Global executive task forces

IBM's leadership underscores its commitment to an inclusive work environment where people's ideas and contributions are welcome through eight Executive Task Forces - Asian, Black, Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender, Hispanic, Men, Native American, People with Disabilities, and Women - established in 1995.

The mission of each task force is to increase IBM's success in the marketplace by focusing on the various constituencies as customers. The task forces are chaired and staffed by executives from that particular constituency. Each was formed to look at IBM through the lens of their group and answer these questions:

• What is required for your group to feel welcomed and valued at IBM?
• What can IBM, in partnership with your group, do to maximize your productivity?
• And, what courses of action can IBM take to influence the buying decisions of your group?

Here's a look at the latest goals and activities from each Task Force Constituency:

		IBM Awarded for Asian Leadership Development Its most recent honors from LEAP and Asian Enterprise may make you wonder what's the deal at IBM? The Asian Executive Task Force is providing leadership development that's really working. MORE
		Black Executive Forums Focus on Leadership Development Black Executive Forums, sponsored by the Black Executive Task Force, are designed to enrich the Black experience at IBM through all phases of an employee's career - from initial recruiting to executive advancement. READ
		GLBT Sales Team Brings in the Revenue Among IT companies, IBM is the only company with a paid, full-time sales team dedicated to bringing GLBT decision-makers in contact with IBM. It's groundbreaking work that's paying off. MORE
		Hispanic Task Force Bridges Digital Divide Recruiting, education, mentoring, and even translation are all efforts used by the Hispanic Task Force to communicate technology's power and possibilities. READ
		MPIT Provides Multicultural Techies Inside Track Did you know multicultural techies with less than five years at IBM are particularly vulnerable to voluntary attrition? MPIT manages internal and external programs that address this and other key needs of multicultural people in technology. MORE
		Exploring Technology on the Reservation From the workplace to the marketplace, the Native American Executive Task force works to help foster technology and connect with the $45 billion Native American market. READ
		Global Strategy Makes Assistive Technology Available to All IBM's recently launched Worldwide Accessibility Center is helping drive innovation in assistive technologies. MORE
		Women Perfectly Suited to Fulfill IBM's 'On-Demand' Strategy Activities such as the recent 2003 Global Women Leaders' Summit illustrate IBM's belief that women are a growing part of the global market. READ

IBM Awarded for Asian Leadership Development
At the LEAP (Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc.) Awards Dinner in July, LEAP gave IBM its first Corporate Award for Leadership in the Workplace. The award recognizes a company's diversity and leadership development for all constituencies, including Asians. Jon Iwata, senior vice president, Communications, accepted the award and gave the keynote address.

IBM has also been named one of the Top 10 Best Companies for Asian Americans, according to Asian Enterprise. What's the deal at IBM? The Asian Executive Task Force is providing leadership development that's really working.

Through leadership conferences, mentoring and training, the Asian Task Force is increasing the avenues for leadership development. More than 600 Asian employees have taken LEAP, training for high-potential candidates, and 800 early-career professionals have participated in 10 IBM leadership seminars in the United States and Canada. These programs prepare participants to take on leadership roles in all areas of the business.

Task Force Members have defined the Asian Value Proposition to outline why IBM should care about the attraction, retention and development of Asian employees at IBM. This effort drives home a key point: 4.5 percent of the US population has provided 10.2 percent of IBMers in the United States. That 10.2 percent represents one-third of IBM's Ph.D.s and made a major contribution to IBM being the number one leader in attaining patents for the last nine years.

Wesley Hom

Black Executive Forums Focus on Leadership Development
Black Executive Forums, sponsored by the Black Executive Task Force, foster opportunities for leadership development for both executives and non-executives or "Future Leaders." The forums and subsequent work teams are designed to enrich the Black experience at IBM through all phases of an employee's career - from initial recruiting to executive advancement. The theme of the forums is "Reach Back And Pull Through." This theme addresses the vital issue of the accelerated growth and development of the Black professional pipeline. The forum agendas address this important topic, and other relevant internal and external business issues. The work sessions feature IBM executives as well as selected the most influential Black leaders in America.

Today, four members of the Worldwide Management Council and 14 members of the Senior Leadership Team are Black. Since 1995, Black executives have increased 121 percent.

Annette Haile

For the Task Force, that win-win means reaching out to Black-owned businesses. In the United States, 985,000 Black-owned businesses have $688 billion in annual sales. A major goal of the Task Force is to position IBM as the IT vendor of choice for Black-owned businesses. The Partnership Executive/BusinessAlliance program is aligning Black executives with the largest black-owned business to strengthen and increase marketshare.

