An individual can't make half the contribution that is made when working with others who are different. The proportions of women and African Americans employed by Viant are its weak spots, she adds, but she does point to proactive efforts to strengthen representation in these groups. In many ways, the e-consultancies' advantage is having started out with diverse leadership groups. When he set up the Viant office in San Francisco, a predominantly white American area, he attracted people from many ethnic groups. But they are not resting easy, and believe that the big firms will break the mold.
Larger firms have the right intentions.
They need to overhire minorities. Viant would have to compete, making it harder for us to achieve diversity. This is not about to happen, but champions of the diversity cause in traditional consultancies are certainly pulling out the stops to recruit and retain minorities. The consultancy's Asian American population is pretty strong, says Director of Diversity in the U.S. Nellie Gonzalez, but it is keen to attract more African Americans and Hispanic Americans. While many e-consultancies will divulge diversity statistics, most of the large firms are less confident.