But the growing number of minorities is affecting much more than business school enrollments. Companies recognize that they're dealing with diverse customers these days. Customers who think, act and buy differently. Customers who want to work with and buy from people who look like them. As a result, diversity has become a critical requirement in Corporate America.
Some companies value the unique perspectives people from varying backgrounds can offer.
Others believe people of color can help them connect with an increasingly multicultural client base. Still others recognize that traditional, exclusive hiring attitudes can no longer produce enough talented people for increasingly sophisticated businesses. Corporate America can no longer afford to ignore talented people of color. The shortage of minorities in business schools is exacerbated by the fact that business is not often minorities' pursuit of choice. When minority graduate school enrollment statistics are broken down by field of study, only Asian Americans, as a group, favor business over other areas of study.