Attendees network at the first diversity mixer for the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (File: Source)

January 12  marked the first diversity mixer to be held during the International Consumer Electronics Show. The event, dubbed The Hub, and held at the Palms Hotel, stood apart from the shows megawatt, over the top deluge of new product announcements, device demos, and gadget glorification.

Organized by Lindsey C. Holmes, owner of LCH Business, Inc. and with help from adjunct Rutgers University professor of digital media, Kaia Niambi Shivers, the mixer sought to discuss ways to encourage minorities to pursue an education in science and provide a platform to showcase minority companies at a conference where their presence seems to be absent.

“The mixer is about having a forum for us to discuss some actionable steps we can take to incubate minorities and women in consumer electronics,” says Holmes, who was motivated to host the event after a high-level tech executive told her that he did not see a case for minority inclusion at CES. “Minority inclusion at events like CES is imperative to the stimulus of the economy through job creation and innovation, and opens up windows in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) field, that many are unaware of.”

While it is rare that black faces are represented in technical fields behind the scenes in the consumer electronics industry, roughly 31% of black discretionary spending, or $39 billion, goes toward the purchase of computers, cell phones and electronics – a lower percentage is spent by non-blacks, according to a survey, commissioned by Black Entertainment Television.

Lindsey Holmes, Carol Campbell, and Kaia Niambi Shivers pose at the Consumer Electronics Show first-ever diversity mixer (File: Source)

“Technology is used to create a better society…if you are not including everybody in [the generation of] these technologies then society does not progress as it should,” says Shivers.

Albeit rare, black technology inventors are not extinct. Of the 2,000 plus exhibitors at CES, Holmes discovered two companies on the convention floor that she says embody the diversity that the Consumer Electronics Association should show more of.

For example, NoitAvonne, is a black-owned company that created Loop Technology, which when embedded in smart phones and tablets helps mobile workers access the same tools and applications they use in the office. Another black-owned company, Tabelz, manufactures tripod stands for computers and video cameras.

“It was an honor to be at the beginning of a movement! There were various ethnicities represented, as well as women, and everyone felt a personal responsibility to advance the opportunities of people of color within the CE (consumer electronics) space,” said digital lifestyle expert Mario Armstrong, who is a technology correspondent for the Today show, and one of the 40 attendees at the mixer.  “This diversity reception was the match that lit the torch of opportunity for creation not consumption, now it’s up to us to carry the torch everywhere we go to fulfill the mission–bringing more diversity to the CE industry.”

Also in attendance was Carol Campbell, the founder of Women in CE, an organization dedicated to advancing career opportunities across the breadth of the consumer electronics industry. Campbell has agreed to incubate The Hub, says Holmes, who hopes to help produce a diversity tech zone at CES. Currently CES provides space for several niche tech zones, including a Mommy Tech Zone, the Digital Health Summit and the Silver Summit, for companies that provide tech solutions for the elderly and aging.

Holmes, also a fledgling inventor, introduced her Barcode Mardi Gras Beads at the event. She says the beads are a fun and engaging way for a business to share content about their products. Two-sided medallions hang from mardi gras beads and feature quick response barcodes on one side and scanning instructions on the other. When scanned with a mobile phone, the barcodes link to content such as web pages, videos, and social media sites.

Initially started as a way to introduce young people to tax accounting, Discover Ernst & Young has since expanded to explore various financial industry areas, including financial statement audits and risk management. Approximately 600 students have participated in the program since its founding.

Ken Bouyer, Americas director of inclusiveness recruiting, says the program serves an important purpose. “We are in the business of creating pipelines in the profession.  We invest in learning and development. A lot of people have misconceptions about this industry. They think it’s boring, but once they meet people like myself and other E & Y employees, they see that we are cool people who are also smart.  You might be in New York today and China next week. You become more culturally aware.”

Karyn Twaronite, Americas inclusiveness officer, strongly advocates for diversity in all industries. “A diverse team creates a better work product,” she says. “Studies have shown that diverse teams are higher performing than more homogenous teams. Additionally, we are a global company with over 150,000 employees in 140 countries. We have to be able to work effectively across all cultures.”

Here are a few facts: According to company numbers, minorities represent 32% of the staff and partner-level positions in their U.S. and Canada offices, a figure that has doubled in the past decade. The Bureau of Labor Statistics places the median salary for a tax accountant at $62,000 and $115,000 for financial managers.

Bouyer and Twaronite urge students who are interested in pursing a career in accounting and other financial industries to maintain a high grade-point average; take a broad range of classes; set up informational meetings with professionals; and participate in networking opportunities.

