High-Tech CEOs Work With Rainbow/PUSH For Business Diversity

Jet, May 29, 2000

Leaders of high-profile companies in California's Silicon Valley have agreed to do more business with people of color and diversify their workplace.

During Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition's Silicon Valley Project's "Digital 2000 Conference" in San Jose, CA, CEOs of leading companies acknowledged there is a "digital divide"--a technology gap-between the rich and the poor.

The CEOs also said they wanted to do something to close the gap between the rich and the poor and agreed to become trading partners with businesses owned by people of color and educate, train and employ more minorities. The CEOs also said they would be more aggressive in recruiting senior level executives and board members.

Carly Fiorina, CEO of Hewlett Packard, said at the conference: "The fact is that diversity is not a hiring priority in many Silicon Valley companies. As a result, this industry has far too much conformity."

She said, "We need to stop the rhetoric, recognize the value in diversity and change through e-inclusion ... Diversity inspires creativity and inventiveness and those are the core virtues of the New Economy."

Other business leaders attending the conference included John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, Craig Barett, CEO of Intel Corp. and others.