If you want the best talent, want to understand your customers, make better decisions, be creative, and develop a workplace where your employees are most engaged, it has to be diverse.
How would you encourage other white males to become involved in the diversity and inclusion movement? I routinely communicate and demon- strate the importance of active engage- ment in our diversity and inclusion efforts to our entire team. It is in our best personal interest to do so. If you want the best talent, want to under- stand your customers, make better decisions, be creative, and develop a workplace where your employees are most engaged, it has to be diverse. Plus, we all recognize that our customer base is becoming more and more diverse, and our workforce and teams need to reflect that diversity in order to be successful. And, you know what? Diversity is fun too. I enjoy interacting with people who are different from me and have different backgrounds, thoughts, perspectives, and experiences, as I can continuously learn from them—and see things I would never see through my own lens.
You have a background in science—you worked at Thermo Fischer Scientific for years. One of the key findings of MCCA’s general counsel survey was that women are making strides in traditionally male-dominated “hard hat indus- tries.” Can you give any insight into the way that the legal profession has changed over the years,
MCCA.COM
especially in different industries? Demographics are shifting fast. By the year 2042, whites will be a minority in this country—never to be reversed. Fifty-seven percent of undergraduates are now women, and law schools are essentially equal in gender makeup. America’s Latino market is now the 11th largest economy in the world—just below France, Italy, and Mexico and larger than Korea, Spain, Indonesia, and Turkey. Te world’s center also clearly is shifting west—Asia is exploding. And I truly believe, when the 21st century is over, we will view it as the “century of the woman.” Don’t get me wrong, other diversity initiatives will advance too. But many of the leadership skills and attri- butes necessary to be successful in the 21st century are skills that many women possess. Smart companies, in all indus- tries, will recognize that the makeup of the leadership and the law departments of the past—generally comprised of white males—will simply not allow you to be competitive in the future.
Over the years, the GC survey has found that there are more minority and women general counsel in the Fortune 1-500 than in the Fortune 501-1000. Why do you think there’s more diversity at the largest, most profitable companies? First, I would look at the statistics.
Over the last six years, the number of woman general counsels has increased by more than 25 percent and the num- ber of woman of color general counsels has increased by more than 200 per- cent. I believe that this trend with gen- der and other diversity is just starting at the Fortune 500, but will accelerate across all of corporate America. I would be very worried if I were working at a major law firm—where equity partners are about 15 percent women and are in the low single digits for people of color. Te diversity in the ranks of their clients’ law departments and general counsel is changing faster than they are—it may take more than ten years to create a new equity partner while it may take only one day to place a new general counsel! I would be extremely concerned if I was a law firm that did not reflect the changing and diverse needs and makeup of the client base.
The GC survey also found that Asian American women are sorely underrepresented at the GC level. Why do you think one ethnic group has more trouble than others gaining representation? A depressing fact and a good question. And I was not aware of these numbers, until I saw the results of your analysis. I really don’t have data to support my answer and there may be many factors that have caused this result. But my speculation is unconscious bias has a lot to do with this. Te combination of an Asian American stereotype plus the stereotypes many women profes- sionals encounter is not just doubly difficult; it is logarithmically difficult to overcome. Both good leaders and leading companies are aware of their unconscious biases, take affirmative steps to overcome them and objectively consider experience and potential to make a merit-based decision when selecting a general counsel. D&B
Mark Roellig spoke with Diversity & the Bar Editor-in-Chief Joshua Shields for this interview.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 DIVERSITY & THE BAR® 15
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