Sometimes, broad diversity training isn’t enough. In fact, we’d venture to say that most times it’s not enough. That’s particularly the case when it comes to getting supervisors to take diversity seriously.

“We’ve found that simple ‘diversity training’ doesn’t seem to do much to help managers ‘get it,’” says Joanne Cleaver, president of Wilson-Taylor Associates, an editorial and research services firm that manages a major annual project for Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT).

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Supervisors don’t just need to understand the challenges faced by minorities and the legal ramifications, they must also experience what it’s like to be a minority within the organization, says Rene Petrin, who, as president of Boston-based Management Mentors, sets up corporate mentoring programs for clients.

“One of the most effective ways to translate theory into action has been by having supervisors participate in a formal mentoring program that allows for a relationship between a majority person and a minority person which can transform both of them,” Petrin explains.

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The Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced on January 23 that President Barack Obama has appointed Stuart J. Ishimaru as acting chair of the EEOC and Christine M. Griffin as acting vice chair.

Ishimaru, whose term expires July 1, 2012, has been a commissioner since November 2003. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate for a second term at the EEOC in December 2007. During his tenure, Ishimaru has primarily focused on large systemic cases and in reinvigorating the agency’s work on race discrimination issues.

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On December 31, 2008, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that Merrill Lynch, the international financial services firm, settled a discrimination lawsuit filed on behalf of an Iranian Muslim former worker who claimed he was terminated because of his religion and national origin. Merrill Lynch agreed to pay $1.55 million to settle the suit.

In the initial lawsuit, the EEOC claimed that Merrill Lynch refused to promote and then terminated Majid Borumand from his position as a qualitative analyst in August 2005 because of his Iranian national origin and because he is a Muslim. The EEOC argued that Merrill Lynch instead retained and promoted a less-qualified individual.

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National Women’s History Month’s roots go back to March 8, 1857, when women from New York City factories staged a protest over working conditions. International Women’s Day was first observed in 1909, but it wasn’t until 1981 that Congress established National Women’s History Week to be commemorated the second week of March. In 1987, Congress expanded the week to a month. Every year since, Congress has passed a resolution for Women’s History Month, and the president has issued a proclamation.
Here are some facts and statistics about women in the workplace and business in the United States from the U.S. Census Bureau:

• There were 154.7 million females in the United States as of Oct. 1, 2008. The number of males was 150.6 million.

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