Research has proved that a policy of hiring and promoting women and minorities is good for a company's bottom line. Consumers and communities respond favorably to businesses with good employment practices, and employees who are treated fairly have better morale and productivity.
A study of the S&P 500 by Covenant Investment Management found that businesses committed to promoting minority and women workers had an average annualized return on investment of 18.3% over a five-year period, compared with only 7.9% for those with shatter-proof glass ceilings.
If Florida businesses expect to succeed in the domestic and global marketplace, we must make real efforts to remove barriers that prevent qualified women and minorities from achieving top management positions. Many companies in the state have already made progress in breaking down these barriers. The three finalists for the first State of Florida Athena Award presented by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce last month - Baptist Health Systems of South Florida, Steel Hector & Davis LLP and the Miami Herald Publishing Company - are setting the pace for the rest of us. They have provided leadership opportunities for women and minorities while demonstrating excellence in their business practices and civic and community involvement. And they will reap the benefits of their forward-thinking for years to come.
Because their corporate cultures are more hospitable to minorities and women, they will find it easier to recruit and retain workers in the future. By increasing the number of minorities and women working in product development, marketing and advertising, these companies maximize their ability to tap into many segments of the changing consumer market. Overall, they will be better prepared to do business with customers, competitors and partners who are also increasingly diverse.
In 1995, the federal government's Glass Ceiling Commission recommended a corporate "best-practices" agenda for removing barriers to the advancement of women and minorities and increasing the opportunities for their advancement. Many of their recommendations are workable for most Florida companies, and we all stand to gain by adopting practices such as these:
We should set company-wide policies that actively promote diversity programs and policies that remove artificial barriers at every level. Then we should make sure our policies are known outside the company through our annual reports, advertising, newsletters and help-wanted ads.
We should develop strategic business plans to achieve diversity throughout the work force, and take regular measurements to see how we're doing.
We should broaden our search for job candidates by including minority and women's advocacy organizations, the military, women's colleges, and colleges and universities with historical ties to ethnic groups. The search firms we hire should do the same.
We should help prepare minorities and women for senior positions through formal mentoring programs and by helping employees broaden their base of experience and visibility within the company.
Whether or not we receive an award for our efforts, the benefit to our communities, our state and our future success is immeasurable. And two points about this just aren't debatable any more: It's the right thing to do, and it's also good for the bottom line.