By Melissa J. Anderson

This has been a big year for Evolved Employer. We’ve shaped our content around diversity and talent management to best reflect the interests of our readers, who are looking new ways to attract and retain quality, high performing talent in a new diverse, global, multi-generational work environment, where employees have just as many expectations of their employers as the other way around.

Or goal for 2012 is to continue to bring you the latest in thought-provoking, inclusive talent management strategies. But that’s not all we’re working on – for example, this month we published (along with our sister-site The Glass Hammer) a new pilot study on women working on technology teams.

Women in IT: Ambition and Advancement seeks to gauge how women who work on technology teams feel about their ability to advance in their organizations. One of the most surprising findings within the report revealed that almost half of the women surveyed (41.86%) said they plan to leave their jobs in the next year.

That’s a huge amount of turnover for corporate teams to deal with, and considering that additional research, by the Level Playing Field Institute for example, has shown that many women in tech find the environment unwelcoming, it gives cause for companies to consider how their cultures may be driving women out, and work harder to attract and retain this talented group.

And many companies are working to do so. But our study showed that while many women participate in corporate networking or development initiatives, they aren’t always clear on the practical “how-to’s” regarding the implementation of advancement advice they may learn.

We urge companies to go beyond the inspirational and move into the instructional when it comes to the development and advancement of women.

Similarly, we are hard at work on our next study on LGBT professional women – and we will share more about that in 2012.

In the meantime, we’d love to hear from you. What topics would you like to learn more about in 2012? Please include your comments and questions in the space below, and we’ll work to be inclusive of the views and interests of you, our readers.

By Melissa J. Anderson

• Men and Women Don’t See Eye to Eye on Board Gender Challenges
  According to The Grapevine, a study performed by Inspire, Harvy Nash’s network for board level women, revealed that “Over half (51%) of men don’t think there is a problem with the lack of women on boards, with only a third of women agreeing.”
• AT&T and T-Mobile Merger Will be Better for LGBT Workers
  According to Echelon, AT&T’s long history of positive attitudes toward LGBT issues will make the workplace more open for LGBT T-Mobile workers.
• Charitable Giving Up Last Year
  According to TheStreet.com, charitable giving rose 38% in 2010, with corporate giving increasing by 10.6%.
• Why Great Leadership is More Important than a Good Team
  Jeff Stibel, Chairman and CEO of Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp., writes for HBR about the importance of strong leadership. He writes, “Brains work very well individually but tend to break down in groups.” According to Stiebel, this is illustrated in the effectiveness of the individual contributor.
• Sustainable Brands 2011 Roundup
  Triple Pundit discusses the top eight issues discussed at this years Sustainable Brand’s conference. Number One: “Innovative disruptive change is the future.”

By Melissa J. Anderson

Here in the US, Evolved Employer is taking a day off today to celebrate the Fourth of July by barbecuing and gazing at fireworks.

And now that 2011 is more than half over (!), we’re also taking the day off to reflect on this year’s successes and challenges, and the wonderful places Evolved Employer will go this year. In the meantime, here are a few of our most recent popular stories:

• Getting Workplace Culture Right by Setting the Tone from the Top
• How Does the City Approach the the LGBT Workforce?
• Harnessing the Power of LGBT Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
• 7 Steps to Form a Successful Employee Resource Group

We’ve got some exciting changes coming to the site over the next few months, and we can’t wait to share them with you. Check back later this week to learn more!

By Melissa J. Anderson

• Desmund Tutu on Why We Should Celebrate Diversity
  The Huffington Post excerpts a speech by Desmund Tutu on the virtues of diversity. He says, “There is room for everyone; there is room for every culture, race, language and point of view.”
• Managing Diversity is Necessary for Growth
  Forbes explains why diversity must be included in the conversation about future growth.
• Corporations Give Back by Lending a Hand
  USA Today discusses ways corporations, like IBM and Chase, are giving back, besides writing checks.
• Companies Not Walking the Talk When it Comes to Engagement
  According to a new SHRM study, companies agree that employee engagement is important, but only a few are doing something about it by tying engagement levels to financial or performance goals.

By Melissa J. Anderson

• What if Banks Looked Like America?
  A new report by the Greeneling Institute shows that California’s largest banks’ employee demographics do not represent the state’s demographics as a whole, with management and senior leadership being overwhelmingly white and male. If they want to continue to meet the needs of their customers they need to work on increasing diversity in leadership roles.
• Tips to Build LGBT Inclusive Workplaces
  Color Magazine provides valuable advice for HR leaders on building more open, inclusive workplaces.
• New Study says a Long Term, Bottom Line Focus Delivers Stronger Responsibility Results than Charity
  According to a new Dalberg study, companies can make more of a difference for their communities by focusing on growth and profit, rather than through triple-bottom-line business structures.
• CSR Reports Help Create More Sustainable Businesses
  GreenBiz discusses the benefits of CSR reports. According to John Viera, since beginning CSR reporting 12 years ago, Ford has shown significant improvement, and the yearly report has made it possible to track incremental gains.

