Driven by Purpose, Principles, Power and Passion

Transcription

1 Driven by Purpose, Principles, Power and Passion Visit our website at

2 Mission, Vision & Guiding Principles Deborah Hall President of BWLC

3 Mission, Vision & Guiding Principles VISION That Black Women will be recognized and rewarded for their worth; knowledge, skills and successes. MISSION The Black Women s Leadership Council serves as a catalyst to advance the professional and personal development of black women within the business community. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES Educate black women through self help workshops Provide a networking environment to share successes and opportunities BWLC National Summit Provide four year scholarships to young black women Nurture and develop young black women through their early career years Engage in dialogue with business leaders to FACILITATE the advancement of black women in all fields at all level Guiding Principles To ensure black women hold key positions within every business area of corporate America To actively prepare and mentor black women It begins and ends with sisterhood

4 BWLC History In the mid 1980s, Sylvia Chambers Ervin, District Manager in Syracuse, New York, had a concern with the lack of status and support systems for black women at Xerox Corporation. Her observations were that visible opportunities and pivotal assignments were being given to both majority females and black males, but not to black women. Even with the significant progress, power and leverage that many black males had gained through the black caucus efforts during the 1970s, black women were still in supporting roles at Xerox, not in leadership positions. the Special Ms. Chambers was particularly troubled by what she describes as the massacre of black female District Managers in the 1985 reorganization that combined the Business Products Division (BPD) and Business Group (SBG). Ms. Chambers was one of the highest ranking black women at Xerox in the mid 1980s. Her personal philosophy was that black women, at the very least, needed to help other black women. She took action, sending letters to all of the senior level black women at Xerox, inviting them to attend a weekend meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. She set two expectations for the attendees in the letter. The first expectation was to focus on what they could do to help each other. The second expectation was to personally pay their travel expenses. Thirteen black women attended this first watershed meeting in 1986 at Ms. Chambers home in Atlanta. The women at the famous Atlanta meeting agreed to get together twice a year. These early meetings included personal career planning sessions and networking. In 1989, the organization was formalized and given the name the Black Women s Leadership Council during a meeting in Stamford, Connecticut. Sylvia understood the need for black women supporting each other at all levels... In 1990, at BWLC meeting in Washington, DC, a new precedent was set with the invitation of a Xerox senior executive to dialogue on black women s issues in an open forum. Paul Allaire, Xerox CEO, came to the Washington, DC meeting to address and discuss the challenges faced by black women at Xerox. The dialogue with Mr. Allaire included a discussion on why black Women s needs had not been addressed at the corporate level and why BWLC existed. It was explained to Mr. Allaire that black women faced unique challenges in the corporation because they faced both sexism and racism. In addition, it was pointed out that while majority women and black males had been promoted to top corporate positions with significant decision-making power, black women were still not participating in these opportunities. The first BWLC Conference was held in 1997 at the Xerox Training Center in Leesburg, Virginia. Black women at all grade levels, exempt and non-exempt Xerox employees attended the conference. During this era, the BWLC Foundation was formed under the community outreach umbrella to give scholarships to black female high school seniors, who were college-bound. The Black Women s Leadership Council came to life in 1986 with thirteen black women. Today BWLC continues to play an invaluable leadership role in the advancement of black women at Xerox. In 2006 under the leadership of Jacqueline Denny, BWLC opened the organization to all black women. At the 2006 BWLC National Summit in Atlanta, Georgia, black women from other corporations participated as attendees, presenters, and sponsors. A senior advisor from Citigroup Realty Services was added to BWLC executive advisory board in With the expanded scope, BWLC is bringing value to black women beyond Xerox Corporation. BWLC Summit History Fort Lauderdale, FL BWLC Conference Co-Chairs: Deborah Hall & Sakena Hillman Rochester, NY BWLC Chairperson: BWLC Executive Board Ft Lauderdale, FL BWLC Chairperson: Margaretta Williams & Conference Co-Chair Yetta Toliver Dallas, TX 2008 BWLC Chairperson: Jacqueline Denny & Conference Co-Chair: Ante Archer & Margaretta Williams Atlanta, GA 2007 BWLC Chairperson: Jacqueline Denny & Conference Chair: Margaretta Williams Atlanta, GA 2006 BWLC Chairperson: Jacqueline Denny & Conference Chair: Margaretta Williams New York, NY 2000 BWLC Chairperson: Sharon Hidalgo & Conference Co-Chairs: Cheryl Brannon & Anita Fonseca Washington, DC 1999 BWLC Chairperson: Pricilla Douglas & Conference Co-Chairs: Diana Smith-Jackson & Seneica Sykes-Bullock Chicago, IL 1998 BWLC Chairperson: Pricilla Douglas & Conference Chairperson: Sharon Hidalgo Leesburg 1997 BWLC Chairperson: Diane Delaware & Conference Co-chairs Sonia Allen & Anita Fonseca

5 BWLC Executive Board President Deborah Hall Client Operations Director Strategic Business Unit(SBU) USCO Global Document Outsourcing Vice President Jennifer Allen Operations Manager Webster Fuser Business Center Global Business & Services Group Director of Marketing Yvette Smith Vice President, Strategic Business Unit Client Operations East Select Treasurer Margaret Walker Associate General IP Counsel Xerox Corporation Communication Officer Deirdre Scott Marketing Operations Analyst Lean Six Sigma Black Belt USCO Mid South Operations Secretary Sakena Hillman 2012 Social Service Program Chicago Teen Living Programs Xerox North America

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