One former student did all the above. Deandrea C. Greer-Thomas participated in the Discover Tax program in 2009 and is currently an E & Y tax accountant. The Hampton graduate began working as a full-time staffer in July 2011. The energetic Texas native loves her job and encourages other young people to be prepared for all the opportunities that come their way. “When you come into a program like Discover Ernst & Young, everyone has a high grade-point average,” she says. “Having good grades will get you in the door, but it’s your preparation and willingness to learn and to work hard that will really get you where you need to go. Read up on business etiquette. Be aware of what’s going on in the world and be able to hold a conversation with anyone. Keep in touch with people you meet and have a great attitude.”

5 Tips for Financial Industry Success:

Walk the halls at the current company. Literally walk the halls of your company and get to know your colleagues. Take advantage of all in-office networking opportunities.

Volunteer to help executives with projects. Make a name for yourself by becoming known as a reliable, hard worker.

Take on a leadership role. Don’t be afraid to lead and exhibit managerial qualities. 

Volunteer at a non-profit. Volunteering at a non-profit not only showcases your time management abilities, but provides another way to expand your network.

Take the time to get certified. Whatever your chosen field, if there is an ability to become certified, do it. Doing so opens up more professional opportunities and helps to solidify you as an expert.

Visit http://www.ey.com/GL/en/Home for more information about the Discover Ernst & Young program.

Marja Vongerichten

Since reuniting with her birth mother at 19, Marja Vongerichten, who was born to a Korean mother and African American father, has been exploring the food of her native country. She now shares that journey with the public as host of PBS’ Kimchi Chronicles and author of the accompanying cookbook, Kimchi Chronicles: Korean Cooking for an American Kitchen (Rodale Books; $32.50).

BlackEnterprise.com caught up with Vongerichten to talk about fusing cultural influences and how Korean cuisine is food for the soul.

You’ve been cooking since you were 12?

My father was the cook in the family. So I would always watch him. My idea of cooking back then was the box muffin mix. It would turn out like lead but my parents were very encouraging—I could make super terrible breakfast and they’d still encourage me to try to make lunch. Eventually I became really, really good just by experimenting. My parents would let me get whatever I wanted at the supermarket and I always cooked for the family.

Did you ever think you’d end up doing it professionally?

I actually was debating whether to go to the Peace Corps, Fisk University, or start a catering business when I was 18. I decided to go off to college, but I did always want to have a catering business. I never thought of having a restaurant or being a chef. I just wanted to make food and serve it to people.

As a home cook, especially one married to a famous restaurateur, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, was the idea of hosting a cooking show intimidating?

Yeah, those thoughts did creep up in my mind. And I think it was more so what people were going to say: ‘Oh yeah, she’s the wife of a chef. She thinks she can cook.’ But I just do what I do. I don’t profess to be the master of anything. I just do what I know best. And I’m pretty good at it.

For your whole childhood, you were exposed to only one side of your heritage. How did that affect you growing up?

I always felt like I related more to my black side than my Korean side because that’s all I knew growing up. But going back and visiting and also doing this in-depth look at Korea to shoot the show really gave me a knowledge of the culture, and things made sense finally. Then I was able to feel 100% a part of the Korean culture too. I don’t like to say I’m half and half. I like to say I’m 100% and 100%.

What have you learned about Korean culture through the food?

I’ve learned how similar we all are as human beings. We all have the same values, the same wants, the same loves. It’s just packaged differently; the ingredients are different. I’ve learned that Koreans are very tenacious and strong people, and it reminded me a lot of my African American family and what we went through and all the hardships. I really was blown away by the similarities in our cultures.

How do those similarities extend to the food?

I always refer to Korean food as soul food. Korea is a country with a really painful history. It’s gone through centuries of abuse. And our food reflects that. It’s cheap cuts of meat, it’s root vegetables that need to be cooked a long time. The same for soul food. And when you go to a Korean person’s house, they always ask, ‘Have you eaten?’ just like most African American families. That’s the way we show our love.

Vongerichten, along with other food industry professionals, will be profiled on BlackEnterprise.com throughout this month, in conjunction with Black Enterprise magazine’s November 2011 “A Passion for Food” issue.

Check out the latest features on industry heavyweights, including Marcus Samuelsson and The Neelys, on newsstands now.

Is Michael Arrington Racist?

After watching the video clip, where he states, “I don’t know a single Black entrepreneur,” and reading his blog post, “Racism: the Game,” I truly don’t believe that Michael Arrington is a racist based upon those two slices of information. What I do believe is that whether he thinks he was bamboozled or hoodwinked into the CNN interview, it is clear that he was stating how he truly felt—right, wrong or indifferent. The reality is that Arrington is not alone in his sentiment. He may be the most outspoken but, definitely not alone.

