BET Founder: NFL Rule Would Reduce Minority Unemployment
February 01 2012 - 12:36PM
Dow Jones News
Black Entertainment Television founder Robert L. Johnson on
Wednesday called for fellow corporate leaders to embrace a version
of the National Football League's "Rooney rule," a mandate to
consider minority candidates for top positions.
If companies followed a similar rule when hiring executives, and
thus set off a ripple effect of more minority hiring at lower
levels, minority unemployment would decrease and place less burden
on government aid programs, he said.
Johnson asked that corporations voluntarily agree to interview
at least two minority candidates for a vice president post or
higher and consider minority firms when awarding contracts.
"Diversity and inclusion policies without a commitment to
interview minority candidates, as the NFL realized, does not work,"
Johnson said at the National Press Club. "Minorities are often left
out of the deal flow of opportunity, and as a result, minorities
are underrepresented in doing business with and employment at
management levels in corporate America."
The NFL's Rooney rule mandates that teams interview at least one
minority candidate for a head coach or general manager position.
The rule, named after the Rooney family that owns the Pittsburgh
Steelers, has been widely credited with expanding the ranks of
minority coaches in the league. Six of the NFL's 32 teams employ a
minority head coach, up from two when the rule was enacted in
2003.
Johnson, currently chairman of the RLJ Companies, a firm that
holds investments in hotels, auto dealerships and the Charlotte
Bobcats basketball team, said U.S. companies can learn a lesson
from football.
The unemployment rate for certain racial minorities was
significantly higher than the 8.5% reported for the U.S. in
December. The unemployment rate for black Americans was 15.8%, the
rate for Latinos was 11.0%, according the Labor Department.
By comparison, unemployment among white Americans was less than
the national average at 7.5%. The government is set to release its
latest snapshot of the labor market on Friday.
If companies committed to interviewing minority candidates, more
would land top-level positions. In turn, they'd advocate for
minority hiring at lower levels, Johnson said.
"It's a ripple effect," he said. Johnson is not seeking
legislation to codify the rule nor is he requiring companies follow
the rule to do business with him, rather he's encouraging corporate
leaders to voluntarily adopt it.
Johnson also announced Wednesday that he's launching a web site,
Oppsplace.com, that would serve to connect minority jobseekers and
minority-owned small businesses with such large corporations as
FedEx Corp. (FDX), Capital One Financial Corp.(COF) and McDonald's
Corp. (MCD)
The higher rate of unemployment among blacks and Latinos is
partially a reflection of a lack of educational opportunities in
urban centers, said Jeff Strohl, director of research at the
Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.
The unemployment rate for high school dropouts was 13.8% in
December, while only 4.1% for those with a college degree.
With less education on average, "minority groups and women
tended to trend into lesser-paying jobs with less career
stability," Strohl said.
Strohl said he was unsure if requiring interviewing of minority
candidates would have much effect on unemployment rates.
"Some companies would go through motions, but likely already
have candidates in mind," he said.
Johnson disagreed with that idea, saying that "when companies
see talent they'll embrace it."
In the NFL, the Rooney rule provides minority candidates with
experience and exposure to landing a high-profile position, making
the candidate better prepared for future opportunities, even if
they don't land the current job, said NFL Chief Human Resources
Officer Robert Gulliver.
"Rooney rule is a point of pride for the league," he said. The
NFL, however, doesn't impose the rule for lower posts, such as
assistant coaches or junior front office personnel.
Gulliver said his former employer, Wachovia Bank, had a process
in place to ensure minority candidates were considered for senior
positions.
"When I arrived here, I realized that Wachovia essentially had
the Rooney rule in place," he said. "It can be effectively used
outside of football."
-By Eric Morath, Dow Jones Newswires; 202 862 9279;
eric.morath@dowjones.com
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