Profile of the Participants

Face-to-face interviews were conducted with eight diversity managers/directors in eight multinational corporations. Demographic and background information on the eight study participants were collected through a Demographic Information Form that the study participants completed during the final stage of the interview. Additional background information was collected in the interview through direct questioning of the study participants. The first question in the interview guide asked the participants to specify how and why they became involved in the field of workforce diversity. Additional questions and probes were used throughout the interview process to clarify participants' background information relevant to the topic.

Data collected from the Demographic Information Form were summarized to give a full picture of the participants. Demographic information was collected in nine categories: (1) gender, (2) age range, (3) race/ethnicity, (4) educational background by degree, (5) major field of study, (6) present position/title, (7) number of years in current position, (8) number of years with corporation, and (9) number of years of work experience. Of the eight participants, three were men and five were women. One participant was in the age range of 21- to 29-years old. Five participants were 40- to 49-years old. Two participants were in the age range of 50- to 59-years old. Of the eight participants, seven individuals were African American and one was Hispanic. Two participants had either a B.A. or B.S. degree. Three had an M.A., M.Ed. or M.B.A. degree. Three participants had J.D. degrees. Table 1 summarizes and compares the demographic characteristics of the participants by gender, age, race/ethnicity, and education by degree.

Table 2 presents the major fields of study for the participants. Three participants had educational degrees in law. One participant reported an educational background in industrial psychology and industrial relations. Another participant reported cultural anthropology, another human resources and public administration, and another industrial relations. Additionally, one reported a political science and philosophy background.

Table 3 presents the positions and/or titles of the study participants. Three of the participants were directors of diversity. Two were vice presidents of diversity and another two were managers of diversity. One participant was a diversity strategist. Sixty-three percent of the diversity positions were at the director or vice-president levels. The eight study participants' status by years of experience was summarized in three categories: (1) number of years in current position, (2) number of years with current corporation, and (3) number of years of work experience. Participants ranged from three months to ten years of experience in their current position. The average number of years a participant worked in his or her position was approximately three years.

The number of years the study participants had been employed by their corporation ranged from three months to 21 years. The average number of years a participant was employed in their corporation was 7.3 years. The number of years of work experience ranged from five years to 25 years, with an average of 18.8 years. The majority of the study participants have been in their current position and have worked for their current corporation for less than five years but have 20 or more years of work experience. Table 4 presents the demographic characteristics by participant's major field of study, present position/title, number of years in present position, number of years with corporation, and number of years of work experience.

When the study participants were asked how and why they became involved in the field of workforce diversity, the majority indicated that they were interested and believed strongly in developing people to their full potential regardless of race, gender, or culture. They also felt that they had good strategic planning and problem solving skills which are essential for their positions. In addition, they indicated that they had a talent for bringing people together and the competencies required to work with senior level management.