By Kate McClaskey

In a time when companies are rebuilding their business models to include a more diverse workforce, financial corporations are paying attention. Black Enterprise magazine recently released its list of the best companies for diversity, a list which consists of companies that the magazine believes have achieved a high level of inclusion of minority individuals – including race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. The Best Companies for Diversity list was made through surveys of the top 1,000 publicly traded companies, focusing on technology, sales, marketing, and human resources. Below is a roundup of BE’s five top financial companies in diversity.

Northern Trust

Named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers and one of the top 50 Companies for Executive Women, the Chicago based financial company boasts not only an annual Chairman’s Diversity Advocate Award Program which recognizes employees who make contributions to diversity efforts, but Diversity of Work training to encourage work groups to value their people and their contributions.

Director of Global Diversity and Inclusion Mark David Welch promises progressiveness and training with the support of diversity councils. “Northern Trust has long recognized the invaluable role of diversity, and this recognition is a testament to our belief that fostering a globally diverse and inclusive workforce is fundamental to our success as a business enterprise and community advocate.”

The company also gives priority to programs in diverse neighborhoods while offering a broad variety of business groups including Women in Leadership, the TNTPride (LGBT) Community, and the Black Business Resource Council. All combined, this makes Northern Trust an inclusive culture that enables the company to hire and retain a diverse workforce – which Welch says leads to better ideas and innovations and brings out the best in our employees.

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By Kate McClaskey

his year, 305 businesses reached a 100 percent rating on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, a tool used to rate businesses on their treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees, investors and consumers. Last year 260 companies made it to the 100 percent rating. Though a promising increase, this does not mean that everything is hunky dory when it comes to the workplace.

A 2009 nationwide study by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation revealed that 51 percent of GLBT employees hide their identity at work, which leads to “increased stress, less productivity and the inability to participate in everyday conversations.” And when asked what a positive work environment would be like, GLBT employees said that it would be one “in which they feel free to be themselves, voice their opinions, engage openly in non-work-related conversations, feel safe from discrimination and believe they are valued, accepted and part of a team.”

So how can managers better ensure this environment for GLBT employees? By taking small steps that can grow off each other, creating an environment in which employees can feel free to be who they are.

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By Melissa J. Anderson

Last week Evolved Employer featured an article on the importance of top-level support for corporations working toward social progress, given the trends and uncertainties expected to characterize the next decade. McKinsey and CECP showed why CEOs need to strongly lead their companies’ CSR efforts moving forward, and more importantly those efforts must become integral to the company’s business strategy for them to be successful.

Today, we feature several CEOs who are doing just that, regarding the sphere of gender equality. These CEOs, founding signatories of the UN’s Women’s Empowerment Principles [PDF] understand the importance of bold leadership for affecting real change.

During the June 21 release of the first 39 signers, UNIFEM Executive Director Inés Alberdi said:

“These initial signers of the CEO Statement are practicing the very first Women’s Empowerment Principle that leadership promotes gender equality. These executives are affirming the high-level support necessary for the Women’s Empowerment Principles to gain traction in individual companies and their cultures.”

These CEOs serve not just as leaders for their individual companies, but as leaders on the gender equality issue amongst the CEO community as well.

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By Melissa J. Anderson

It’s no secret that women control a large share of purchasing power. For example, as noted at the 2009 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, women control over 80% of consumer spending. And, as HDTV magazine recently reported, women’s spending on consumer electronics is increasing. This year, the article reveals, “Women spent, on average, $631 on consumer electronics, up $73 from 2009.”

Yet, the consumer electronic retail market has always been a bit male-centric (think man-cave versus family room). In 2005, Julie Gilbert, then a Best Buy vice president, set out to improve the company’s revenue by bringing in more female staff. The success of her WOLF program shows the valuable link between the retention of women employees and the spending power of women consumers.

Best Buy: The Situation

In 2005, an analysis of Best Buy’s customer data revealed that the company was missing out female technology spending – and analysis of store staffing showed a connection. A case study on the program explains:

“Women spent $90 billion on technology in 2005 (approximately 45% of consumer electronics purchases) – but only comprised 36% of Best Buy revenue. In addition, there was data showing that comparative store profits were higher in stores that employed more women: Where the staff was comprised of 5 men for every woman, the comparative store profits were on average 5% higher; when the ratio was 4 to 1, profits were up 7%, and when the ratio was 3 to 1, store profits increased by 10%.”

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By Nicki Gilmour, Founder and CEO of Evolved People Media, LLC

In March 2010, the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women will undertake a fifteen-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration. It was at this meeting in China that a group of 50,000 people representing 189 governments actively agreed a goal to increase women in leadership positions.

The magic number became known as the 30% solution, the idea being that once women reached a Critical Mass in an organization, people would stop seeing them as women and start evaluating their work as managers. This theory was originally developed more than 40 years ago by Harvard academic Rosabeth Moss Kanter in her book Men and Women of the Corporation.

