Diversity Organizations To Combat Minority Under-representation In Business.

For the first time ever, a group of leading organizations have banded together to address the problem of minority under-representation in business and management education. In an unprecedented step, the organizations agreed to work together in a new coalition, The Diversity Pipeline Alliance, to leverage their individual efforts to attract more African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans and Native Americans to pursue careers in business.

“Business is a career and educational choice rich with opportunity for young African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans. Minority students need to hear that message,” said Nicole Chestang, Executive Vice President and Secretary of the Graduate Management Admission Council (R)(GMAC), lead sponsor of the effort.

“The Diversity Pipeline Alliance is a powerful effort and opportunity to enact some true change in the diversity of tomorrow’s workplace,” said Bernard J. Milano, President of the KPMG Foundation and the PhD Project, a founding member of the Alliance.

In the months ahead, the Diversity Pipeline Alliance will prepare and release a comprehensive report on the status of minority participation in business education. Subsequently, the Alliance will conduct an aggressive marketing campaign to show minorities aged 12 to 24 how studying business can open exciting career opportunities.

The Diversity Pipeline Alliance was formed in response to increased demand for a diverse workforce. This demand creates pressure on institutions to diversify classrooms. One indicator that achieving this diversity will be a challenge is the 24% drop from 1995 to 1999 in minorities taking the GMAT(R) for admission to graduate business school.

“The Pipeline Alliance wants to convince young African American, Hispanic American and Native American students that going to business school opens up a world of career options,” explained Paul Danos, Dean of the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration.

These are the organizations involved:

CitiGroup Foundation

Consortium for Graduate Study in Management

Graduate Management Admission Council

KPMG Foundation

Leadership Education and Development (LEAD)

Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT)

National Black MBA Association, Inc. (including Leaders of Tomorrow(TM))

National Society of Hispanic MBAs

The PhD Project

The Robert A. Toigo Foundation

Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO)