64899 "Championing .. a Culture of Global Inclusion ...and th e Change Starts With You" MARCH 2009 CELEBRATION OF DIVERSITY REN E PETR IN, MENTORS, INC . I •5,20 MARCH To launch Celebration of Diversity Month, Rene Petrin of Management Mentors, Inc. led a session for female Bank staff sponsored by DEC. Petrin underscored the important relationship between mentoring and diversity in the workplace: "You've really got to give people permission to talk about diversity," said Petrin, who has designed and implemented corporate mentoring programs for 20 years. The desire to mentor, or be mentored, is nothing new. In fact, in Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcumus and later a friend of Odysseus. But mentori ng has changed a great deal over the years. Formerly, most people equated mentoring with coaching. The focus was a transmis­ sion of specific skills or knowledge from an expert to a student. These days, mentoring has grown to become the value of a relationship, which involves transformation for both Participants at the March 5 DEC lunchtime session on "Best Practice s in Mentoring " partners. "Mentoring plays an important role in helping staff find their way to express their potentiality, and achieve excellence in their own field," said Justin Good mentees are committed to their Lin, World Bank Chief Economist and own careers and willing to take responsi­ Senior Vice President. bility for the mentoring relationship. It is paramount to express clear expectations. There has often been a tendency for many "It is key to establish a structure, the mentors, says Petrin, to try to make the mentoring agreement," said Petrin. mentee "more like me" as opposed to In such an agreement, the partners simply encouraging growth. He cautions negotiate the ground rules: how often that simply presenting solutions, for to meet and for how long, how to define example, "that worked for me as a confidentiality, and the specific goals white male" is not the key. tied to strategic business objectives. The qualities of a good mentor are Senior VP Lin says DEC's proposed a willingness to commit, to listen, mentoring program for women is a sign of and to check preconceptions at the door. the Bank's desire to help foster the great A mentor is not required to give a lot of potential that already exists. "Mentoring answers, just "walk the walk" with the for diversity is a way of nurturing more mentee, to facilitate rather than coach. diverse, innovative thinking." 4 Mentoring has a subversive quality. That's why I recommend it. It changes both partners." Rene Petri n 5 DISABILITIES WORKING GROUP I MARCH 1 According to the World Health Organization, women with disabilities comprise 10 percent of the global population of women. In addition, women constitute three fourths of the population of people with disabilities in low and middle income countries. The International Labor Organization states that women are at increased risk of becoming disabled throughout their lives due to neglect in health, poor workforce conditions, and gender-biased violence. Often girls with disabilities have a higher mortality rate; and the literacy rate for women with disabilities is as low as one percent. ((We must advocate To address the exclusion of women with for a paradigm shift away disabilities from international develop­ ment focus, a Bank forum convened staff, from a charity-based development partners, and NGO represen­ approach to a human-rights tatives to discuss the nexus between gender, disability, and poverty. and equal-opportunity approach." During the morning 's fir st panel, presenters-all disabled women leaders Saowalak Thongkuay, from developing countries-spoke on Disabled People International the unique challenges facing disabled Partic ipants at one of I~e Women W Oisabllitles in Oevelopment ith women in their regions . roundtable sessions, Wheelchair-bound Ola Abu Alghaib, an Later in the morning, paneli st Andrew internationally recognized advocate for Begg, specia l assistant to the director disability rights from Gaza, noted that of UNFPA, acknowledged the problem . traditional families in the Middle East "Human rights organization s have consis­ often doubt the potential of disabled girls. tently failed to take up disability issues," "Some families hide their daughters with he noted. Things are changing, though. disabilities. And marriage is completely off The May 2008 signing of the UN the table for women with disabilities . If Convention on the Rights of Person s your own family doesn't believe in you, with Disabilities repre sents a major step how can you hope to move beyond this?" forward , he noted. Alghaib said that women with di sabilities need to unite to create a broad-reaching Panelist Saowalak Thongkuay, of Disabled social movement. "We remain a largely People International, noted that di sabled unheard voice-within our culture s, the women are "poor in opportunity and poor feminist and disability movements, and in money." She said effo rts to addre ss the human rights organizations ." issues must focus more broadly, to change 6 ((We remain a largely unheard voice- within our cultures, the feminist and disability movements, and human rights organizations." Ola Abu Alghaib, Founder and Chairperson, Sta rs of Hope Society the way people t hink about disability. training, regional collaboration, and speaking out. She noted that progress "We must advocate for a paradigm giving disabled women a seat at the table is being made on the policy front in shift away from a charity-based when policies and programs are being individual countries, but that approach to a human-rights and considered. Participants agreed the significant gaps remain between equal-opportunity approach." Bank has a strong role to playas a policies and real life. catalyst for progress. Common themes and solutions emerged: More information/to find out more financial independence through economic Julie Oyegun, the Bank's Chief Diversity about this Working Group contact: empowerment initiatives, education and Officer, urged participants to continue disabilitywg@worldbank.org. Lessons Learned: Conclusions from the Roundtable The roundtable concluded that women eJCacerbate these existing problems. In rights and empowerment to women with disabilities are beleaguered by some societies. people with disabilities with disabilities poverty. social stigma. and post-con­ are oftert the lowest priority. and families flict resorrection in developing of disabLed people can hide them in fear We need to find ways to integrate and countries. In addition, women with dis­ of social exclusion and stigma. Most mainstream women with disabilities into abilities face high risks of gender-based impOYtantly. in some parts of the world. the work of our institutions. This may violence. challenges in health care ser· disabled women are perceived as require training and building capacity vices (such as prevention of HIV infection). beneficiaries of government pOlicies among service Providers and development and human trafficking. Throughout the OT funds. which hampers any long-term workers aUke. We need to ensure that the world they experience discrimination sustainable development efforts. World Bank's Gender Action Plan (GAP) and isolation-as well as In some includes the hidden population of women countries forced sterilization. The situation is further complicated by and girls with disabilities. In short. inadequat e accurate dat a. leading to a better targeting of this population Another profound point made at the lack of a1\Y concrete action on this issue. is needed. roundtabLe was that women with disabili· ties are typic lIy invisible in the develop­ One vehicle fot moving forward is to use Finally it is essential to ensure that ment agenda. They are often marginal· the Convention on the Rights of women with disabilities themselves are ized in the programs designed for worn· Persons with Disabilities, whjch came part of the decision making processes. en's empowerment and development, yet into force in May 2008 (after being They need to be at the table when the are excluded from projects on disability. adopted by UN General Assembly) as a decision is being made. There is a need to framework in projects. The CRPD in identify the opportunities of inclusion Women with disabilities experience many Article 6 specifically points towards and to conduct good evidential research. physical, organizational. and attitudinal the responsibility of the government in bauiers. Reli ion and tradition recognizing and ensuring fundamental 7 CAMILO AZCARATE. CONSTANCE BERNARD. AND THO·v...... : ::v MARCH 1 Bully or enforcer? Coward or diplomat? During an interactive session, 100 Bank staff explored the way culture influences behavior, and how it should be harnessed to resolve conflict in a diverse organization. Sponsored by the Conflict Resolution System (CRS), presenter Camilo Azcarate, Manager of Mediation Services, explained, liThe key is that culture influences our behavior, whether we know it or not. Being aware of it makes it easy to choose the best response. Especially when we are under stress, we need to choose our behavior, instead of reacting automatically." Azcarate introduced a way to understand how culture influences behavior, which he credited to influential Dutch writer Geert Hofstede. Hofstede iden­ tifies certain dimensions of culture that relate to work-related values. lhomasZgambo d- cusses ofganlza ianal cuitufe during an intefaclive session_ Among them, Power Distance is the degree to which less powerful group members expect and accept unequal tolerated. Geert Hofstede developed ,And the more skill you distribution of power; Individualism is the these insights while working in a large degree to which individuals are integrated multinational organization. have, the more likely you into groups; Masculinity is the degree to are able to create a new which roles are distributed between genders; Such differences playa role in how and Uncertainty Avoidance is the degree of conflict is expected to be handled. culture within the context tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity. These varying expectations are a source ofa conflict." of conflict and a factor in its escalation. Ombudsman Thomas Zgambo "From my perspective, power distance and uncertainty avoidance have the After hearing from Azcarate at the most impact on how we resolve conflict," session, staff disbanded into small groups said Azcarate. to debate where the Bank's values and standards lie with in the structure-and According to Azcarate, people from different lively debate ensued. cultures tend to have different worldviews, among these, how power is expected to be When groups reported back, participants used and the level of uncertainty that is had different views about the role of the 8 seem skewed to encourage individual achievement over group cooperation, however, despite the importance of task team cooperation. About Camilo Azcarate, JD, MA Another contributor said her group thought management sets the tone. Mr. Azcarate IS the Manager of Mediation Services at the World Bank. Previously, he was the Ombudsman Ombudsman Constance Bernard agreed at Princeton University. He has presented, trained. c~nstance Bernard, Thomas Zgambo and CamiloAzcarate leading the discussion lectured. and taught graduate-level mediation and that leadership is important: "I think at theconflict management session. dispute resolution programs at the Woodrow Wilson people adapt their behavior very quickly School at Princeton and the International Center of Cooperation and Confl ict Resolution at Columbia Bank's culture in how conflict is managed. not only to the people they see around University. Mr. Azcarate has more than 15 years of One participant noted that the Bank's them, but also those who are leading professional experience as mediator, facilitator, conflict systems designer, and om budsman. standard for individualism seems to take the institution." its cue from American culture. Incentives PROFILES OF WORLD BANK OMBUDSMEN Constance Bernard Con stance Bernard became Ombudsman of the World Bank in January 2009. She has spent more than 30 years in World Bank operations, and has worked in a number of regions. Most recently, she was Sector Director for Sustainable Development in South As ia, where she spent the last seven years of her career. Other assignme nts have included Director of Quality Assurance in ECA, Adviser to the Qua lity Assuran ce Group, and a variety of assignments in the Latin Am erican region, including resident represen ­ tative in Bolivia and diviSion chief for r ural operations in the southern cone. Her professiona l interests i~ c lude: community-driven approa ches to develop ­ ment, the role of voice and participation in driving accountability in government programs, and inclusion of the poor in economic growth. Be rnard holds degrees from Harvard and George Wash ington University, and is a member of the International Ombudsman Assoc iat ion. Thomas Zgambo Thomas Zgambo joined the World Bank in 2007 after six years as the Corporate Ombudsman at Coca-Cola Enterprises. Before joining Coca-Cola Enterprises, he spent three years as an Ombudsman and Training Specialist at the Massachusetts Inst i tute of Technology. where he was also a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Prior to MIT Zgambo was an Ombudsman at Po l ar oid Corporation. He is a pa st president of The Ombud sm an Association, now t he International Ombudsman Assoc iation. Zgambo served as a mediator at the Massa chusetts Commi ssion Against Di sc r imination (MCAD!. and has mediated disability, public accommodation, sexual harassment, an d rac ial discrimination cases. He also served as a member o f the Human Rights Commi ssion for the City of New Bedford, MA, USA and a member of the Governor's Advisory Council on African-American Affairs for the State of Massachu setts. Zgambo ho lds a PhD in analyti cal chemistry and materials science from the University of North Texas and an MBA from Worcester Poly techni c Inst itute . 