based organization had decided to support business actions like the congressionally approved Comcast-NBCU merger and the proposed AT&T-T Mobile merger only because we receive financial support from them. Another article implied that high level executives who serve on our board of directors have influenced the organizations opinions. Both of these arguments are insulting to our intellectual capacity and our business integrity... insulting to our diversity of thought. 

When we decided to support the Comcast-NBCU merger, our organization did an analysis based on opportunity for our community versus status quo. With a large number of low income constituents in the Comcast footprint we knew that expanded access to information and technology would bring much needed progress to our folks. Recently, Comcast unveiled a program called Internet Essentials geared at providing affordable internet access for qualifying families with children who receive free lunches. That to me is corporate leadership. At a recent meeting of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Corporate Diversity committee chaired by Congressman Joe Baca (D-CA), corporate leaders from Comcast share their six month progress around a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that became part of the final merger deal. One word describes my reaction: Bravo! (SEE Comcast blog on diversity progress). I never heard Comcast say they had completed their commitments, what I heard was that they were meeting their goals and in some cases exceeding them. Sorry if some folks think Comcast might be "dragging their feet", but real diversity takes time. Trust me, I worked at a company that after 25 years (a national boycott and millions of dollars in support) the needle never moved. I think Comcast should write the book on what I call Diversity Enlightenment. 

AT&T has been a community partner for as long as I can remember. Once they announced their merger intentions, their top executive Ralph de la Vega met with us to discuss our concerns. During that meeting I asked Mr. de la Vega for data on the merger's impact for Puerto Rico and information on spectrum divestment and business opportunities. In less than a week the information was provided to our satisfaction. The fact that one of their executives sits on our board was not part of our decision analysis, it was a plus because we were able to gain access to the info quicker. On that note, she was elected to our board of directors because she is a Puerto Rican leader willing to volunteer her valuable time, professional talent, and personal treasure (plus she happens to work in Corporate America). 

Don't get me wrong, Corporate Diversity is still a concept that eludes most corporations and it’s our role as advocates to facilitate that change. We all have a responsibility to create alliances and coalitions in order to serve our constituents and consumers. Using the umbrella of diversity to attack corporate responsibility only helps to hinder the progress we desperately seek. If we are to get better results for corporate diversity inclusion in future surveys, we have to create an environment of trust and mutual respect...only then can change be accomplished.