June 21, 2010

Every now and then you walk into a room and notice a complete lack of racial/ethnic diversity. It does not seem to happen often, but when it does you notice it like a sore thumb. I guess I have become accustomed to attending NMSDC/GNEMSDC events that are beautifully diverse, where every "group" is represented. Two weeks ago I attended an event sponsored by the MetroHartford Alliance and the Hartford Business Journal and quite to my surprise found that in a room of 600 plus business people, I could count on two hands the number of Blacks, Hispanics and Asians in the room. Now I admit that I did not conduct a scientific study, but when you walk a room like I did that morning and saw table after table that had no minorities, I was shocked by this lack of diversity. I was a guest of AI Engineers, a certified MBE that won the "Business Champions Award for Sustainability". The AI Engineer's table had great diversity. I am sure that the organizers of this event the MetroHartford Alliance and the Hartford Business Journal and the lead sponsor, Webster Bank, did not in any way consciously orchestrate or desire this outcome, but you have to wonder, what was going on here. Historically, local chambers of commerce have been known as conservative institutions that catered to the needs of the small and mid-sized business community. And that membership in most chambers was not diverse when these organizations got started. The MetroHartford Alliance traces it roots to 1799. In fact, because of the racial and political history of most chambers, ethnic chambers of commerce came into existence to fill the void and the needs of local Hispanic, Black and Asian business owners. I have to mention political history as well, because chambers of commerce can be characterized as being right leaning organizations when it comes to social policy issues, tending to favor efficiency over equity and markets over government, Now my purpose is neither to beat up on chambers of commerce in general, nor the MetroHartford Alliance in particular, but this event has convinced me that if minority businesses are to reach their full potential, they must find a way to get engaged in the valuable mission of the chambers, particularly in the chambers that are located where there are large percentages of minority consumers, workers and businesses. MBEs must also share in the responsibility to be fully engaged by joining their local chambers and taking leadership roles in them. Only when MBEs get actively engaged with these organizations will diversity attain its full potential.