9 On Wednesday, March 18, Danny Leipziger, Vice President and Head of the PREM Network, launched a special event to mark International Women's Day: "Today, gender equality is not a reality, although we are getting closer, and we are here to honor the men and women who came before us in this struggle." The keynote speaker was Bank President Robert Zoellick, who used the occasion to President Robert Zoellick: "Were here tod ay to rellec t an progress recall the broad arc of gender struggle, om towara advanc ing w en's economic oppor luni lles,lbu l!we still have ahuge J 10 do," ob including battles for equal rights at the voting booth and in the workplace. lOELLICK COMMITS BANK TO MANAGERIAL GENDER PARITY Wa ala s OfoslI -A m PRH1S~niorG ender Specia li sl : aah, Olosu·Arnaahw one ol lhe lead organ izers of the evenl as Against a background of world economic crisis, President Zoellick urg,ed staff to pay and incomes lost will disproportionately special attention to gender equality both impact women." Girls are the ones who are within the Bank and in their deve't opment most likely to be withdrawn from school or work. "We expect that it will be a human become malnourished, he noted. and social crisis, and in some cases, with political implicati0ns," said Zoellick. As staff set about rebuilding economies "When economies start to crumble, jobs in both developed and developing Gender Action Plan Today, new Bank estimates projects in about 60 countries. million in credit lines to women ZoeLlick also highlighted identify 33 developing countries where investments will go a entrepreneurs in 12 countries, a Bank commitment to increase where women and gifLs in poor long way toward empowering with tlJe goal of expanding this IDA resources for women's households are particularly women and improving to S100 million by 2012. empowerment. Progressing well vulnerable to the effects of the development outcomes. is an initiative with Country global economic crisis. Fifteen of Third, in January at the Directors to increase the share these. mostly in Sub-Saharan Af­ More work remains to be done. World Economic Forum in Davos, of country portfolios that help rica. are likely to see a particularly President ZoelLick identified six Managing Director Ngozi. N. Okon­ women access economic markets. dangerous mix for women and additional focal points. First, jO-Iweala Launched the Moreover, the Adolescent Girls girls, with slowing economic the Bank is working harder to Private Sector Leaders Forum. She rnitiative, which supports young growth, fewer girls in school, improve integration of gender led discussion on women's oppor­ women's transition hom school and higher levels of infant and equality into agricultural tunities in key areas, including to productive adulthood, has child mortality. projects, ensurlng women are targeted lending programs; and lauru:hed as well. beneficiaries of emergency food inclusion and diversity initiatives The World Bank's Gender Action response. Second, the IFC has to promote women into corporate Plan features more than 120 provided an additional $48 Leadership roles. 10 A. Staff from all B an~ dep.rtment senjoy Internahonal Women's D ay. B. Shigeo Katsu , VicePresident. ECA R egionand Headof the Diversity and InclusionAdvisory Group; Yuki Rimando-Snel sire, Assistant in the Office of Diversity P hi iversity Of ficer. Office of Diversity Programs. rograms; Julie Oyeg un, C ef D countries, they ignore women empower­ for women-committed leadership, ment issues at a cost, emphasized credible implementation, and monitoring: Zoellick. "Women can be the agents of "We are a diverse organization, but we are change. Investing in women and girls is not quite diverse enough. I'm hoping that not only the right thing to do, but also all of you can be agents of change." the smart thing t o do." President Zoellick also stressed the Bank's clients look to the institution as a role model, repeating an ambitious target he first announced last year: "Currently, women make up about 30 percent in management .. . Our goal should be gender parity in management, so by the end of 2012 , I think half our managers should be women." Of Zoellick's 10 senior appointments, five have been women. "I firmly believe that gender equality will not or need not compete with other [diversity 1goals," he said. In fact, the new tools and outreach necessary to ach ieve the goal will help the institution attain other diversity goals as well. Another of the day's speakers, Pamela Cox, Vice President of Latin America & Caribbean Region, pointed out three components to reaching gender parity .--...~ FARRAH QURESHI, NORMAN BROADBENT MARCH Discussing the dynamics of the multicultural workplace, Ayse Akin-Karasapan, Director of Delivery and Results Management, Operations Policy and Country Services (OPCS,) introduced diversity consultant Farrah Qureshi. Qureshi, Managing Director of Global Diversity Practice at international management consultant firm, Norman Broadbent, warned Bank staff that inaction on the diversity issue is not an option. In a session entitled, "Working in a Cross­ but aLso the greatest potentiaL for damage Cultural Environment: Harnessing it for an if not managed weLl." Effective Organization," Qureshi compared cuLture to an iceberg, where more is There are three team dynamics that are hidden than reveaLed. She important to recognize. encouraged participants to • Destroyers tend to stereotype team think about various levels of members and undermine diversity. . eTSit'Y Mont'h culture-national, professional, • Equalizers mandate assimilation, and ~... Celebration of ~ World Ban" Groul' March 2009 ... ",,,,e organization, individual-and require people to leave their diversity what is expected, reinforced, at the door. and rewarded. • Creators foster teams like a jazz ensembLe, with every player recogniz­ Qureshi echoed a common ing the mastery and contribution of refrain that diversity and each team member. inclusion make good business sense; she Creating value in diverse teams, therefore, underscored this with requires a process: first, to map and examples from her identify differences; second, to bridge consulting work with any differences through communications; DFID, PepsiCo, and . and third, to work together, bringing UBS, among others. about change from the inside out. "Cross-cultural teams To further illustrate how cross-cultural systematically outper­ communication is often fraught with form homogenous pitfaLLs, Qureshi invoked a "WorLd Bank teams," said Qureshi. Temperature Check." Here, she asked She went on to add participants to agree or disagree with that, "[Diverse teams] statements that highlighted various have the greatest aspects of the Bank's diversity potential for growth, performance. 