The Black Executive Forums also address the vital issue of the growth and development of the Black professional pipeline illustrated through their theme of "Reach Back and Pull Through."

As professionals invested in technology, the Task Force also champions responses to the Digital Divide. IBM's National Black Family Technology Awareness Week communicates the importance of technology in daily life, education and career preparation. Also, to feed the talent pipeline, IBM is the largest corporate sponsor of INROADS, a nonprofit organization, which places minority students in business. In addition, the Task Force has implemented a Black Executive Mentoring initiative to aid in the growth and development of IBM professionals. For Annette, these efforts "allow us to reach back and pull others through."

GLBT Sales Team Brings in the Revenue
Have you met the openly GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgender) clients in your large account? No? You've got to meet! That could be the mantra of Sarah Siegel or Joseph Bertolotti, business development executives whose primary mission is to introduce classic client teams to openly GLBT decision-makers in IBM's large accounts.

Among IT companies, IBM, with Sarah and Joseph, is the only company with a paid, full-time sales team dedicated to bringing GLBT decision-makers in contact with IBM. And the result of their groundbreaking work? Global attributable revenues in the tens of millions of dollars in 2002 alone, and to date, revenues well ahead of this year's plan.

Mike Fuller

Studies show GLBT decision-makers favor a company that embraces the GLBT community. Furthermore, many companies looking to outsource want a vendor with similar GLBT values. "It's a differentiator for IBM," adds Mike.

Thanks to introducing the IBM client team to an influencer, a major bank, Joseph was able to help the team win a multi-million-dollar software deal. Sarah built goodwill toward IBM by taking an IBM client director and several of his GLBT clients to a local GLBT dinner event months prior to another huge outsourcing win.

No one could be happier about these connections than the GLBT Executive Task Force. A year after IBM issued its global nondiscrimination policy regarding sexual orientation and gender identity, the Task Force has quadrupled its non-US membership. These new members will help drive change within IBM's geographies, along with IBM's 24 highly visible "out" executives who manage significant portions of IBM's business across several different business units.

Hispanic Task Force Bridges Digital Divide
IBM is encouraging the Hispanic community to discover the Internet, thanks to a a new translation program. ¡TradúceloAhora! Automatic Translation software is being piloted with 30 nonprofit organizations in six major cities across the country. More importantly, the software addresses a reluctance by Hispanics to embrace technology.

Last year, IBM's Hispanic Executive Task Force commissioned a report on Hispanics and IT to discover the reasons for this reluctance. The report, from the prestigious Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, identifies a lack of Spanish language Web sites as one barrier. In response, IBM's million-dollar grant provides the English-to-Spanish translation software, hardware and technical support.

The Task Force is also focused on tapping the $653-billion Hispanic market - whose two-million businesses have grown at three times the US average. Task Force members are working with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, other selected organizations and Latino business partners to increase IBM's marketing to this important segment.

Within IBM, the US Hispanic population grew 35 percent over the last seven years and the number of Hispanic executives increased 211 percent. While creating networking and mentoring programs such as La Red Familiar (the Family Net) for IBM's Latina professionals, the Task Force is also recruiting actively at leading Hispanic universities.

To increase Hispanic technology education and computer literacy, IBM also sponsors La Familia Technology Week each October. Around the country, IBM Corporate Community Relations partners with IBMers and nonprofits to sponsor activities ranging from e-mentoring programs to parent workshops on computer use.

Raul Cosio

MPIT Provides Multicultural Techies Inside Track
Did you know technically talented employees report the need for assistance to quickly adapt to the IBM culture and technical career path? IBM's Black Technical Leadership Forum is helping to address this concern by mentoring 44 high potential technologists. This initiative is so successful that IBM will soon expand this concept to other constituencies.

The Black Technical Leadership Forum is one of many programs created by the Office of Multicultural People in Technology (MPIT) Project Office. MPIT works to increase leadership opportunities for technical employees within IBM's Asian, Black, Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual and Transgender, Hispanic, Native American and People With Disabilities constituencies.

Nick Donofrio

At another MPIT program, a Technical Cafe, senior technical leaders informally speak with multicultural technologists about whatever's on their mind. Multicultural Ph.D.s new to IBM connect with one another in MPIT's Ph.D. Vitality Program. And nearly 200 technical women have discovered the skills to advance through the Multicultural Women's Leadership Institute.

These innovative programs and conferences are working to keep multicultural techs at IBM. In addition, the National Women of Color conference, coordinated by Career Communications Group with IBM as lead sponsor, will recognize 26 IBM women for managerial and technical achievements this fall. Plans are also underway for a Multicultural Men's Leadership Institute and the Third Multicultural People in Technology Conference is to be held next year.

