NAMIC: Study of Diversity Within the Telecommunications Industry.

The National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) announced that it has begun collecting data for phase III of its landmark employment research, “Redefining the Spectrum: The Multi-ethnic Connection.” NAMIC — in partnership with DiversityInc, the leading national publication in corporate diversity — began collecting data in early June and will continue through July 16. The results will be announced at the 18th Annual NAMIC Conference being held September 19- 21 in New York City.

“Our industry has made great strides in providing equal opportunities for people of color but there is much more that we can do,” said Jenny Alonzo, president of NAMIC and vice president of Production and Operations at Lifetime Television. “Our employment research will help us pinpoint where the cable industry is with diversity hiring and retention programs and in developing initiatives that continue to support this important industry endeavor.”

This year, the partnership with DiversityInc will allow NAMIC to expand use of the survey data by providing cable companies with tools for benchmarking their diversity efforts against their competitors as well as similar, direct-to-consumer companies — such as those in the automotive, financial services and technology industries — on the DiversityInc “50 Top Companies for Diversity” list.

NAMIC first conducted its employment study in 1999 to develop a baseline of statistics and opinions about the state of diversity in the telecommunications industry. A follow up was conducted in 2002. Both phases revealed a concern among minority industry professionals about the lack of people of color in high-level positions. According to the results, nearly 20 percent of minority respondents referred to employment-related barriers as a lack of minority mentors in upper management and a failure to promote people of color to executive positions. Currently, people of color hold 7 percent of key management positions, which includes CEOs and senior vice presidents.

To help address this concern, NAMIC launched its Executive Leadership Development Program in partnership with the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management to create a pipeline of future leaders from the African American, Latino and Asian populations. In addition, NAMIC added corporate diversity and professional development tracks to its annual convention to provide diversity strategy development and career advancement education to attendees.