12 About Farrah Qureshi Organizational development specia li st Farrah The interactive segment provoked Qureshi is a lea ding global learning designer ((Stereotyping a lively discussion, which led to and Ma nag ing Director of Norman Broadbent Global Divers ity Practice. Qureshi identifying several key is a human success factors for top-performing She has delivered successful outcomes with clients across a range of occupational groups, industries, and sec tors, nationally and interna­ diverse teams: change starts at the tionally. Her career spans the University of reaction, but top; a stretch goal is essential; Leeds. local government, the non-profit sector as well as the private organizations. She has and communication is critical for worked with a diverse range of international we need to know widespread understanding. clients including : Nike, Coca-Cola. IBM, London Underground, European Union. IMF. Government of Tanzania. and the British Library. She has worked in more than 55 countries. when we have Also important is to engage people, keep them accountable, measure Qureshi speaks regularly at conferences around the globe, and set up a Global done it." progress, and integrate diversity goals into a wider organizational Diversity Network, a think-tank to provide thought an d practice leadership for global diversity issues. She regularly holds strategy. industry - specific national and regional Farrah Qureshi master classes discussing releva n t diversity issues. "I think people need to take In the wake of the terror attacks of ownership and accountability at the September 11th in the USA and Ju ly 7t h in Londo n. Qureshi hos ted a series of seminars to individual level, the self-belief that promote dialogue and understanding of " Islam phobia in th e wo rkplac e." She holds a BA and you can make a difference," said an MA in po li cy studies. and is a member of the Qureshi . "The first step is to begin Chartered In s ti tute of Personnel Development. Quresh i is author of Understanding to think, then t alk with our Diversity-An Organisational Guide. and has colleagues about how these issues also co ntr ibuted to Understanding Dignity at Work Issues-A Training Guide. affect our collaboration and ulti­ mately our goals. One person can start the ball rolling. I think that is the seed. It will incubate and grow." 13 Where Workplace Culture and Statistics Diverge Despite considerable talk about the diversity and inclusion agenda-and new policies designed to advance it-the impression lingers among many World Bank Group staff that culture change lags far behind nominal progress on diversity indicators. As part of an effort to address the perceived disparity, WBG Office of Diversity Programs and the WBG Staff Association sponsored an interactive session with Harvard psychologist Dr. Mahzarin Banaji. 8anaji is lead developer of the Implicit Association Test (IAT), which has become something of a global phenomenon (see box). During the session, she led partici­ pants to a devastating conclusion: human beings are flawed in fundamental ways and virtually programmed for bias. 8anaji pinpointed the likely cause of slow Bank Group progress on diversity and inclusion goals, but in so doing also all konjo-Iweala. World B M Ig O ank anaging D irettor. takes parl in thesession plesentedby 01. Bana)1 suggested possible solutions. weight. accent. similarity to self, THE ROLE OF IAT IN UNDERSTANDING personality (extraversion), taste and BIAS AND STEREOTYPING preferences, and beliefs (politics). Why has IAT spread like wildfire? The answer lies in its capacity to reveal implicit Bank staff have harbored innate bias just attitudes and beliefs that people are either as much as other people-but it is not des­ unwilling or unable to report. By tapping tiny. Banaji compared it to an operating automatic associations between attributes system that can be improved: "Think about (good, bad) and concepts (man, woman; it as a 'mind bug' because it is a flaw in our World Bank, for-profit bank), it uncovers software," she said. "It evolved a long time hidden prejudice that predicts behavior. ago. It's our job to know where these bi ­ ases are, because they can be patched." Banaji presented a series of studies to "People like us are the ones who are delay­ support her thesis, suggesting that ing the change," she stressed, putting the dimensions of human bias extend far and onus of responsibility back on participants. wide-along lines of gender, age, race/ "If we are prepared-if we understand how ethnicity, class, religion, geographic our minds work-then [we can get] to region, culture, sexuality, physical thinking more creatively about what attractiveness (teeth), height and we might do differently." 14 Shigeo Katsu, VP of Europe & Central at a place like the World Bank, therefore, Asia Region , picked up on Banaji's point serves to balance out a multiplicity about personal responsibility, and later of biases. commented, "There is a lot that still needs to be done on the policy and Ultimately, the IAT shows how a mandate procedure side. More importantly, the for diversity is rooted in a preponderance change is in all of us. It is long overdue, of scientific evidence. Because all individuals and I think it really is up to us ." exhibit prejudice, it follows that all About Dr. Mahzarin Banaji individuals need to playa role in rooting Dr. Mahzarin Banaji st udies huma n th inking and CHANGE, BUT NOT FROM THE TOP it out. ''I'm asking for a very different feeling as it unfolds in social co ntext s. Her focus is pr imarily on mental systems th at operate in implicit Surprisingly, traditional diversity training kind of awareness, the small decisions on or unco nsc ious mode. may not be the answer. Banaji's Harvard a daily basis," said Banaji. "It is going to She is currently Prof essor of Social Ethics in the colleagues analyzed data from Kalev-Dobbin, take something deeply conscious to make Department of Psychology and Carol K. Pfor zheimer Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study which has carried out diversity training with the change