ity is critical to the bottom line. "In 1998, U.S. businesses owned by women spent $68 billion on technology," says Ted Childs, IBM's vice president, global workforce diversity. "Businesses owned by women employ a quarter of the workforce. In 1997, these businesses spent $650 million with IBM, and businesses owned by people of color spent $357 million with us." Childs says by bringing such statistics to the attention of IBM employees and management, the importance of valuing diversity in the workplace and in customer interactions becomes clear. Companies today are initiating many diversity initiates from marketing efforts to team leadership programs with a host of other programs falling in between. Mentoring programs have also gained a new breath as top companies try to develop and retain their employees and curtail the expense of the cyclical re-hiring and re-training. The skilled employees of today are not only a resource scarcity but also a substantial investment to train, which aids to motivate employers to ensure their employees are fulfilled. Diversity initiatives have taken high priority on many companies' list of objectives. The challenge comes as companies begin to change the corporate environment to accommodate such initiatives. There are companies that as a result of media spotlight, for example Texaco, make radical transformations that would otherwise perhaps feel resistance from the existing cultural environment. Texaco is one example of a company that has developed and carried through effective diversity initiatives with positive success in a relatively short period. We also have companies that by the nature of their business are propelled to gravitate toward championing diversity initiatives. Microsoft was an active lobbyer to lift the freeze on immigration as it depended heavily on the influx on immigrants for labor. Finally we have companies that are trying to regain a portion of their lost market share by ta...
