The Relationship Between Management Diversity And Supplier Diversity Program Development: A Supplier Diversity Professional Perspective

Companies that supply the Federal government with goods and services are required by law to have a supplier diversity program/initiative. They are also required to appoint a supplier diversity professional to manage the program. Programs are audited by the Small Business Administration to determine due diligence efforts to achieve the mandated annual spend, education, and development requirements from the Veterans Administration for small businesses. Supplier diversity programs typically begin at the token level and can usually be developed to a world class level if the initiatives are strategically integrated in the corporation's supply chain and supported by senior management. For many years, senior management ranks across U.S. corporations have lacked diversity in both gender and race. Currently, a database does not exist on how supplier diversity programs are classified, if supplier diversity professionals are full-time or part-time in their roles, or if diverse senior management impacts the program's development. In short, there is little scholarly literature on supplier diversity program development (Whitfield, 2003). This study attempts to fill this void.