[Jobs] Execs Offer Insights On Diversity

[PETER ALTSCHUL]

Execs Offer Insights On Diversity



By:CYNTHIA POST, www.atlantadailyworld.comJune 02, 2006



Members of the ADW's inaugural Coporate Diversity Forum panel pose with 
Atlanta Daily World Publisher M. Alexis Scott (right), who served as 
moderator. Panel members E. Lamont Houston, senior vice president of 
customer service and sales at Georgia Power; Leona Barr-Davenport, president 
of the Atlanta Business League; and Curley Dossman, president of the 
Georgia-Pacific Foundation, shared their experiences and offered advice on 
having a successful career in corporate America.

Much has been done, but there is still more work to do regarding corporate 
diversity, according to senior executives during a recent diversity forum.

The three executives took part in the Atlanta Daily World's first diversity 
forum at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta on May 25. The forum was sponsored by the 
Atlanta Daily World in conjunction with the Atlanta Business League and the 
Hyatt Regency Atlanta.

Panelists included Leona Barr-Davenport, Atlanta Business League president 
and CEO; Curley M. Dossman Jr., Georgia-Pacific Foundation president and 
community programs vice president; and E. Lamont Houston, Georgia Power 
senior vice president of customer service and sales.

In an intimate gathering, the panel of executives shared their experiences 
and career paths in a fascinating and moving discussion.

Houston came to work for Georgia Power directly out of Tuskegee University 
in 1972.

"When I came onboard, I was one of a handful of African American engineers," 
he said. "Some people didn't want to see you fail; on the other hand, some 
people didn't want to see you succeed, either way sometimes you were given 
little responsibility."

Houston has held a number of engineering, supervisory and management 
positions with the company until being elected as distribution vice 
president of the Southern Regions in May 2000.

A turning point came when Houston volunteered with the United Way of 
Metropolitan Atlanta and demonstrated his leadership skills.

"I made a good impression with a fundraising campaign," he said. "It's been 
an interesting career."

In March 2005, Houston was named vice president of corporate services.

In January 2006, he was named senior vice president of customer service and 
sales for Georgia Power.

A native of Johnsonville , SC , Barr-Davenport received a bachelor of 
science degree in business administration and economics from Benedict 
College in Columbia , SC.

After graduation, she moved to Atlanta and began working at a downtown area 
business.

"I was the only African American at that particular company," Barr-Davenport 
said.

Her decision to work with African American business owners led her to the 
Atlanta Business League as an assistant in 1988.

What was supposed to be a two-year stint with ABL led to her becoming 
president and CEO of the organization.

The panel of executives answered several questions in a discussion regarding 
corporate America 's commitment to diversity.

Dossman, who came from Louisiana to Atlanta to attend Morehouse College , 
said, "all progress is driven by change," he said. "With a diverse 
workforce, people bring their ideas to the table. We still have a lot of 
work to do."

Diversity is not about Black and White, Barr-Davenport said.

"There are so many different angles -mothers versus single mothers, mothers 
versus non-mothers, men versus women," she said. "Women must continue to 
address the perception they cannot compete with men on the same level."

However, those working to advance diversity in the workforce should "be 
careful not to focus on an agenda," Dossman said.

"Future success depends on a diverse business environment," Houston said. 
"We have to understand how people work, how they want to work, how they are 
willing to work.

There is a strain on the aging U.S. workforce yet there are ways to compete 
in an increasingly global economy, the executives agreed.

"It is vital to have an educated workforce, particularly African American 
males," Dossman said. "We have to capture kids early in our schools and 
intervene in their lives."

Dossman cited the efforts of the Georgia-Pacific Foundation's involvement 
with the Atlanta Public Schools; Barr-Davenport also mentioned the Atlanta 
Business League's program to provide youth opportunities to "shadow" African 
American entrepreneurs.

"At Georgia Power, we have bright, educated young people who are committed 
and have a desire to succeed," Houston said. "We have to steer more young 
people into vocational careers."

The discussion ended with the panelists addressing a controversial question 
of how to address White privilege in corporate America .

"There are still some areas where you do not see people of color," 
Barr-Davenport said. "A company's efforts in advancing diversity has to be 
tied to compensation; that is when you will see change."

Houston suggested continued dialogue as another possible solution.

"There was a time when diversity was not an issue," Houston said. "Today, 
the choice is how to integrate those differences.

"You have to continue to push the envelope in what you need to do business," 
he continued. "You have to be comfortable with change.Georgia Power has come 
a long way but there is still a long way to go. Quitting is not an option."

Dossman praised the role of historically Black colleges and universities as 
a potential solution.

"They are so important by instilling students with values that will serve 
them well in life," he said.

This year's theme was "Lessons Learned and Advice for the Next Generation."

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