My NewME Accelerator Experience

Why am I jumping into the conversation? First, let me provide you some context of who I am. I’m a 39-year-old mechanical engineer from Detroit and co-founder of a startup called Gokit (the startup world would call me a non-technical founder because I don’t code.) I was one of the 11 startup founders in the NewME Accelerator this past summer, which was the first minority led tech accelerator. I had a very eye-opening experience living in Silicon Valley. For anyone in the tech startup space spending time in Silicon Valley is imperative if you have the opportunity. It provides you a contextual understanding of the startup ecosystem: veteran entrepreneurs, angel investors, startups, events and venture capitalists (VCs).

During the nine-week program, I had the opportunity to be immersed in the startup culture spending time at Facebook with their platform developer, Mitch Kapor, a mentor who commercialized the spreadsheet at Lotus, and much more. I found that there are some very good people in Silicon Valley that see talent and are willing to provide information for those who get access.

The reality of Silicon Valley hit me the first week of the program when I heard two terms/phrases that embodied my trip and the obstacles that many African American founders face in launching successful startups: “meritocracy” and “pattern matching.”

Let’s first start by defining both terms:

• Meritocracy is defined as opportunity being determined purely based upon talent, merit, credentials, and education alone.
• Pattern Matching is a selection criteria based upon built in basis, meaning that I select people that look and are like me.

In the U.S. it’s pretty safe to say we don’t live in a meritocracy and Silicon Valley and the startup space is not exempt from that. I will go on the record and say that Silicon Valley is absolutely diverse in terms of an ethnic perspective, but there is a total void of an African American presence.

Our experience is captured in CNN’s Black In America 4: The New Promised Land: Silicon Valley. This documentary is groundbreaking. Think about this point; when way the last time you saw a group of African Americans on primetime TV and they were not athletes or entertainers?

Is Silicon Valley Diverse?

Is Silicon Valley unique in the sense of this issue on diversity? According to data in the CB Insights, a report on startups that focuses on gender and race, the answer is absolutely no. The reason that I make this statement is that the report covers New York (Silicon Alley) and Boston, and the issues are the same in those markets. Currently, there is a huge demographic that is totally excluded from the startup space in terms of representation, this group is African American founders, which make up 1% of VC backed startups nationally.

In The Year 2042 Minorities Become the Majority

Where do we go from here? According to the U.S. Census, by the year 2042 minorities (primarily Blacks and Hispanics) will be the majority of the population. How will this change the mindset of the startup space as we move towards that date? Tristan Walker refers to this point in his recent interview with Laurie Segall of CNN Tech Money.

“[2042 is] the year underrepresented minorities—Blacks and Hispanics—will no longer be the minority. They’ll be the majority, and if that’s the case, we need to start thinking about putting folks—Blacks and Hispanics, among others—in positions of leadership and/or leading companies [toward] that goal and that year… There aren’t very many folks who look like me in positions of leadership all around the Valley, and I think that’s something that needs to be discussed and hopefully changed.”

My problem with the series started with the title, and its “America in the good old days” premise. I found it disturbing. It even made me a little angry. Even at 13, I knew that what constituted happy days for many White Americans were anything but for me and mine, and Black America in general. Even today, it bothers me that my mother loved the show (and it’s spinoffs, Laverne & Shirley and Joanie & Chachi) and watched it religiously, which is why I ever saw any of it at all. (Ironically, I’ve come to respect and even admire several of the actors on these shows, especially Henry Winkler and Ron Howard, forever immortalized as Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli and Richie Cunningham, respectively.)

As I transitioned from teenager to young man, becoming a journalist and student activist at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., along the way, I became even more aware and repelled by how Happy Days pretended that the overt racial violence and Jim Crow discrimination that was alive and well in the 1950s either never happened or just wasn’t important. Of course, the cast was all White virtually through its entire decade-long run. In fact, the only Black actor to play a role of any significance at all on the show was Jack Baker, who played Bill “Sticks” Downy, a brother the Fonz hires to play drums in Richie’s band. Ironically, that piece of trivia was barely noticed in the 1970s, as Black actors were rarely hired as regular cast members on “White” shows regardless of the period they were set in.

Fast forward to 2011. It’s been just a few weeks since FOX aired the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards, a celebration so bereft of African Americans that it could easily be transported to the 1950s America of Happy Days and no one would even blink. (Okay, gay female host Jane Lynch may have given them a clue that something was amiss.) I mean, both Paul Robeson and Marion Anderson would have refused to perform at that worldwide broadcast of the television industry’s colossal failure at achieving the diversity and racial equality that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought and died for decades ago. (Or did he? If it didn’t happen on Happy Days, did it really happen?)

