Why Attend?

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2007 Conference Highlights

The 2007 Conference brought participants top-notch keynote speakers, invaluable information and of course a GREAT TIME! To see some of the highlights, click here.

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Founder's Welcome

Dennis Kennedy, Founder, Texas Diversity Conference

Welcome to the Fourth Annual Texas Diversity & Leadership Conference.  I am very excited about the opportunity we have in our state not only to celebrate our differences but also to bring attention to issues related to our workplace.  Our theme this year is “Deconstructing the Texas Glass Ceiling.”  Based on the 2008 Texas Glass Ceiling study, women are significantly underrepresented in both the board rooms and the c-suites of Fortune 1000 companies headquartered in Texas.  This is evidence that the “Good Old Boy Network” is still alive and well in our state.
 
The “Deconstruction of the Texas Glass Ceiling” is both a business and moral imperative for our community.  First, from a business perspective, when organizations are not inclusive and thus not making full use of their human capital the implications are detrimental: high turnover, low worker engagement and lower productivity among their employees.  Furthermore, a work environment with artificial barriers has the potential to lead to a class action law suit.  Such a suit would impact both the bottom line and the corporate brand.  In addition, all organizations have a responsibility to the community.  A responsibility to create a work environment in which all individuals have an equal opportunity to develop and compete based on merit and not on one’s gender.   Finally, discrimination is immoral.  To exclude individuals from leadership based on their gender is both immoral and ungodly.

To see change in our state, it is going to take a CollectiveVoice™. It’s going to take people coming together and speaking truth to power and thus challenging the current status quo of inequality.  In addition, it’s going to take determination, commitment, and organization.  I implore you to get involved so that “We the Community of Texas” can dismantle the artificial barriers in our workplaces that impede the progress of both women and people of color.  Our state will not change without individuals who are willing to work together for change.

 

Thanks,


Dennis Kennedy

Founder & CEO,
National Diversity Council

MEET DENNIS KENNEDY

 

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"General Powell & Dennis Kennedy"