By Melissa J. Anderson

• Gender Diversity at Bank of America
  Sylvia Ann Hewlett comments on top level gender diversity at Bank of America where “nearly 250,000 employees are women, nearly half (49%) of its managers are women, and… six out of its 15-member executive management team are women.”
• Where are the African American Board Directors?
  Frank McCoy discusses the drop in Black board membership in the past decade.
• New Site Connects Professionals with Volunteer Opportunities
  Sparked, a new site for corporate volunteers, enables people and companies to connect to volunteer opportunities via the web.
• How to Engage Employees with CSR Initiatives
  Justmeans discusses BNY Mellon’s CSR employee engagement strategy, according to the bank’s Executive Vice President and Corporate Affairs Officer, R. Jeep Byrant.

By Melissa J. Anderson

• More Diversity Will Improve IMF
  In an Huffington Post article, the IMF’s new Deputy Managing Director Nemat Shafik explains that the organization has a goal of recruiting 50% women at all levels going forward. A more diverse workforce, she says, will improve operations and performance.
• IT Needs a More Diverse Workforce
  A Technorati article explains why the IT industry must welcome a more diverse workforce, and provides tips to attract more diverse employees.
• Boost in Corporate Giving Helped by Pharma
  According to Reuters, corporate philanthropy rose by 18% last year, with the pharmaceuticals industry as a major contributor.
• Gen Y Seeks Flexibility
  In a Bloomberg article, Sylvia Ann Hewlett rounds up a number of studies on what Gen Y workers want: flexibility, challenging assignments, and an engaging workplace.

By Melissa J. Anderson

• What Do Women Really Want From Work
  The FT Investigates the leaky pipeline for women leaders, ambition, and flexibility.
• USPS Named Number One for Supplier Diversity
  The US Postal Service was named the number one government agency for supplier diversity by by DiversityBusiness.com for spending $358 million with minority-owned businesses and $561 million with women-owned businesses in FY2010.
• Ten Tips to Support Workplace Volunteering
  Management Today outlines ten ways managers can help support their team’s volunteer activities. Tip one: remember that corporate volunteer programs can attract talent and reward and develop staff
• More US Employees Plan to Stick with Jobs
  Although employee engagement numbers had been decreasing, according to FastCompany a new report shows that American employees are planning to stay with their companies rather than switch jobs.

By Melissa J. Anderson

• Women: A Key Strategic Advantage
  Motley Fool explains why women provide a competitive advantage for gender diverse firms – and puts at a disadvantage those firms that lack significant numbers of women in leadership.
• Discrimination Up – Here’s What Companies Can Do to Be More Inclusive
  According to Technorati, workplace discrimination charges hit record highs in 2010, and companies need to be more aware of discrimination in order to build better, more inclusive workplaces.
• Washington Business Journal Awards Top Corporate Philanthropists
  Recently the WBJ hosted its 13th annual corporate philanthropy awards. Jane Case, Precision Auto Care, and Michael & Son Services were recognized as to philanthropists in the DC area.
• Does Corporate Culture Pay?
  Inc. Magazine explains why building a strong corporate culture is a sound investment, producing low turnover, engaged employees, and top customer service.
• Best Books on CSR
  GreenBiz gives a rundown on the best books on corporate sustainability, and why. Number one on the list was Business Lessons from a Radical Industrialist by Ray Anderson.

By Melissa J. Anderson

• British Headhunters Design Gender Equality “Code”
  In response to the Lord Davies review, headhunters in the UK are working to create a code of conduct to ensure there are women on every list of potential candidates.
• Advice for Diversity Hiring
  Kitesha Alston, PHR, of Berkshire Associates, shares her top tips for hiring diverse individuals. First on the list: “Identify recruiting techniques that produce qualified and diverse applicant pools.”
• Corporate Funding for the Arts Lacking
  According to Michael Kaiser, President of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, discusses the challenges of getting funding from large corporations, as trends in corporate giving have changed.
• Boost Motivation with Employee Input
  According to You at Work, encouraging employees to provide strategic input can improve staff morale.
• Should Companies Align CSR Goals with Public Policy Work?
  GreenBiz discusses the challenges of corporate lobbying in concert with CSR goals.