DiversityInc - Spring 2006

Wal-Mart, No. 29 on The 2005 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list, has bounced back from the charges of discrimination and become a diversity leader after becoming the subject of the largest gender-discrimination class-action lawsuit in U.S. history.

On June 21, 2004, as headlines across the country announced, Wal-Mart, the country’s largest private employer, had a record number of women employees certified in a class-action gender-discrimination claim against the company. The plaintiffs, who are expected to number more than a million female workers, allege women have been discriminated against in promotions, job assignments, training and pay throughout the United States.

Although the company still faces the gender-discrimination lawsuit, it has embarked on diversity initiatives that should shield it from future lawsuits, aggressively pushed by CEO Lee Scott. Those initiatives include requiring recruitment officers to hire a percentage of qualified applicants equal to the designated group that applies and penalizing managers who don’t reach measurable diversity goals by cutting their pay.

What often comes out in discrimination lawsuits is a lack of developing talent for the future. Women and people of color often find themselves stuck in entry-level and non-management roles. Motivated to avoid that dilemma, Wal-Mart has instituted a mentor-ship program for its 55,000 managers, who are required to mentor at least three people not of their own gender, race and background.

Part of Coca-Cola’s (No. 6 on The 2005 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list) turnaround has been court-mandated. As part of its settlement, the company agreed to invest $36 million in

diversity programs. In addition, the company agreed to a seven-person independent review board, which would oversee its diversity practices and policies for five years. The review board also prepared annual reports on the bottler’s compliance with the settlement.

However, it was the actions of Coca-Cola CEO Neville Isdell that demonstrated that leadership values diversity. In 2004, instead of allowing the court-ordered advisory panel to expire, Isdell asked the court to extend the panel’s work through 2006.

What often comes out in bias
lawsuits is a lack of developing
talent for the future.
RACIAL-DISCRIMINATION LAWSUITS
Company
Year
No. of Plaintiffs Settlement