NEW publishes the best of diversity best practices

New Network report compiles solutions for diversity management

The Network of Executive Women has compiled seven NEW best practices reports on multicultural workforces, Latinas, work/life balance, shopability, affinity networks, women of color and management diversity in a new 20,000-word report.

Network President Alison Kenney Paul of Deloitte notes that many of the diversity best practices were developed by NEW members and sponsors. "It takes diverse management and an effective inclusion strategy to lead today’s multicultural, multigenerational workforce,” she notes in the volume’s introduction. “Unfortunately, women and minorities still lag behind non-minority men in the leadership ranks of American business,”

Copies of the report are available to NEW sponsors. For more information, email  Executive Director Joan Toth. 

The Best of Diversity Best Practices
Ten key takeaways

Accountability is the key. While 63 percent of companies have goals for increasing workforce diversity, only 36 percent have set the goals necessary for recruiting diverse candidates in the first place. Only 12 percent of smaller companies take the vital step of linking compensation to diversity results. --Page 9

Leaders needed. Your board, CEO and other C-level executives must be fully committed to achieve your multicultural agenda. The “magic bullet” is compensation.
--Page 13

Here come Latinas. Women of Hispanic origin are one of the fastest-growing groups in the U.S. labor force and they are growing in education as well as numbers. The number of Hispanic women earning bachelor’s degrees increased 150 percent from 1990 to 2000 and the number earning master’s degrees increased 169 percent. --Page 14

Think big. One company has an ambitious goal of hiring 50 percent women and minority managers. The result has been rapid progress in management diversity in just a few years.

Unbalanced. Two out of three workers are dissatisfied with their work/life balance. Work/life balance is not an issue for women only – 24 percent of men have taken career off-ramps compared to 37 percent for women executives. --Page 18

Be flexible. Employers are turning to work/life solutions to increase their competitive edge. They are maintaining or increasing their commitment to flextime policies, allowing employees to change starting and quitting times (77%), moving from full to part-time work (55%), offering compressed workweeks (44%) and permitting employees to work off-site or from home (35%). --Page 21

What women want. Women executives from the CPG/retail industry surveyed for NEW want simpler choices and more information to impact their shopping experiences. The path to “shopability” requires collaboration among manufacturers, distributors and retailers to reduce clutter and convey more information to consumers. --Page 22

Affinity networks. Employee resource groups, a.k.a. affinity networks, offer a huge upside potential with very little investment. They help recruitment and retention, increase morale, provide insights into diverse markets, build bridges to outside communities, reduce grievances and empower employees. --Page 26

Women of color. When asked about their career prospects, the majority of women of color executives surveyed were not optimistic. Many women of color believe that to move up they have to move out. Studies confirm that women of all colors are leaving the top ranks of business. --Page 30

Avoiding group think. Diverse management is less likely to make mistakes caused by “group think” and more likely to challenge conventional wisdom. That could explain why companies with the most women in management have the highest return on equity. --Page 33

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