THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

PRESIDENT CLINTON ISSUES A CALL TO ACTION FOR CORPORATE DIVERSITY

April 6, 2000

Today, at the White House, President Clinton will meet with corporate leaders to challenge them to promote diversity, close the opportunity gap that exists in America and lead our nation towards the goal of building One America. The President will announce important new commitments from the business community in response to his call to action to ensure that minorities are not left behind and that all Americans are able to participate equally in the prosperity of the new economy.

President Clinton will challenge corporations from every major sector of the business community to join him in building One America by recognizing how diversity can help business and using their influence to promote racial diversity and improve opportunities for minorities. Prior to today's announcement, the President also has called upon other important sectors of American society to work towards this goal:

• CALL TO ACTION TO THE AMERICAN LEGAL COMMUNITY: On July 20, 1999, President Clinton issued a call to action to the legal community to enlist their support in the fight for equal justice. America's leading attorneys and major legal associations, including the American Bar Association, the American Corporate Counsel Association, the Association of American Law Schools, and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, responded by forming "Lawyers for One America," a unique collaboration with a mission to change the landscape for racial justice through increased pro bono service and diversity within the legal community.
• CALL TO ACTION TO THE FAITH COMMUNITY: On March 7, 2000, President Clinton met with a broad group of American religious leaders to highlight new commitments and programs they have pledged to undertake within the faith community to ensure that the nation's religious organizations are doing their part to expand diversity, end racism and promote racial reconciliation in America. The National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ) pledged to hold a national forum of faith leaders to share information on their efforts and to seek commitments from other faith leaders to address race issues. Some of the other commitments included anti-racism consultation and training and racial educational programs.

NEW COMMITMENTS BY CORPORATE AMERICA TO PROMOTE DIVERSITY: President Clinton will announce the following commitments from the business community in response to his challenge.

• 25 LEADING COMPANIES PLEDGE $250 MILLION TO PROMOTE DIVERSITY: Twenty-five companies are each pledging at least $1 million dollars, annually for the next ten years to expand diversity in the high-tech workforce. These funds will be used for a wide range of programs, including scholarships, job training, math and science programs, internships and other programs to encourage minorities, women and disabled persons to pursue science, engineering and technical careers. These long-term commitments by the high-tech corporate community will not only promote diversity in the workforce but will also help address America's need for additional skilled scientists, engineers and technical workers. The following companies have committed to this effort: Adobe Systems; America Online; American Express; Anderson Consulting; AT&T; BP Amoco; BellSouth; Boeing Corporation; Chevron; Consolidated Edison; DuPont; Eastman Kodak; Exxon; Ford Motor Company; General Electric; GTE; IBM; Intel; Lucent Technologies; MCI Worldcom; Siemens Corporation; Sun Microsystems; TRW; United Technologies Corporation; and Xerox.
• EASTMAN KODAK AND BELLSOUTH PLEDGE TO PROMOTE DIVERSITY: Chairman George Fisher of Eastman Kodak and Chief Executive Officer Duane Ackerman of BellSouth will spearhead an effort to ensure greater diversity in the corporate sector. Mr. Fisher and Mr. Ackerman will convene groups of business leaders in every region of the U.S. over the next year to encourage important discussions on racial issues, workplace diversity and employment equity. They will use these roundtables to urge their corporate peers that business advantages - both economic and social - exist for companies with strong diversity programs in place.

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