CMC’s empowerment message is not at odds with the diversity mission of your organization but instead supplies the missing link. Let me explain. The mission of diversity is to create a more inclusive culture that recognizes and values the potential contribution of all employees. We are trying to do this through diversity awareness training and we have made tremendous progress since the sixties. But it has been a slow and arduous struggle for 41 years. We now know that, like learning French, it cannot be done with just one French lesson. One day spent in a diversity seminar will not totally convert a person who has had a lifetime of separatism, to one of inclusion. The message must be constantly reinforced until they truly “get it.” What we expect is that managers, representing the corporation, should shoulder the entire burden of change. What is missing is giving every employee the ability to make it happen for themselves. For example, I will be included in a group…only when I display the values and traits of the group. Not understanding what those values and traits are will prevent anyone from sponsoring me into their ranks. Personal Empowerment allows individuals to make choices that give them the power to include themselves into the organization culture or into the upper levels of management.
