![]() BlogWorking with Corporate America on Issues of RacePosted September 20th, 2014 by Thomas Norman DeWolf
A little background… Before committing herself full-time to writing and genealogy, Sharon had a long and distinguished career as a marketing communications consultant. She founded the National Black Public Relations Society and worked for a multitude of Fortune 100 clients, including McDonald’s, Walmart, and Coca-Cola. Her connections led to a phone conversation with Sharon Orlopp, Chief Global Diversity Officer for Walmart. After our conference call, Ms. Orlopp read Gather at the Table and then flew with seven colleagues to our appearance at an afternoon workshop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was moved to write messages of introduction and endorsement of our work to colleagues who work in her position with dozens of other major corporations. The resulting conversations have led to appearances at the League of Black Women Global Leadership Conference, a feature article in Diversity MBA Magazine as well as an appearance at their annual Leadership Conference, and our full-day participation at the GE AAF Global Symposium at the Washington Hilton. In addition to our morning keynote presentation in DC, we led two afternoon workshops with approximately 100 participants in each. “But, but, but…” you may be thinking, “hasn’t Corporate America contributed to the injustice and inequity?”
As we pointed out in our presentation in Washington, DC, corporations continue to reap record profits, due in no small part to the buying power of women and minorities. Women control $4.3 trillion dollars in U.S. consumer spending. The purchasing power of communities of color exceeds $2 trillion dollars. Global opportunity markets are primarily countries populated by people of color.
The people we are working with at Walmart, General Electric, Diversity MBA, the League of Black Women, and others, are committed to addressing these systemic issues. We are committed to working with them and supporting them in their efforts. 2 responses to “Working with Corporate America on Issues of Race”Leave a Reply |
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This is fantastic. Congratulations on your success.
The world needs more of these conversations.