we need." at Harvard. With colleagues Anthony Greenwald and 800 organizations since the early 1970s. Brian Nosek, Dr. Banaji maintains an educational webs ite designed to create awareness about Data suggested that diversity training unconscious biases (www.implicit.harvard. edul. and details of her research may be actually led to less diverse teams. found at www.people.fas.harvard. edu/-bana ji. "In an open society, imposing from the Dr. Banaji ho lds a PhD from Ohio State University and was an NIH fellow at top often doesn't work," said Banaji, University of Washington. During her who led staff through various versions ac ademic career, Dr. Banaji has taught at Ya le University and is currently Head of her Implicit Association Test. Tu tor in the Psychology Dep artment "I personally like to start with individuals, at Harvard. who have to want the change and then Among her many professional associations, Dr. Banaji is a Fellow demand new policy. Then, I believe the of the American Association for the greatest impact will come from policy." Advancement of Science, the Amer ican Psycho logical Associati on. and the Association for Psycholog ica l Science. She was etected fel low of the Society During a lunchtime break out session, VPs for Experimenta l Psychologists in and Directors joined with Managing Director 2005, to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 200 8, and as Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to share perspectives. He r bert A. Simon Fellow of the "It's very easy to use constraints as an American Academy of Politi cal and Social SCie nc e in 2009. excuse for inaction, and hide behind our Dr. Ba naji has r eceived Yale·s Lex biases," said Ngozi, who explained how Hix on Prize for Te aching Excellence, management is reviewing aspects of recruit­ a James McKeen Cattell Fund Award, the Morton Deutsc h Award ment to improve the pools of diverse candi­ for Social Just ice, and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, dates. "We simply have to acknowledge, the Rockef elle r Foundation, and then overcome, our biases in order to move th e Radcliffe Institut e for Adva nce d Study. In 2000, her work forward. At stake is an institution that with R. Bhaskar received the needs to respond to our clients and deliver." Gordon Allport Prize for Inte r­ group Relations. Her caree r contributions have been recog­ nized by a Preside ntia l Citation One solution, suggested Banaji, is not to from the America n Psych ological try to systematically root out all bias Assoc iat ion in 200 7 and the Diener Award for Outsta nd in g Contribut ions to from all individ als, but simply to strike a Soc ial Psychology in 2009. balance among t hem . Cultivating diversity Dr. Banaji was born and r aised in India 15 Protecting Equal Rights: LGBT Federal Legislative In introducing the GLOBE-sponsored review of US federal . f Diversity Month laws likely to impact lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender 1-. 2009 is (e1ebratlon 0 in the world Bank (,roUI' MarCil individuals (LGBT), the Bank Group's Chief Diversity Officer Julie Oyegun urged participants to respect the institution's commitment to equality for all staff. JJDiversity and inclusion is not just about black staff or LGBT staff,JJ said Oyegun. JJIt is about truly being a World Bank, where our overriding goal is creating an env·ironment in which all staff can thrive and continue to fulfill their potential in the institutional mission of poverty reduction allover the developing world." Cristina Finch led the immediate family members) for immigra­ discussion, which was tion. But same-sex partners are not moderated by Frank considered "spouses," and cannot be Fariello, Bank senior sponsored. As a result, some same -sex, counsel. As senior bi-national couples are torn apart. counsel at the Washington-ba sed UAFA tries to remedy this by amending Human Rights INA's definitions to include "permanent Campaign (HRC), partner" and "permanent partnership"­ Finch is responsible for legal advice on a which refer to individuals that are 18 or variety of issues, including hate crimes, older in a committed, intimate relation­ immigration , military, and separation of ship in which both parties intend a church and state. She also provides lifelong commitment. UAFA was intro ­ counsel on HRCs involvement in state duced in the ll1th Congress by Senato r and local electoral, lobbying, and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) in the Senate and ballot-measure efforts. Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) in the House . Finch is hopeful that the IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION push for immigration reform will help The Uniting American Family Act (UAFA) , advance the bill. began Finch , may impact Bank staff. This piece of legislation attempts to red ress a TRAVEL FOR HIV-POSITIVE problem with the current U.S. Immigration FOREIGN NATIONALS and Nationality Act (INA). Under INA, Finch also gave an update on the citizens and legal permanent residents longstanding ban on HIVjAIDS travel, in may sponsor their spouses (and other place since 1987. It prohibits HIV-positive 16 "It is about truly being a World Bank, where our overriding goal is creating an environment in which all staff can thrive and continue to fulfill their potential in the institutional mission of poverty reduction all over the developing world ." Julie Oyegun, Chi ef Diversity Officer referring to the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which has been introduced in similar form in every Congress since 1999. Finch called it a "very mature piece of legislation." Whereas it passed both the House and Senate last year, the Democrats dropped it because of the lingering threat of a Bush veto . "This is a bill that's been around for years; it is fully inclusive," said Finch, referring to the fact that it covers both sexual orientation and gender identity. C uma ights ampaign and JulieO,egun. W Chief Diver sityOffice r. at the LG ristinaFlnc . H n R C BG BTsession. Also on that HRC's legislative agenda is the Employment Non-Discrimination foreign nationals from entering the Unit­ Department of Health and Human Services Act (ENDA), a proposed US law that ed States unless they obtain a difficult-to­ has yet to update the relevant regula­ would ban workplace discrimination obtain waiver, which is only available for tions. Finch is confident that progress is based on sexual orientation and short-term travel. Last July, President on track, but unsure on timing. gender identity. In conclusion, Bush signed legislation to reauthorize Finch reviewed visa parity, detainee PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan HATE CRIMES PREVENTION health care, and the need to establish for AIDS Relief, which included a provision "Currently, HRC's first priority is the effective asylum case precedents to repeal the statutory ban. However, the Matthew Shepard Act," said Finch, (for more, visit www.hrc.org). 