Diversity management stops at senior management

A new survey by the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC) shows that in spite of corporate promises to promote diversity in senior management, very little progress has been made so far. According to the AESC’s BlueSteps 2007 Diversity Report, 76% of 357 global senior executives report their companies have one or no minorities among their top executives, and 56% say their employers have one or no women among their top executives. This lack of diversity at the top exists despite the fact that 54% of the respondents indicated their companies have an official “diversity in the workplace” policy already in place.
A similar survey was conducted for the June 2005 BlueSteps Diversity Report. A comparison of 2005 and 2007 survey results finds a slight decline – from 59% to 54% – in the percentage of respondents reporting that their companies currently have an official diversity policy in place. On a regional level, the majority of executives from North America and Asia Pacific, 61% and 50% respectively, say their companies have official diversity policies, while the majority of European executives (54%) said they do not. This lack of progress suggests the entrenchment of the “good ole boys club” and business as usual, writes the Business Week Europe. The key question for the future of diversity will be for companies to come up with alternative recruiting and promoting strategies – especially for senior corporate management positions.