I hope I’ve given you some idea why I was never compelled to watch the critically acclaimed Mad Men, despite the fact that it is a four-time winner of the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series and that many of my friends (yes, most of whom are Black) absolutely love the show, which focuses on a fictional 1960s ad agency. It’s also why I have zero interest, at least so far, in the new shows Pan Am, ABC’s series about flight attendants in the 1960s, or NBC’s The Playboy Club, set in 1963. The good old days of Mad Men, Pan Am and The Playboy Club all send a familiar message to Black actors: no positions available. But leave your resume, just in case some token roles open up.

Click here to continue reading…

Let’s see. The adventures of top advertising industry execs in the 1960s? No positions available. (Look at the industry today. Nothing’s changed.) Blacks didn’t get to make their mark as leaders in advertising until they began launching their own firms in the late 1960s. The perils and passions of flight attendants in the 1960s? No positions available. The first Black flight attendant, Ruth Carol Taylor, was hired in 1957 by Mohawk Airlines, which did not provide passenger service (she was fired six months later for getting married, a no-no for an industry known for its outrageously discriminatory hiring policies). It took years for major passenger carriers to be forced to make token hires of Black flight attendants, with major carriers like Pan Am and stewardess unions fighting integration tooth and nail every step of the way.

How about frolicking with Playboy bunnies in the 1960s? There is at least some hope on this front, one because eternal playboy Hugh Hefner consistently pushed against racial barriers both at his mansion and in his magazine, and two because sexuality has always been an area where Black women, if only on a token level, could gain limited entry into the White world, nightlife being a prime venue for such interaction. Fittingly, The Playboy Club does have at least one Black cast member, Naturi Naughton as Bunny Brenda, who aspires to become the first Black Playmate in Playboy magazine (a color-line that was actually breached when Jennifer Jackson was selected as Playboy‘s March 1965 Playmate). Will we get to meet Bunny’s family, friends, boyfriends (assuming they are Black)? Like I said, leave your resume, just in case. (A Black Playmate spin-off? Slow your roll, playa.)

At least Mad Men has earned respect by consistently telling a story that is a historically accurate representation of the racist and sexist reality of the era it portrays—just one of the reasons my Black friends like it so much, but which also pretty much eliminates all but token opportunities for Black actors. Pan Am tries to have it both ways, reportedly planning to cast a Black flight attendant on the series even though there was likely no such thing on commercial airlines back then. If true, this is literally tokenism in fact and in fiction; cowardly at best, PC pandering at worst. If you’re going to cast a show about a Whites-only profession in an era of open racial discrimination in hiring, then just do it—don’t fake the funk.

Don’t get me wrong; nostalgia has its place in the hearts of Black Americans just as it does for White Americans. But that doesn’t change the fact that when it comes to happy days, we won’t find them looking over our shoulders. Our best history is in front of us. That’s clearly the case for Black actors and the television industry in general, at least on the equal opportunity, programming-that-looks-like-America tip. So when it comes to nostalgia TV, wake me up when we get to the 1970s, when American icons like Earl Graves, Don Cornelius, George Clinton, Max Robinson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Andrew Young, Diana Ross, Berry Gordy, Althea Gibson, Susan Taylor, Jessie Jackson, Gordon Parks, Tom Burrell, Richard Pryor, Billy Dee Williams and Maynard Jackson hit the scene. Make some TV series’ about those “happy days.” Dramatize those American stories. (Of course, you might have to actually hire Black actors and put Black casting directors, writers, producers and studio execs in charge.) Until then, I’m just not feeling the love.

Here are our top 40 companies for Diversity, including whether they rate on the Human Rights Campaign’s Best Places to Work list for the the LGBT community.

Click here to see the 2011 List of the Black Enterprise 40 Best Companies for Diversity.

Sabin D. Blake, Dealer Organizational Manager, Northeast Region, General Motors Corp. (Photo: Lonnie C. Major)

Sabin D. Blake, 34, has navigated the professional obstacles of being African American and gay throughout his career. Blake, a dealer organizational manager, Northeast region, for General Motors Corp., is no longer in the closet. That hasn’t always been the case though; for years, he lived a double life using non-gender specific pronouns such as “they” to describe individuals he has dated during casual conversations with colleagues.

