2019 ALL MEMBER MEETING
Leaders discuss the advantages of diversity in workplace & community At its 158th All Member Meeting in September, the MMAC introduced the Region of Choice Pledge – a commitment by leading employers to address significant racial disparities by increasing the overall number of African American and Hispanic/Latino employees in Metro Milwaukee by 15 percent, and management-level employees by 25 percent, by 2025. sing key metrics of prosperity to rank Milwaukee against 20 other peer metro areas, MMAC research found that while Milwaukee’s white population ranks 6th in overall prosperity, our African-American and Hispanic/Latino populations both rank at the bottom. Metro Milwaukee also has the widest gap in prosperity between its white population and African-American and Hispanic populations.
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MMAC surveyed diverse managers at 32 companies and organizations in Metro Milwaukee, receiving more than 1,000 responses. An additional 400 respondents volunteered to participate in subsequent focus groups. The MMAC and its consultants also solicited feedback from 16 Metro Milwaukee company CEOs. The main takeaways from this research include: • 60% believe that diversity and inclusion efforts at their company are focused on meeting compliance goals, not on improving company culture. • 62% of African-American managers feel they have limited exposure to opportunities. • 56% of Hispanic/Latino managers feel they are overlooked or ignored. • 43% of diverse managers felt discrimination or bias in their workplace. • Outside of their workplace, 64% felt discrimination in the community.
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Milwaukee Commerce, WINTER 2019
