You have been hired by a Fortune 500 company as their independent board chair due to multiple discrimination lawsuits presented by women, specifically women of color, over a 10-year period (2010-2020) for failing to promote women to executive and senior-level positions.
Your company is a major player in the sports retail industry and has been doing business domestically and globally for the past 30 years.
The most recent lawsuit, filed 1 year ago by ten women through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), found your company guilty of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for not hiring or promoting women who possessed qualifications equal to or superior to their male counterparts.
Your task is to bring awareness to the current board of directors and change the hiring and/or promoting practices with respect to the hiring and promoting practices of women and women of color.
The demographics of your senior-level executive, team consists of eight individuals. Their titles are President, CEO, CFO, Vice-President of Human Resources, Vice-President of Operations, Vice-President of Marketing, Vice-President of Finance, and Vice-President of External Affairs.
How would you present your case to the Board of Directors and to your senior-level officers outlining the importance and advantages of changing the hiring and promotion practices?
