Last month, William J. Miliani, a Member of the Firm at Epstein Becker & Green, P.C., moderated the 2006 EBG Diversity Summit Management-Level Diversity in the Finance Industry: Challenges and Opportunities. The summit, which brought together more than 100 finance industry leaders and EBG attorneys, was opened by keynote speaker Cari Dominguez, in her first public appearance since resigning as chair of the EEOC on August 7.
Ms. Dominguez discussed the EEOC's recent report Diversity in the Finance Industry, which examined the employment of women, African Americans, Hispanics and American Indians/Alaskan Natives in the finance industry, and specifically their rate of success in rising to management-level positions.
Following a question-and-answer period with Ms. Dominguez, panelists talked about real-world approaches in responding to EEOC class action claims, the risks and rewards of employer-sponsored affinity groups, the scope of investigations by city Human Rights Commissions, issues related to reverse discrimination and how to tackle diversity in a proactive, rather than reactive, mode. Speakers included Claudia Cohen, Senior Associate General Counsel, UBS; Carol Robles-Roman, Deputy Mayor for Legal Affairs, City of New York; Kenneth G. Standard, Member of the Firm, and Teresa Butler Stivarius, Member of the Firm.
Teresa Stivarius summed up the goal of the summit, stating, 'In today's global business world, it is unquestionably vital to embrace diversity as not only a cornerstone, but the foundation for success.The challenge is to achieve tangible results that reflect this commitment and to do so while also reinforcing principals of fairness and equal employment opportunity for all.'