Fifteen years after the Beijing Declaration, Norway is the only country to have progressed towards this goal via legislation – championed by someone who definitely doesn’t meet the profile of a typical feminist. Norwegian politician Ansgar Gabrielsen is a Pentecostal Christian, and an archetypal alpha-male businessman. His reasons seem logical and resource driven.

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A weekly column by Nicki Gilmour, Founder and CEO of Evolved People Media.

The Economist kicked off the year with Rosie the Riveter on the cover, proclaiming “We did it.” What exactly did we do?

Well, we became 50% of the workforce, generally, across all industries. We can interpret that in two ways, either as a positive advancement for women as they are able to have economic freedom by earning their own wage or that that women have to work to support themselves and their families; it does not necessary mean that we are actually getting somewhere as leaders and managers in equal numbers to men.

I have to be honest. I had to check that I wasn’t reading an old copy of the Economist from January 1980 when I read the words, “The revolution has been achieved with only a modicum of friction. Men have, by and large welcomed women’s invasion of the workplace.” Invasion of the workplace? Last time I checked, going to work to try and strategically improve your processes, and therefore the company as a whole, by delivering results in whichever area you work isn’t like invading Poland.

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By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation recently released its list of the best companies to work for. These companies show a commitment to equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.

The companies are scored based on the HRC Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI) which considers a number of criteria, including:

• Non-discrimination policy, diversity training — sexual orientation
• Non-discrimination policy, diversity training & benefits — gender identity or expression
  Partner benefits
• LGBT employee resource group / diversity council
• Engages in appropriate and respectful advertising and marketing, or sponsors LGBT community events or organizations
• Employer exhibits responsible behavior toward the LGBT community; does not engage in action that would undermine LGBT equality

According to HRC Foundation President Joe Salomonese, companies are increasingly recognizing that LGBT equality and inclusiveness programs are vital to employee retention. Even in this year’s tough economic climate, he writes, “The number of top-rated businesses continues to climb, reaching an unprecedented 305 businesses — a net increase of 45 over last year — representing more than 9.3-million full-time employees.”

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FOR information on how to buy and implement Just Add Women to enable your firm to create or enhance your internal diversity networks please contact Nicki Gilmour on +1 646 688 2318

“One of the things I’m worried about is the impact of the economy on women’s initiatives,” says Carol Frohlinger, Esq. Frohlinger is the cofounder of Negotiating Women Inc. and co-author of “Her Place at the Table: A Woman’s Guide to Negotiating Five Key Challenges to Leadership Success.” Negotiating Women provides negotiation and leadership training for women at every stage of their career. graduating from law schools in equal numbers as men for the past 25 years.

As budgets are slashed at law firms nationwide, the fate of many employee programs, including women’s resource groups and initiatives, are uncertain. “Law firms, in particular, are fragile,” says Frohlinger. That’s because most women’s initiatives have only recently been started at legal firms. To help firms maintain the momentum of nascent initiatives, Negotiating Women, Inc. is launching the “Just Add Women® Meeting Toolkit Series”. This prepackaged program offers a solution for law firms and affinity groups that are committed to implementing professional development programs for women lawyers but can’t afford the time and money to create their own in this economy.

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by Pamela Weinsaft Editor of theglasshammer.com part of Evolved People Media LLC

Last week, the released an eye-opening report. Entitled “Obstacles and Solutions for Underrepresented Minorities (URM) in Technology”, the report examines why women—and men— from underrepresented minority (URM) backgrounds, namely African-American/Black; Hispanic/Latino, Native American, or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, are generally in few in number in computer science and engineering fields.

Dr. Caroline Simard, Ph.D., Director of Research and Executive Programs at the Anita Borg Institute spoke with The Glass Hammerabout her findings.

The report states that [URM] represent 27% of the US population, hold 46 18% of Bachelor’s degrees in computer science, and 12% of engineering degrees,” but are only 6.8% of technical employees. Also, “since 1995, the representation of African-American and Hispanic/Latina women among computer science degree recipients has remained flat—Hispanic women earn less than 2% of computer science bachelor’s degrees. Despite the growth of the Hispanic population in the US, only 0.03% of all female Hispanic freshmen planned to major in computer science in 2006, the lowest of all Science and Engineering disciplines.”

Native American women are lagging as well: they represent less than 1% of computer science degrees. And, according to the report, “African-American women represent 4.8% of the graduate enrollment in computer science, yet they represent 7% of the US population.”

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by Jane Carruthers (London)

After all the recent economic doom and gloom, a rare glow of positive light shone over a gathering of some 500 business and public sector leaders in the City of London on 29th April 2009: The Opportunity Now Awards, sponsored by Santander, celebrated those UK employers addressing inequality as a business imperative, creating workplace best