Exploring Technology on the Reservation

Where can Native American girls discover the fun behind science and math? At the Akwesasne Reserve for the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe in Hogansburg, New York. Thanks to a second Women in Technology (WIT) Workshop held there, 40 sixth to eighth graders recently enjoyed science experiments and team-building exercises - led by four Native American IBM women.

IBM also invited girls in the Lumbee Tribe to a week-long EXITE (EXploring Interests in Technology and Engineering) Camp in Raleigh. EXITE gives approximately 1,000 middle-school aged girls around the world the opportunity to explore technology and work collaboratively on math and science-related projects.

What do these events say about IBM? The company is seriously concerned about building its pipeline of Native American employees - now and for the future. The Native American Leadership Conference, held recently at the IBM Learning Center in Armonk, is also asking Native American IBMers to initiate recruiting and marketing efforts within their own tribes.

The Native American Executive Task Force has successfully increased the numbers of Native American IBMers. Since 1995, Native American IBM executives have tripled. Over three years, 20 Native American employees have been hired annually and nine Native American Diversity Network Groups established nationwide.

David Daniel

director, Delivery & Site Operations Business Continuity & Recovery Services, "but also, externally, we've demonstrated IBM's active support of Native American issues."

This year's Native American Leadership Conference attracted 88 attendees - double last year's number. Participants plan to market IBM within their communities as a vendor of choice. Efforts such as these, and the Task Force's work with Small and Medium Businesses, and Sales and Distribution, will also help IBM connect with the $45 billion Native American market.

Global Strategy Makes Assistive Technology Available to All
IBM's recently launched Worldwide Accessibility Center drives innovation in assistive technologies while helping customers and business partners tap into accessible technology and products. The growing demand for such products comes from 20 percent of people with disabilities in the United States, and an estimated 1 billion worldwide.

The idea of manufacturing leading products, accessible to all, created an unparalleled business opportunity - a way to differentiate IBM from competitors. Early on, the Executive Task Force for People With Disabilities realized that federal law requires IT producers like IBM to make products accessible.

Kathleen Roin

"Our task force has identified a great opportunity for leadership," says co-chair Kathleen Roin, director, Capital Accumulation & International Benefits. "We believe other technology companies are less focused in this area than we are. We also know that accessible products are better products for everyone, not just those with disabilities."

And it's not as if IBM is new to assistive technology. The company, which hired its first employee with a disability in 1914, has been a leader in assistive technology for decades. In 2000, the first global product, the Home Page Reader, allowed blind and visually impaired people to access the Web in eight languages.

Today, 47 percent of IBM's employees with disabilities work in core information technology functions. Since 1999, IBM has spent $3.6 million on accommodations for employees with disabilities. IBM is now updating 50 buildings worldwide, thanks to new Worldwide Building Accessibility Guidelines. To strengthen the hiring of people with disabilities, the Task Force has developed recruiting programs such as Project Able, Lift and Entry Point.

Women Perfectly Suited to Fulfill IBM's 'On-Demand' Strategy

Marie Wieck

Women are great multitaskers, broad thinkers and strong collaborators, says the Women's Value Proposition, just released by the US Women's Executive Task Force by participants of the 2003 Global Women Leaders' Summit. "These qualities play perfectly into IBM's On-Demand Strategy of helping customers be more responsive to change," says Marie Wieck, vice president, WebSphere Business Integration and co-chair of the US Women's Council.

They are also a growing part of the global market, the business case states, and need to be reflected proportionately in IBM's professional pipeline. This new report additionally identifies subtle ways women can feel excluded in the corporate environment.

In EMEA, IBM Women's Councils determined that women's advancement was "not in the hearts and minds" of male colleagues. In response, they created Mindset Workshops given throughout Europe and now being replicated at IBM Research. The seminar, including men and women, examines attitudes toward women's leadership.

In the United States, the Women's Executive Task Force leverages IBM technology to provide Web presentations worldwide to educate and empower women on topics such as mentoring, negotiating and work/life balancing.

And these dynamic efforts are paying off: For the past decade, IBM has made the Top 10 and the 100 Best Companies for women working mothers in Working Mother magazine. And that's quite a coup given IBM's goal to become the "premier company for women, especially working mothers."

To keep that pipeline alive, IBM women are also introducing girls to technology: More than 230,000 have attended IBM workshops and 1,000 worldwide this year will attend IBM's EXITE (EXploring Interests in Technology and Engineering) Camps. Speaking for all IBM women, one EXITE camper says, "Women can do great things if given the chance."

Sources include U.S. Census; Selig Center for Economic Growth; WE Magazine; HRC; AARP; NFWBO; DiversityInc.