“One other component that seems to be
missing is explaining
[U.S.] history. Yes,
people always say
‘We don’t have that
problem,’ but you
have to understand
how we came about
and how we’ve taken
race and gender and
adapted it or allowed
it to be malleable into
new dimensions of
diversity that creep
up over all of our
business strategies.”
Tara Amaral
CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER AND VICE PRESIDENT OF TALENT
ACQUISI TION, ADP (NO. 49 IN THE DIVERSITYINC TOP 50)
“Is there a global framework for diversity? I’ve
had conversations with our Canadian [team]
because they argue with me that they don’t
have a diversity and inclusion issue. And I said,
‘How do you know you don’t if you’re not asking the questions and measuring it?’ They’re
not—other than what we [in the United States]
are trying to impose on them.”
DIVERSITYINC LEARNING EVENT Day
1
Jackie Parker
NEWELL RUBBERMAID
“You really understand local
culture from other people.
Every time I go and visit and
work with general managers
or stakeholders, that’s really
where you hear what works
for them. And I always open
up with, ‘Please tell me if this
is not applicable here.’ That’s
where you get the two-way
engagement. Women in
the Hong Kong office
didn’t feel a need to
advance themselves;
it’s not part of their
culture. They follow
hierarchies and it’s not
culturally acceptable to go
ahead of a man. When we
wanted to roll out our women’s resource group, they
were like, ‘Why? We don’t
advance ourselves; we’re
not interested in doing what
American women do.’”
What
They
DID
Key TAKEA WAYS
; Do not apply U.S. terms and
definition of “diversity”
; Speak with locals to
understand their issues and
have them understand
your perspective and history
Read more coverage of this event at
www.DiversityInc.com/diversityevents
June 2010 111