“Being a double minority you choose what you present. I could hide being gay, I definitely couldn’t hide being black,” says Blake who kept his sexual orientation hidden for several reasons including fear for his personal safety. “I had these relationships with people where I would be going to dinner with their families. I was involved in their lives but I wasn’t being who I really was.”

Once keeping the secret became too disheartening, Blake made the decision to gradually reveal his sexual orientation to fellow GM employees and business associates. “It was hurtful not being authentic. And my energy was being sucked away,” he says. But each time he told someone he was gay it became easier for him. “It freed me. It allowed me to be more productive, more creative, and more innovative at work,” he says.

Blake attributes his level of comfort to GM’s workplace and the high visibility of gay senior-level executives and straight allies. “I know that GM has strong language in their anti-discrimination policies and very strong support of their employee network groups.” His experience resonates with African American corporate executives who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). For those who choose to “pass as straight,” they expend a great deal of time and energy covering up their personal lives or avoiding certain colleagues and company events.

A survey commissioned by the Human Rights Campaign found that out of 761 LGBT participants, only 25% of African Americans revealed their sexual orientation on the job. African American LGBT employees have unique challenges and experiences associated with being a minority because of their race, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Coming out in the workplace is an ongoing process especially when you are in high-level positions, says Yvette C. Burton, Ph.D., CEO of the Arcus Foundation, an LGBT social justice organization. “Business is driven by relationships, where it is quite natural for people to want to get to know you; it relates to how trustworthy you are as a professional. Whether it is a new job opportunity around the world, a new team, or a new boss, it requires a new set of conversations about who you are,” she adds.

Many African Americans that are part of the LGBT community don’t live in the closet but tend to live in private, maintains Sharon J. Lettman-Hicks, executive director and CEO of Washington, D.C.-based National Black Justice Coalition, a civil rights organization dedicated to empowering the African American LGBT population. There are graduated levels of “being out,” she says, so even if many don’t deny being LGBT they choose not to call attention to their sexual orientation. Says Lettman-Hicks: “They don’t desire to open themselves up to public scrutiny.”

There’s also the fear factor. Racial discrimination in the workplace is prohibited by a number of federal and state laws, but gay rights activists say anxiety around denied promotions, dismissal, discrimination, and harassment for being gay is all too real since there’s no federal law that protects LGBT individuals on the job except in the federal workplace. According to the Human Rights Campaign, on the state level it is legal in 29 states to discriminate based on sexual orientation and in 37 states to do so based on gender identity or expression. (If the employer is in a city or state whose laws prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, then that employer must adhere to those laws.)

Yvette C. Burton, Ph.D., CEO, Arcus Foundation (Photo: Lonnie C. Major)

Rosalyn Taylor O’Neale thinks she was fired in the early ’80s because she was a masculine-looking lesbian. “When I first entered corporate America I was in my ‘boy days,’ meaning I had short hair and wore pantsuits with ties.” O’Neale, 61, acknowledges progress has been made since then. Today, she serves as vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer for Campbell Soup Co. in Camden, New Jersey. Still, for some LGBT people, being out in the workplace can range anywhere from uncomfortable to a downright dangerous proposition.

Such issues have become increasingly important to corporations as part of their diversity initiatives and efforts to gain greater market share. Take Black Enterprise’s 40 Best Companies for Diversity, in which firms were measured against four key categories: the percentage of African Americans and other ethnic minorities represented among employees, senior management, and corporate board members, as well as the percentage of total procurement dollars spent with businesses owned by African Americans and other ethnic minority groups. We found that 23 companies on this year’s roster are also included on the Human Rights Campaign’s 2011 list of the Best Places to Work for LGBT employees.

Last year’s legislative repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in the military, and prominent professionals such as CNN’s Don Lemon coming out publicly, have placed a spotlight on gays in the workplace. (See sidebar on Lemon.) Despite this, African American LGBT executives can still find it tough as a double/triple minority to gain acceptance from corporate colleagues as well as within their own community.

Fight for a More Inclusive Environment
Research shows that there are between 2 million and 6 million people who are treated unfairly at work because they are LGBT, says Kimberley McLeod, media field strategist for Communities of African Descent at GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation). She says it’s not enough to establish policies to protect LGBT employees in the workplace. “Employers must also provide an inclusive environment where people feel safe to be their whole authentic selves. Fragmented employees who feel

they have to leave a part of themselves at home when they come to work will constantly hide or lie about details of their personal lives,” McLeod says. “They will be afraid to have conversations at the water cooler about their partner or to have a photo of their partner on their desks.”