17 ALternateLy vuLnerabLe and amusing, speaker Steve Robbins entertained staff aLL the way to a criticaL conclusion: don't be nice. ''I'm going to ask you not to be nice," said Robbins, a reguLar on the corporate Lecture circuit, particuLarLy on diversity issues. "Nice stands for Not Inclined to Critically Examine. Let's take a closer Look." ith W a storyteller's rhythm, Robbin s dove in headlong, ((Dif erences do matter. f gradually drawing the contour s And those organizations that of a new approach-individu ­ understand this fundamenta l als and organizations should not blame or point fingers, concept will be the most competitiv but be more open-minded and in the fut ure in terms of recruiting deliberate about inclusion . hiring} and retaining the His overall message: value people for thei r distinctive (best and brightese candidates.)} skills and backg round s and Dr. Steve L. Robbins develop the competence of intentional tolerance. "We the author of What If? Short Stories to all have gut reactions Spark Diversity Dialogue. when things don't fit our mental models . Research Robbin s defined culture as the acquired suggests we're often unaware of these gut knowledge people use to interpret rea ction s. The question then becomes, experience and generate behavior. what do we do about it," said Robbins, Steadily, we gro w to identify with various who ha s a PhD in communications and is subcultures and become culturally 18 "...to understand otherslyou must get to know them. And to get to know them1you must take intentional steps to spend time with them." Dr. Steve l . Robbins About Dr. Steve L. Robbins Dr. Robb ins' uni que co nce pt of " Unintent io nal In toter ance" ha s cap tur ed w id e ac cl aim fr om nume rous audiences and org aniz ation s across the Uni ted States . An ap pr oa ch that does NOT blam e or poi nt fing er s. it cha llen ges indivi dua ls and or gan izations to be m ore open- m inded. mind ful . and inten tio nal abo ut inc lu sion and va l uing people for their uniqu e gif ts. ab ili ties . competent. "You have to be cognitively Be my allies to go out and widen paths and experi ence s. flexible and behaviorally adaptable. for others." Robbins concluded with With hi s co mp any. S. L . Robbins & Ass ociates. Dr. Rob bins work s w ith organi za tio ns. lar ge and However, if you are one of those people something of a rarity along the sm al l . for profit an d not- fo r - prof lt. on tolera nce that are labeled 'anal retentive,'" he World Bank-IMF and m yr iad ot her issue s that are in cr easing ly im pac tin g orga ni zati ons in a global world and quipped, "then the twenty-first century corridor. As a mar ke tpl ace. Cl ien ts incl ude Ge ner al Mill s. Intern atto na l Na tlo nat Asso cia tion of will be very ha rsh on you." captivated Fi re fi ght er s. Honda . and Micr osoft. audience hung A power ful commu nicato r. insightful Often , our own reaction s are due to on every word, facil itat or. and insp iri ng mot iva to r. mindlessness or over-exposure to multiple he relayed an Dr. Rob bins dr aws on his per sonal exper ie nc es to chall enge and redundant messages. "Even the thoughts intensely enc ou rage people with a dynam ic use of st ory-t ell ing. humo r. and you don't want are there," said Robbins personal story exten si ve kn ow ledge of per tin ent pointing to hi s head. "But you've lived in about the loss is sues and con cept s. an envi ronment where you picked them up of his mother and In his book . Wh at If? Sh ort Stories to Spark .. . It doesn't require mean people to sister-which motivates Diver sity Dialogue. Dr. Ro bb ins produce disparities. It just takes mindless him to be more inclusive address es th e abil ity to be ope n- minded . and to be cog ni tive ly nice people not to recognize what is going on a dai ly basis. fl eX ible and beh aviora lly adapta bl e. Thi s he on." Therein lies the power of diversity in conclude s. ma ke s addr ess ing dive rsi ty iss ues mu ch eas ier. solving problems, stressed Robbins . In closing, he executed a deft, His li fe exper iences as a Vi et namese immi gr ant and unlikely segue to a children's growi ng up in poverty to be co m e a pa ss io nat e Often, our own personal filters prevent us book entitled, The Greatest, about advoc ate of ju stice and in clus ion. crea te a r ich foundat ion of inS ight and in sp iratio n fo r th os e from finding solutions to various problems. a little boy, alone, trying to learn who hear Dr. Robb in s . In these cases, we benefit from different to hit a baseball. Staff, attention perspectives. "The work of diversity is not rapt, rewarded the punch line about having the right numbers. It's about with a unive rsal, heartfelt, caring for other peop le. When you care round of applause. for other people, good things happen ... 19 The I=-'irc,i- C lotJc11 Strategic Forunl on Sl~pplier Diversity MARCH 27, 2009 Diversity in Practice As the World Bank Group strives to modeL the diversity it serves in client countries around the worLd, the organization is reconfiguring the way it recruits, trains, and composes its teams. A LittLe-appre­ ciated corollary is the Bank's work to encourage diversity in procurement practices-and those of partners around the world. WOMEN IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN women better into global value chains Especially during economic crisis, poverty improves business outcomes for companies. hits women disproportionately, said Sujata Lamba, Sr. Manager in IFC's Global Presenting were two executives from Linkages practice. "Men can often migrate Quantum Leap, a DC-based nonprofit that and seek seasonal employment. But promotes women-owned businesses women seem to be more adversely internationally. The group's WEConnect Danny M. Leipziger. Vice President. Poverty Red uc tion & Econo mic Managemen t. affected, and therefore it has become International initiative, which supports hosted the event on behalf 01 theWorld Bank Group. an important area of focus for us." an international certification standard for women-owned businesses, co-hosted Lamba's solution-in about 25 countries the event. to date-is to develop sourcing platforms that encourage local entrepreneurship, "We're really focused on wealth creation particularly among women, and foster and economic growth. We realize, more inclusive supply chains. When large however, that most sole proprietors are corporations source more requirements not going to benefit directly from a global from local