Diversity Executive - November 2008 - (Page 44)

It can be an easy conversation to have when things are going good and people are acknowledging you for great work you’re doing. But it can also be an awkward conversation when you’re really trying to move things. – Jerome Miller Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. Miller, who is currently Toyota Motor Sales USA’s vice president of diversity and inclusion, said his vision is for the company’s brand around diversity and inclusion to speak to people as strongly as its products do in the marketplace. “Whoever you talk to will talk about Toyota’s products — great value, great dependability, great reliability — I would like to have the world feel our commitment to diversity and inclusion and talk about [it with the same eagerness] as they talk about our products.” Miller said his approach to attain this goal is “inclusive diversity:” when a team of employees work toward certain business objectives, but in the process of working together discuss their backgrounds, career paths, interests, similarities and differences. Many diversity leaders ultimate goal to take the industry to a level where it’s so integrated into the business there won’t be a need to bestow the title of a diversity leader because all business leaders would become diversity and inclusion leaders. “It becomes institutionalized. It becomes a way we do business, something that has immediate business value and relevance and doesn’t require any special or focused attention,” Miller said. “We’re a long ways away, but that is ultimately where we’re aiming to get to.” In the meantime, Miller said there are two requirements any diversity leader should have, in addition to the skills and competencies necessary to lead diversity initiatives: a strategy that can be implemented effectively and the courage to stand up for one’s convictions. “It can be an easy conversation to have when things are going good and people are acknowledging you for great work you’re doing. But it can also be an awkward conversation when you’re really trying to move things,” Miller said. “It requires a lot of courage to stand boldly and — if necessary — by yourself to help [the company] realize the gains that can be made by successfully implementing a diversity and inclusion strategy.” – Deanna Hartley Aida Sabo Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion Cardinal Health Aida Sabo’s commitment to diversity and inclusion goes back a long way to when she was growing up in Northern California. “I participated in the outstanding diversity/inclusion programs that HewlettPackard operated in the California community, where I lived as a child,” she said. “The goal was to help women and minorities successfully enter into the ﬁelds of math and science. Those experiences in turn helped me to earn a scholarship and attend the University of California at Davis. “I was fortunate to beneﬁt from strong corporate diversity initiatives at such an early age, and I’ve long been motivated to give back, too. Once I began working at Hewlett-Packard, I worked with the company’s executive team to lead the creation of the company’s ﬁrst Latino group. I also volunteered in women/minority focus groups to support the company’s overall diversity strategy. All of these experiences led me to the diversity and inclusion ﬁeld.” Since April, Sabo has been vice president of diversity and inclusion at Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal Health, a global manufacturer and distributor of medical and surgical supplies and technologies that employs more than 40,000 people on ﬁve 44 Diversity Executive | www.diversity-executive.com | November/December 2008 http://www.diversity-executive.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Diversity Executive - November 2008

Diversity Executive - November 2008 Editor’s Letter Contents Leadership Connections Guest Editorial Diversity Executive Online Middle Management Roadblock ‘Hidden Winds’ Hinder Progress The Domino Effect Supplier Partnerships Unlock Economic Opportunities Measuring Diversity Special Section: Who’s Who in Diversity and Inclusion Dimensions of Difference Overcoming Language Diff erences Business Intelligence: Combating Subtle Discrimination Case Study: Shifting Diversity Into Overdrive Advertisers’ Index Editorial Resources Strategies

Diversity Executive - November 2008

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