While more companies have policies that protect LGBT workers, there needs to be improved inclusiveness and sensitivity training, especially for transgender workers, McLeod says. A survey by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force found 90% of transgender employees reported harassment at work. Research by the Williams Institute, which works to advance sexual orientation law and public policy, shows that between 15% and 43% of gay and transgender workers experience some form of discrimination on the job solely because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Additionally, 8% to 17% have been passed over for a job or fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity; 10% to 28% received a negative performance evaluation or were passed over for a promotion because they were gay or transgender; and 7% to 41% were verbally or physically abused or had their workplace vandalized.

Ironically, even companies that have strong diversity policies, including protections and benefits for LGBT employees, are challenged with consistently upholding these values. Recently, several major corporations were called out by civil rights organizations such as Garden State Equality and the Tennessee Equality Project for failing to oppose legislation—lobbied for by The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry—that repealed Nashville’s ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Garden State Equality rescinded awards to KPMG, Pfizer Inc., and AT&T based on their non-action. Several major national corporations also have representatives on the Tennessee Chamber board including Nissan, FedEx, Comcast, DuPont, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Caterpillar, Whirlpool, Alcoa, and United HealthCare.

CNN anchor Don Lemon thought twice about the professional ramifications of coming out.

Michigan is one of the states where workers can be fired for being LGBT with no legal recourse, says Adam Bernard, chairman of GM Plus, the automaker’s LGBT employee resource group. In 2007 GM—which is on both BE’s 40 Best Companies and Human Rights Campaign’s Best Places to Work lists— joined a coalition sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). The legislation is being debated in Congress to determine whether to enact a national law that provides basic protections against workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, Bernard explains.

Since its inception in 1993, the 200-member GM Plus has actively campaigned for equal treatment and safe, acceptable working conditions for all GM employees. Sexual orientation was added to GM’s non-discrimination policy in 1999 and GM, Ford, Chrysler, and the United Auto Workers (UAW) jointly announced the auto industry’s first same-sex domestic partner healthcare benefits a year later. In 2003, GM started targeting the LGBT community as part of its marketing efforts. The automaker added policy protection for employees based on gender identity and gender expression in 2006. Such internal and external efforts of corporations such as GM have provided open, inclusive, and supportive environments that have made it less daunting for LGBT workers and managers to be “out at work,” Bernard says.

Now, hundreds of companies have enacted policies protecting LGBT employees. As of March, 433 (87%) of the nation’s 500 largest corporations had implemented nondiscrimination policies that include sexual orientation, and 229 (46%) have policies that include gender identity protections. In addition, the majority of the nation’s largest employers now provide benefits to same-sex partners and spouses of employees. About 25 of the top 100 companies have removed discriminatory language from health insurance plans to allow coverage for transgender-related medical treatment.

When the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index launched in 2002, 13 companies received its top rating of 100%. In 2011, 337 companies earned a 100% rating, up from 305 in 2010, including Ford, Bank of America, and IBM—all on this year’s 40 Best Companies for Diversity list. The top three industries for employers rated 100% are law firms; banking and financial services; and retail and consumer products. Forty-seven companies scored 0%.

Finding the Right Support System
Colleen Taylor has spent her 21-year career working at three financial institutions (JPMorgan Chase, Wachovia, and Capital One) that have been inclusive and supportive of both LGBT and African American employees and their communities. “I have been out for 20 of those years,” says Taylor, an executive vice president and head of treasury management and merchant services with McLean, Virginia-based Capital One Bank.

Taylor, 43, one of BE’s Most Powerful Women in Business, made a conscious decision to come out to family, friends, and colleagues. “Anyone who knows me knows I’m gay. And I’m black. And I’m also a woman. It’s just part of who I am,” she says. While it has not been her experience, Taylor knows others in despair because they are not out at their workplace. “African American LGBT employees need to feel comfortable about showing up at work being who they are,” says Taylor, who points out that leadership sets the tone. “CEOs and senior executives need to be committed around a true sense of inclusion and diversity” by verbalizing it and reinforcing it with policies and programs.

Early on in his career, Curtis Pate III, 33, worked at financial services companies absent of openly gay senior executives—and definitely not any person of color. At that time, he believed coming out at work would have been detrimental to his career. “I would often hear comments about gays and lesbians that were off-putting.” Since coming to work for

Curtis Pate III, Global Training Manager of Finance, American Express (Photo: Lonnie C. Major)

American Express two years ago as global training manager of finance, Pate says he is now in a welcoming corporate environment for a black gay man in a highly visible role. He shares a home near Philadelphia with his partner of 13 years, who works for a major insurance provider. “We are getting to a point of comfort where we can talk with our colleagues about wanting to have children and wanting to get married,” he says.