communities, more income supply chain," said Elizabeth Vazquez, stays with local families. "The goal is to Quantum Leap's Executive Director. optimize the supply chain, provide "WEConnect integrates them into existing employment to locals, and to harmonize supply chains to become that tenth tier relations within communities," said supplier, for example." Lamba's Global Lamba, who presented three programs Linkages and Vazquez' WEConnect she runs-in Peru, India, and Chad-at together are helping to address a the event. daunting challenge: in most of the world, supply chains are not diverse at all, SUPPLIER DIVERSITY FORUM nor do governments seem to recognize About 30 senior executives attended the there is a business rationale to change. event from corporations including Accenture, AT&T, Boei ng, Cisco, Dell, Ernst If governments only source from large &Young, Manpower, Pfizer, and Walmart. men-owned companies, they may miss out These firms spend an estimated $700 on innovation, said Virginia Littlejohn, billion annually on products and services Quantum Leap's co-founder. "There are combined. Launching the forum, PREM VP certainly social benefits, but corporations Danny Leipziger said that integrating appreciate the bottom-line business case. 20 By introducing new SMEs into Progress can benefit both women business their supply chains, corporations owners and governments. "What's most inject competition, which important now is to scale up these provokes innovation, new women-owned businesses from solutions, and new ideas- and micro-enterprises to small and medium ultimately drives down prices." enterprises. It's crucial for them to move from the informal economy to the formal ROOM FOR GROWTH one," said Littlejohn. "And that brings in In the United States, the more tax revenue for governments." federal government has instituted mechanisms to help Participants set a short-term goal historically under-utilized to increase the participation of companies compete-small, women-owned businesses in the global women-owned, and minority­ supply chain by at least $7 billion per owned companies. However, year, which is one percent of the total there is still a lot of room spend of the participating corporations. for improvement. Vazquez "Imagine what could happen if collectively esti mates that the US we worked together to achieve this," federal government still mused Vazquez. "If we do this right. only sources about five it really can have a substantial impact percent of its goods in a short amount of time." and services from women-owned businesses. 10 Key Principles of D&I in Procurement 11 Practice what we preach Lead change among multilaterals Model good practice 71 Be responsible for gender equality (MDG3) ~ ~ Actively identify historically under-utilized firms Connect poverty-reduction mission to wealth creation by buying from the poor ~ Train procurement staff @ uild capacity of such firms B ~ Adapt our procurement rules n(Q) Convene supply chain equity networks and forums 21 Sixth Annual Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Awards MARCH 3D, 2Cl(J9 At the Bank Group's sixth annual Diversity and Inclusion Awards ceremony sponsored by MIGA, six recipients were honored for exemplary leadership, capping a month of activities that by turns informed, empowered, and entertained staff. At the awards, MIGA's Executive Vice said the Bank's diversity makes the President Izumi Kobayashi referred to institution more credible, representative, the Bank's mission of eliminating poverty and responsive. La Via presented. around the world: "To do this job, we need many different ways of thinking and In closing, ECA's VP Shigeo Katsu different experiences ... each of us needs recalled a symbolic gift from his native to believe in diversity and inclusion." country to the United States: "Just as the cherry blossoms have become part Before a packed MC-Atrium, master of of Washington's DNA," said Katsu, ceremonies Phil Hay animated with his referring to the iconic trees that were characteristic brand of improvisational in full bloom that week , "Diversity and wit and broadcast-quality brio. Vincenzo inclusion should become part of La Via, the Bank's Chief Financial Officer, the Bank's DNA." Celebration of Cultures Short cultural performances by acts from the Celebration of Cultures punctuated the special awards event. stafr first encountered the dreamlike syncopation of young Rishi Sinhal, a stoic prodigy on the Tabla drums (and student of Daniel Prabhakar, CFPVP). The Samovar Russian Polk Music Ensemble featured Olga Rines, HRSLO, as lead singer; a spiTited rendition of a South African song included the IMP's Kedibone Letlaka-R.ennert and Sharon Faulkner, OPCSVP; then a colorful Colombian cumbia dance led by the IMP's Marta Chiari· Arias featured Kimberly Powell, HRSGM and Marcela Ariza, MNCM. Just like that, four traditions from four continents left their mark in a sunsoaked Atrium. Congratulations to aU the 2009 Leadership Awards Nominees: INDIVIDUAL NOMINATIONS: Emmanuel Mbi, Country Director, Anil Sinha, General Manager, TEAM NOMINAnONS: Tamar Atinc, Sector Director, KNC03 CSAAP 1FC Sao Paulo Team ECSHD Eustache Ouayoro, Roberto Tarallo, Manager, LCSFM MNA Disability and Inclusion Simon Bell. Sector Manager, Sector Manager, AFTU2 Dimitris Tsitsiragos, Director, Network SASFP Hemant PaWaT, Senior CGMDR Ukraine Urban Infrastructure Maria da Graca Domingues, Accounting Office, ACTCA Laura Tuck, Sector Director, Project Team Director, CSODR Adrian Poffley, LCSSD Alex Etocke, Auditor, IADDR Chief Administration Patricia Veevers-Carters, Lucia Fort, Senior Gender Officer, HRSRM Program Manager, CPOBA Specialist. PRMGE Daniel Runde, Head, CPAFD Abdo Yubeck, Sector Manager, Hans Jurgen Gruss, John Scales, Senior ECSHD Chief Counsel. LEGEM Transportation Specialist, Suzy Yoon, Senior Operations Anthony Hegarty, EASCS Manager, ECCU2 Chief Financial Martha Simel, Admin Assistant, Management Officer, OPCFM CAFEl Blanshard Marke, DiviSlon Manager, LOADM Winners of the 2009 Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Awards Simon Bell Maria da Gra~a Domingues Anthony Hegarty Sector Manager, Finance and Private Director, Office of the Director, Chief Financial Management Officer, Sector Development Unit, South Asia Special Operations, IFC Operations Policy and Country Services, Financial Management, OPCFM Simon actively seeks candidates from Maria runs a department with an impressive different regions, cultures, and backgrounds . diversity profile: gender balanced and Tony acts on his strong belief in coaching He genuinely believes in the value diversity composed of people of many generation s, and mentoring for staff at all levels . He brings to the business of his unit