According to Kathy Hannan, diversity is essential to the culture at KPMG. Hannan heads both the company’s Women’s Advisory Board and the Diversity Advisory Board. In fact, KPMG has established a number of other advisory boards, including one for African Americans, one for Latinos, and one for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender employees.

KPMG’s commitment to a more diverse workforce is also evident in its efforts to recruit and hire minorities. The company has implemented several programs designed to attract students to the firm with the expectation that they could become future hires. These programs include internships and other kinds of educational opportunities.

Furthermore, KPMG believes that a diverse workforce attracts more minority workers. Nigel Franklin of KPMG’s African American Network agrees. He notes that prospective hires want to see other people like themselves in an organization so that they know that there is someone to relate to—someone who has traveled their path already.

Kathy Hannan says that the Women’s Advisory Board is actively focusing on retaining young women; to that end, she has established goals of how the firm should look from a gender perspective and created a network that acts as a forum for women to reach out to each other.

Kristen Johnston of KPMG’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Network believes that education is the key to a more diverse organization. Johnston says that is important to help people understand differences and accept them. She feels that there is a long road ahead, but is optimistic that, at some point in time, stereotypes and prejudices will be a thing of the past. Hannan agrees, and believes that one day there no longer will be a need for the different networks to support the various groups. Until then, though, they perform a valuable role.

Discussion Questions
1. Which of the major training approaches to diversity management as discussed in Chapter 6 is KPMG following?
2. How does Kristen Johnston of KPMG’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Network hope the group will help her avoid the prejudice and discrimination described in Chapter 6 that is found commonly in many organizations?
3. Which of the guidelines presented in Chapter 6 for making diversity programs successful is KPMG following?