Pate is involved in the LGBT and African American employee resource groups at American Express, which is on BE’s 40 Best Companies list and the Human Right’s Campaign’s Best Places to Work roster. “All of our employee networks have a common ground which is built on mutual respect. They also partner with each other,” says Pate. “There are a good number of members of the LGBT group that are members of the African American group. That alone helps bridge some of the gap.”

Over the past three decades, employee resource groups (also called affinity groups or business networks) were started, mainly as social networks to provide a safe space for women and minority employees. At the most basic level, such groups focus on employee retention but can also support business opportunities with LGBT consumers and other initiatives. Today, employee resource groups are used for diversity recruitment, promotion, leadership development, supplier diversity, and increasingly for business development, says Orlan Boston, a principal with Deloitte Consulting L.L.P. and chief diversity officer for Deloitte Consulting. Having such groups not only indicates an investment and commitment to challenges facing LGBT and African American employees, but it also demonstrates a bottom-line impact, adds Boston, who is Hispanic, African American, and gay.

There are issues beyond the control of even the best companies that have philosophical practices and principles around diversity and inclusion. This is why it is important that

companies collaborate and partner with major LGBT organizations, explains Burton, 45, who for more than a decade served as a global business development executive for IBM and also served as an expert witness before the U.S. Senate in support of the federal adoption of domestic partnership benefits for federal employees.

Boston maintains that companies must improve policy development efforts regarding fertility coverage for lesbian couples, surrogacy benefits for gay male couples, and unfair taxation of domestic partner benefits. “On average, domestic-partner couples incur an additional $1,500 annually in taxes whereas if they were a married heterosexual couple they would not pay,” he explains. Only five states legally recognize same-sex marriage and another six states (plus the District of Columbia) validate some form of civil unions. Nationwide, which is on BE’s  40 Best Companies list and the Human Rights Campaign’s list, has restructured its benefits package to be more LGBT inclusive. “We have had a very forward-looking approach to our benefits,” says Candice Barnhardt, the company’s chief diversity officer. “We have been active around the tax equity act so that the taxation of domestic partner health plan benefits is treated more fairly.”

Smart, aggressive companies are also targeting their marketing and advertising campaigns to reach the LGBT consumer market, which has estimated buying power of $835 billion. Aaron Walton is co-founder and co-CEO of Los Angeles-based Walton Isaacson (No. 8 on the BE Advertising Agencies list with $12 million in revenues), which has helped develop campaigns for Dove, Courvoisier, Harrah’s, and Maytag to reach this growing segment. “Black gay consumers and employees have a different perspective on LGBT marketing because they have lived with being a minority within a minority,” says Walton, who is openly gay and has been with his partner for 24 years. “We make sure brands understand that being inclusive is not going to hurt their general market efforts. It will actually bring in new consumers and help build their business.” He further states that roughly 85% of general market consumers don’t care if a brand they prefer has also been targeted to the LGBT community.

Colleen Taylor, EVP and Head of Treasury Management and Merchant Services, Capital One Bank (Photo: Lonnie C. Major)

Companies are doing a much better job around diversity and inclusion today than 10 years ago, says Pate. “But what is going to drive the workplace is the politics and community outside of that,” he adds.

Gaining Acceptance in the Black Community
Research shows African Americans face greater challenges coming out in their own communities where homophobia is prevalent. “African Americans overwhelmingly turn a blind eye to the existence of LGBT persons. We function like ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ within the African American community. We don’t acknowledge our black LGBT with the respect and dignity they deserve,” says Lettman-Hicks. “We prefer to use stereotypical or derogatory references instead of uplifting a valuable sector of our society. Politically, black folks see gay rights as a white America issue.”

There is the added social pressure for African American LGBT workers in part due to the historical relationship between the black community and the black church, which often sets the climate and tone of political and social movements. Walton, whose mother is a minister, says Julian Bond is one black civil rights leader who has spoken eloquently about the gay rights movement. Bond also has repeatedly acknowledged the contributions of openly gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, who was a friend of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the chief architect of the 1963 March on Washington.

It’s not just religious institutions. “We have to also look at institutions of higher learning, especially historically black colleges and universities, in fostering inclusion,” says Lettman-Hicks. This past May, nine historically black colleges and universities held a summit at Spelman College (funded by the Arcus Foundation) to address issues facing LGBT students, breaking the silence on a subject considered taboo on most black college campuses.

