Comcast and NBCUniversal create external diversity council

Sat. March 26, 2011 8:21 AM

Philadelphia, PA - Comcast Corporation announced March 23 that it has created a Joint External Diversity Advisory Council to advise the senior executive teams at Comcast and NBCUniversal as the company takes steps to become an industry leader in diversity.

The Joint Diversity Council consists of four, nine-member Diversity Advisory Councils, representing the interests of African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics, and Women, respectively. The Joint Diversity Council also has members representing veterans, Native Americans, people with disabilities, and the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender ("LGBT") community, as well as representatives of Comcast's and NBCUniversal's internal diversity councils. They will provide advice on the five Focus Areas stipulated in the Memoranda of Understanding entered into by the companies and various national diverse leadership organizations: (1) Corporate Governance; (2) Employment/Workforce Recruitment & Retention; (3) Procurement; (4) Programming; and (5) Philanthropy & Community Investment.

Those gays on the council include Mark Segal, publisher of Philadelphia Gay News; Alba E. Martinez, vice chair, principal, Vanguard; and Jarrett Tomás Barrios, president and CEO, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

"We are thrilled to have established the Joint Diversity Council within two months of the completion of the NBCUniversal transaction," said David L. Cohen, Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at Comcast Corporation. "One of our key goals when establishing the Council was to achieve a cross-section of viewpoints from multiple groups, including business, entertainment and media, and civil rights organizations. We believe we have achieved that with the Council's members and we look forward to working together to become a model on diversity for the communications and entertainment industries."

Comcast said the Joint Diversity Council will conduct its first meeting in May 2011 and will meet formally semi-annually.

From a Press Release
 

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