"Diversity as Strategy"
Harvard Business Review
September 2004, pp. 98-108
IBM has a long history of progressive management regarding civil rights and equal employment. However, when Lou Gerstner took over as CEO in the mid-1990's, he launched a 1995 diversity task force initiative that has become a cornerstone of IBM's HR strategy. The effort continues today under current CEO Sam Palmisano.
The initiative was aimed more at reaching a broader range of customers than at treating everyone in the company "equally". In fact, the initiative emphasized differences rather than similarities. The initial task forces were composed of senior executives who were members of the following constituencies: Asians; blacks; gays/lesbians/bisexual/transgender; Hispanics; white men; Native Americans; people with disabilities; and women. Each task force was also assigned a sponsor who was not necessarily a member of the constituency.
The task forces focused on the following areas for evaluation and improvement: communications, staffing, employee benefits, workplace flexibility, training and education, advertising, marketplace opportunities, and external relations.
In 1997, others in the company were encouraged to participate in the effort through employee network groups.
The corporate change effort benefited from the following key factors:
- Demonstrated leadership support—In addition to role modeling by top executives, IBM also has a Chief Diversity Officer who offers coaching and advice to IBM executives.
- Engaging employees as partners—The task forces and employee network groups have provided this key aspect.
- Integrating diversity with management practices—The CEOs have both emphasized reporting on the Diversity Initiative in senior team meetings, and managers are held accountable on this issue.
- Linking diversity goals to other goals—It was clear from the beginning that the initiative was linked to business goals, and the task forces have led to a series of major business accomplishments.
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