The same can be said for black fraternities and sororities, says O’Neale, who is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha. LGBT brothers and sorors aren’t usually comfortable bringing their partners to the “big dance,” such as national conferences and social events, explains O’Neale, who has been with her partner for 20 years and is one of the 18,000 legally married couples in the state of California. “The African American community has always had mixed emotions about the LGBT community. There is a history of excluding and marginalizing LGBT individuals.” In addition, LGBT African Americans can feel invisible within the general LGBT community, she says.

The Next Phase of Activism and Advocacy
The tide is changing with the next generation, says Boston. The experience of an LGBT baby boomer is very different from that of a Gen-Xer or Millennial. “We actively recruit LGBT students and candidates on college campuses. They are asking about domestic partner benefits, anti-discrimination policies, affiliations with national LGBT organizations, and the number of openly gay people on the board or the executive committee,” Boston says. “A good number of those asking these questions aren’t even LGBT, but they consider themselves straight allies who care about fair workplace practices for all employees. We never would have gotten those questions 10 years ago from job seekers.”

For more of our coverage on the triumphs and challenges of Black LGBTs in the workplace and beyond, visit blackenterprise.com/blacklgbt

Lewis (Image: File)

There are many young businessmen and women who dream of a high-powered job in professional sports.  They hang out at stadiums and arenas fantasizing about taking their place in the front office of their favorite team and developing marketing plans or finalizing draft decisions.

Though Wendy Lewis never had her own big league dreams, she has managed to build one of the most successful and long-standing careers in Major League Baseball.

Lewis was employed by the Chicago Tribune when its owner, the Tribune Company, approached her about establishing a formal human resources department at the Chicago Cubs, its newly acquired sports property. With a background in HR and sales, execs saw Lewis as the ideal candidate—especially considering that the Cubs needed to be sold on the fact that they needed a human resources department at all.

“It wasn’t a conscious decision to work for Major League Baseball,” Lewis said.  “It turned out to be a solution for corporate.  But it actually is more exciting, more challenging and more fulfilling than it was when I first got in.”

Read more at The Atlanta Post …

Who is the gay Black professional? If you were to rely on media images, they are overtly flamboyant and dramatic male hairstylists and fashion designers. Depictions are often skewed comedic renderings of members of a community who in real life too often lead separate lives to buffer themselves—and their families—from ridicule. “Many professionals are out in their community but private in the world,” says Sharon J. Lettman-Hicks, executive director and CEO of the National Black Justice Coalition, a civil rights organization that seeks to empower the African American LGBT population. “There’s a healthy Black, educated professional class of the gay, lesbian, and transgender community in this country. But there’s no recognition of their existence. There’s no protection for their rights—for silent or overt discrimination. Black people in general treat the existence of gays and lesbians and transgender people in the African American community like ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’” the former U.S. policy governing homosexuality in the military.

That code of silence has been the mode in which many LGBT employees have operated for decades. It’s one of the reasons we structured our 40 Best Companies for Diversity differently this year. In addition to listing companies based on the percentage of African American and ethnic minority employees, senior managers, and board members, and on the procurement spend with Black and minority firms, we identified those corporations that also made the Human Rights Campaign’s Best Places to Work list for LGBT employees. It’s an indication that these firms believe in the power of full inclusion, and also that they’re choosing not to overlook an $800 billion-plus market.

What also drove the development of our feature is the growing number of professionals who have decided to share with the world their true selves (see sidebar on CNN anchor Don Lemon). Advocacy is never an easy journey, particularly when an individual has been thrust into such a position. The need to live behind a protective shield is very real to those who have suffered rejection, embarrassment, humiliation, and sometimes even violence. Sometimes, however, it becomes evident that coming forward with a personal testimony and an example of success could help improve the lot of others. We developed this feature to communicate that anyone can make a significant contribution. They just need to gain the opportunity to stand up and be counted.

Be sure to pick up the July 2011 issue of BLACK ENTERPRISE when it hits national newsstands Tuesday, July 19 and look for more of our Black LGBT coverage all month long at www.BlackEnterprise.com/BlackLGBT.

Here’s how the authors suggest you maintain high standards of performance:

• Go deep and wide. Immerse yourself in a particular area. Become an expert and create a space where you can develop a reputation for yourself. But also diversify your skills in related areas.

• Recognize that excellence is your best ally. Even meritocracies can be subjective unless you decide to become an active participant with your supervisor in setting the criteria and benchmarks by which you will be judged. It is important to meet regularly with your supervisor to make sure that your performance is in line with performance expectations.

• Learn your game. What is the culture of your organization? That includes knowing the influencers, the gatekeepers, decision makers, and all of the unwritten rules and codes of the company, all of which will determine the rate and pace at which you advance professionally.

For more information on their work strategies, visit the online supplement www.redefinethegame.com.