Devoted to women of color in business

A few items popped out to my attention in the 2006 Best Companies for Women of Color list by Working Mother Media.

http://www.workingmother.com/2006_overview.html

Here is my review of what really works when recruiting, retaining, and promoting women of color:

Promote into high-level positions. In the last three years, Procter and Gamble www.pg.com has steadily increased the ranks of women—many of them minorities—in positions that count: those with profit-and-loss responsibility. There are now six women of color at the vice president level.

Use diversity search firms. At Allstate www.allstate.com, six women of color hold corporate executive positions, and more than 20% of new hires in the past year were minority women. Allstate uses search firms to identify and recruit women of color.

Ask your staff. Deloitte www.deloitte.com held focus groups this year with its women of color. Management responded by implementing Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics and the Executive Leadership Council for African Americans to assist with career advancement goals.

Mentoring, mentoring, mentoring! In a March 2005 survey of General Mills' www.generalmills.com corporate mentoring program, which pairs newly hired employees of color with managers, 100% agreed that the program was worth their time and effort; 28% of the women who participated in mentoring programs were women of color.

PriceWaterhouse-Coopers www.pwc.com matches women-of-color employees with senior partners who provide one-on-one career advice and counsel in PwC’s Mentoring Partnerships Program.

Networking. Hewlett-Packard www.hp.com hosts informal networking events called “Women at HP” 4-5 times each year, with the goal of helping multicultural women network with senior leaders.

More women of color in executive positions. At IBM www.ibm.com, fifteen women-of-color executives meet to review and refresh their multicultural women’s strategy.

Implement diversity all the way.  MetLife www.metlife.com includes diversity all throughout operations, by rewarding managers who use minority- and women-owned businesses for consultants, suppliers and vendors. In the past four years, spending with these groups jumped 260%.

Look to the community. American Express home.americanexpress.com supports nonprofit programs, such as the Women’s Venture Fund, that provide low-income and minority women with entrepreneurial training and micro loans to launch their own businesses.