Diversity Executive - November 2008 - (Page 48)

“My education and passion for what I do keep me astute and afford me the opportunity to be a committed advocate for the growth and development of minority enterprises,” she said. “I am in a unique position of viewing equality and parity through an economic lens and not being mystiﬁed by what I see.” The RainbowPUSH Coalition prefers the term “equanomics” to the words “diversity” and “inclusion”. “Equanomics” is deﬁned as how the inclusion of people of color can be measured and quantiﬁed. Turner described some of RainbowPUSH’s accomplishments in equanomics. “Rev. [Jesse] Jackson, [president and founder of RainbowPUSH], and a delegation of labor and business leaders traveled to Japan and Indonesia to help resolve labor disputes between U.S. workers in Japanese companies, to promote increased trade with African-American-owned businesses and to meet with Indonesian labor unions to explore the working conditions,” she said. Other achievements using the equanomics concept include an Appalachian bus tour through Appalachia Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio to focus on the economic conditions in that region. The tour concluded with an economic conference to propose an investment fund to stimulate area businesses. In addition, Jackson, the ITB and about 200 AfricanAmerican-owned 18-wheel tractor-trailers increased visibility for Chicago’s black truckers. As a result, African-American trucking companies now hold prime and subcontractor agreements to handle removal of waste at illegal dumping sites. Turner said creating a diverse workplace enables bottom-line impact and measurable growth. On a weekly basis, Turner hosts a business network meeting for entrepreneurs to gain access to economic opportunities and do business with other entrepreneurs. “My chosen career path has challenged and changed me,” she said. “I’m challenged by the lack of minority inclusion in leadership roles within the corporate sector. I’m changed because of the role our organization plays in shaking the very conscious contentment of corporate America.” – Elizabeth Lisican “If you look at that cast, you don’t feel like there’s a token woman [or] a token African-American put there,” said Walker, the senior vice president and chief human resources ofﬁcer. “That cast looks, acts and feels like people in that area would. [It’s] not just putting programming out there that looks like the world; it [has to be] authentic. If you do that, then a more diverse audience of people [will] want to watch your networks, and that drives ratings and advertisers want to advertise because there are more people watching.” Walker said diversity is about business, not benevolence. Instead of creating a separate diversity function, Turner has integrated it into HR to ensure it is a part of the business. As for Walker’s role, she said her role is the “air trafﬁc controller,” as she guides business units in deﬁning and ﬁguring out how diversity plays a key role in the overall growth of the business. When Walker started in her current position a year ago, she said she took diversity to the next level. Instead of talking about it just in terms of race and gender, she pushed the discussion further and engaged people at all levels of the company. “If you have a diverse group of people at the table making decisions, regardless of what that diversity is, you make better decisions, which makes your business stronger, which makes you grow,” she said. “I really started thinking about how could we begin to frame that message in a way that got business leaders to understand that this really wasn’t about making people feel guilty: It was about making good decisions that would grow our business long term.” To ensure diversity is a priority throughout the organization, Turner has developed several business resource groups including Turner Women Today, Black Professionals@ Turner and TurnerUno (for Latino employees). “I know it sounds like what the HR girl is supposed to say, but we have great people with great ideas at all levels in the organization. And we created these groups to bring ideas to the company to help us grow,” Walker said. “[They] have done everything from reviewing our programming and giving their perspective on how it should be marketed, to creating some mentoring and development programs to mentor employees at lower levels in the organization. It is by far the thing that I’m most proud of internally from a diversity perspective.” Walker said she would like to see more organizations in the industry take on a perspective similar to Turner’s. “It’s not just having a woman at the table or someone who did not grow up inside Turner; it’s bringing in external people no matter what they look like that can bring different perspectives to the table that help us think differently about how we approach our audiences,” she said. – Lindsay Edmonds Wickman Loretta Walker Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Turner Broadcasting System At Turner Broadcasting System, diversity is not just a buzz word. It’s necessary to produce authentic programming for viewers. Take “The Closer” on TNT, one of Loretta Walker’s favorite shows. It has a diverse audience because it looks and feels like a Los Angeles police department should. 48 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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