People of Color, Women and the Public
Corporation
Conference on Racial and Gender
Inequity in the Business Setting
In recent years, employees of color and women at all levels
within the public corporation have filed litigation alleging
discriminatory employment practices relating to hiring, promotion
and pay. How can corporate counsel, officers and directors
help their companies avoid the pecuniary losses and the attendant
harm to corporate reputation that result from pervasive and
credible allegations of discrimination?
In addition to examining the effects of corporate activity on
women and minority employees, conference participants will consider
the impact that large public companies have on women and minority
suppliers, consumers of color, and communities of color in
which firms do business.
This conference will bring together lawyers, labor leaders,
business people, corporate executives, shareholder activists and
policy-oriented academics to explore the complex problem of
discrimination in the business setting.
Date
Friday, March 18, 2005
Time
8:45 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Location
Belson Moot Courtroom, School of Law, Queens Campus
Keynote Speakers
- Martha
Fineman (Emory)
- Rachel
Moran (Berkeley)
- Larry Backer (Penn State Dickinson)
- Douglas Branson (University of Pittsburgh)
- Dorothy Brown (Washington & Lee)
- Claire Moore Dickerson (Rutgers)
- Kent Greenfield (Boston College)
- Thomas Joo (UC Davis)
- Donald
Langevoort (Georgetown)
- Marleen O'Connor (Stetson)
- Steven Ramirez (Washburn)
- Susan Stabile (St. John’s)
- Katherine Stone (UCLA)
- Susan Sturm (Columbia)
- Mark Sargent (Villanova)
- Kellye Testy (Seattle)
- Cynthia Williams (University of Illinois)
Last year this nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of the
U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of
Education. Much has changed about the nature of racial
relationships since Brown. Schools and lunch counters are
integrated, but 50 years later, insidious racial inequities endure
- particularly in matters pertaining to economics and
business. Gender inequality also persists in this
setting. This conference explores the problem of continuing
race and sex discrimination in contexts that are controlled or
influenced by the decision makers who govern large publicly-held
corporations.
The American workplace, governed by the managers of large
publicly-held corporations, is the locus of much of today's racial
injustice. Workplace discrimination in hiring, promotion, and
pay, and the corporate governance practices that allow for
continuing bias in employment relationships, should be the focus of
civil and human rights work in this new millennium. This work
is important for individual members of historically-disadvantaged
groups. It is important for our society and
economy. Companies that are racially diverse will perform more
successfully in global and domestic markets than companies that are
not. Yet, the largest U.S. public companies have not achieved
racial or gender diversity. African Americans make up 12.9
percent of this nation's population, but only 0.6 percent of
senior-level managers in major companies are African
American. Only 11.9 percent of all corporate officers at
Fortune 500 companies are women. Only 5.1 percent of those who
hold the top positions - from chief executive to vice president -
are women. Minority women make up only 1.3 percent of senior
management. One essential and difficult task for conference
participants will be to examine the social realities that underlie
these statistics. Is the lack of racial and gender diversity
among senior managers merely the result of a meritocracy? Or,
do the low numbers of women of color, men of color, and white women
at the top of the corporate ladder indicate that some of the most
significant employment decisions are discriminatory?
In recent years, employees of color and women at all levels
within the public corporation have filed litigation alleging
discriminatory employment practices relating to hiring, promotion
and pay. In some instances, women and employees of color have filed
claims that described work environments in which they were
subjected to overtly racist and sexist pranks, taunts and
hostility. How can corporate officers and directors help their
companies avoid the pecuniary losses and the attendant harm to
corporate reputation that results from pervasive and credible
allegations of discrimination? Is there a role for shareholder
activists in achieving racial and gender diversity and equity
within this nation's largest companies? Do diversity training
programs help to change racially-toxic corporate cultures? How
should such programs be structured? Do sexual harassment
policies change corporate environments for women? How do
corporate policies and programs prohibiting race discrimination
compare to sexual discrimination and harassment policies? How
can critical race theory and feminist jurisprudence help to
establish a model for racial justice and gender equity in global
and domestic markets?
The effects of discriminatory decision-making by managers and
employees acting on behalf of public companies extend beyond the
women and people of color hired by such companies. In addition
to examining the effects of corporate activity on women and
minority employees, conference participants will consider the
impact that large public companies have on women and minority
suppliers, consumers of color, and communities of color in
which firms do business. Minority communities are
disproportionately burdened by corporate activity that harms the
environment. Consumers of color frequently suffer disparate
and inferior treatment when shopping or seeking credit. Small
businesses owned by women and minorities that seek to do business
with large public companies are unfairly excluded. The
significance of a meaningful discourse on race and gender diversity
extends beyond our national borders. For example, what will be
the impact of globalization on minority employees of U.S.
corporations? Will increased access to cheap labor markets lead to
fewer employment opportunities and disproportionately affect
working class minorities?
The problem of race and gender discrimination that is carefully
disguised, or subtle and unconscious, offers a complex study in
human nature and corporate governance. This conference seeks
to bridge the gap between theory and practice to understand the
complex problem of discrimination in the business setting. The
conference will bring together lawyers, labor leaders, business
people, corporate executives, shareholder activists and
policy-oriented academics to discuss the difficult issues of gender
and race discrimination that have polarized our nation.
The People of Color Conference brochure (PDF format) is
available for download.
More Information
Cheryl L. Wade, Harold F. McNiece Professor of Law
wadec@stjohns.edu
or
Nancy Brady, Manager of Special Events
holihann@stjohns.edu, or 718-990-1946.