and with ethnically and racially diverse discusses career development with all staff, of the Bank. backgrounds. She has achieved this through and supports learning goals with funding and proactive hiring practices; under her time for these activities. He actively uses As a manager, Simon works at understanding direction , her department has reached out development assignments as a way to mentor behavior styles and cultural differences, and to diverse groups, tapping into internal and staff; in the past year, he has supported does not hesitate to discuss latent biases, external talent pools. Maria has shown great three staff members from country offices to including his own. During visits to client leadership in creating an environment where work at the FM Anchor on short assignments. countries, he initiates discussions on all are encouraged to express their views, Through his attention to family issues and religion , cultural nuances, value systems, and and where all contributions are respected gender disparities, he has fostered an social dilemmas. As well as mentoring staff, and valued . inclusive work environment. At the last unit he encourages high-performing staff in retreat and at the FM Sector Learning Week, country offices to apply for internationally he facilitated family participation, and advertised positions with the Bank. provides working parents the flexibility to attend to family needs. 24 Anil Sinha Dimitris Tsitsiragos Laura Tuck General Manager, Advisory Services, Director, Global Manufacturing Sector Director, Sustainable Development, South Asia, IFC Ne w Delhi Office, CSAAP and Services Department, IFC Latin America & the Caribbean, LCSSD Anil's warm and welcoming personality is the Dimitris manages a large, globally integrated Ever since she was appointed Director binding force behin d his team. He has built department. yet makes every effort to get to a little over two years ago, Laura has worked an environment of cohesiveness and know staff individually and to understand tirelessly to create a management team that teamwork where all staff feel motivated to their personal needs. He facilitates their truly reflects the strength of diversity. work toward a common mission. He takes a personal and career development, and is Her 16-member team now includes 10 special interest in mentoring, and is inclusive in project assignments. His nationalities, seven women, six Part II accepting of genuine mistakes in a spirit of management style uses mentoring, coaching, nationals, and one SSAjCR. openness. He is a true personification of and modeling inclusive behaviors. Dimitris 'unity in diversity.' From a three-member talks about diversity in the normal course of Laura leverages diversity to its maximum team about two years ago, to more than 15 business. His proactive stand is reflected in potential by including her team in all key members today, the office has become a his department: a third of managers are decisions at the departmental level. She also mosaic of high-performing, world-class women and 15 percent of staff are inspires others to model her own inclusive diverse individuals from varied backgrounds SSAjCRs. He has created an environment behaviors, and actively addresses the and professional experiences, each hand­ where everyone is encouraged to offer their diversity challenges in each sector unit of picked by Anil. In management style, Anil views and all contributions are valued. the department by asking managers to uses an inquiry mode to start discussions, strengthen the diversity profile of their own encourages staff to voice their opinions, and teams. She gives high priority to mentoring, encourages all to be aware of the impact training, and other career development to of what they say. help junior staff build their technical capacity and institutional knowledge. 25 On the last day of March, Celebration of Diversity Month drew to a close on a light-hearted note when comedian Henry Cho entertained a lunchtime audience of more than 300 gathered at the IFC auditorium. For Henry Cho, life has provided a script for stand-up comedy, rooted in his experience growing up Asian American in the Deep South . "1 was born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee," Jyrki K ite C oskelo. V President . IF making Cho told staff. "So, o~ening remarks at the IFe'sponsored event I'm South Korean." Delivered with a decidedly Southern twang, Korean-American born and raised Cho's clean comedy had the crowd rolling in Tennessee. in the aisles during an hour-long performance . The 47-year-old father of three riffed on family life, from marriage ("It's like a job: Cho has always been determined to be you clock in ... and you never get to clock more than just an Asian comedian. Since out") to learning about traditions from breaking into stand-up in the 1980s, his his wife's family, who hail from Arab, original comedy has landed him on Alabama ("You can say anything about numerous TV shows, including Bob Hope's anybody as long as it's followed by a Young Comedians Special and VH-l's Stand 'Bless their hea rt'''). Playing off the Up Spotlight. He has appeared in several audience for much of the show, movies, and in 2006, his one -hour special, Cho gently jabbed staff about their Henry Cho: What's that Clickin' Noise?, engagements, partners, and kids. debuted on Comedy Central. Cho recently After rai sing two boys, having a daughter signed a deal with CBS and Paramount ha s changed his whole attitude on life: Studios to co-create and star in his "Every guy 1 see now, I just want to own sitcom based on his life as a punch him in the face." 26 ((I 'm an Asian with a Southern accent... to a lot of people that right there is f unny!" Henry Cho He concluded with some sage advice about "I was worried the content marriage, including whether, after an wouldn't relate because argument, it's a bad idea to go to bed it's such an international angry with your spouse: "Sometimes you audience," said Park, who works just gotta sleep," he said. "In the morning, with the Bank's Leadership and my wife's still mad. But I'm well rested." Organizational Effectiveness unit As the crowd filed out of the auditorium, in HRS. But she was pleasantly Isabel Dai and Katherine Park stood surpri sed. Cho's unique experience, outside talking with friends befo re heading and humorous takes on life, love, back to work. "It wa s refreshing to laugh in and marriage had wide appeal: the middle of the day," said Dai, who works "Everyone, no matter where they're in the LAC's re source management division. from, can relate." 27 "We're here today to reflect on progress toward advancing women's economic opportunities, [but} we still have a huge job to do." President Robert Zoeltick