September/October 2008 / Features
Another Look at Diversity in Corporate America
Sylvia James, who as diversity counsel at Baker Botts, helps the firm design its own diversity initiatives, was formerly a senior counsel specializing in diversity counseling for companies. In a Q&A interview, she describes the kind of advice she gave to companies, and then tells why she believes that for corporate America the most problematic diversity-related issues today are sexual preference and gender identity – the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) issues.
“What I’ve noticed over the years is that the GLBT issue brings about a very strong negative response,” she says. “People don’t like it being treated in the same manner as race/ethnicity and gender.” In part, she says, that’s because people tend to see sexual identity as a choice. It may run counter to religious beliefs, and because so many are still in the closet “people can fool themselves into believing their workforce does not include GLBT individuals.”
Diversity training can work, according to James. It should emphasize “inclusion,” as opposed to representation.
A sidebar consists of excerpts from Congressional testimony by a retired U.S. Army colonel, a former special forces operative and more recently an academic expert on counter-terrorism, who experienced hiring discrimination after applying for the position of Specialist in Terrorism and International Crime with the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress.
