Hewlett Packard Reiterates Commitment to Workforce Diversity

Hewlett Packard, through its CEO Meg Whitman reiterated its commitment to workforce diversity at a very brief meeting with the Rev. Jesse Jackson at the HP's annual shareholder meeting last month.

Rev. Jackson led a delegation to the annual meeting and had a nearly 10-minute exchange with CEO Meg Whitman. Jackson has cited lack of diversity at a range of Bay Area tech giants, it was reported.

Pushing for greater diversity that ensures that Blacks and Latinos are given prominent leadership roles in the booming industry, “Silicon Valley and tech industry have demonstrated that it can solve the most challenging and complex problems in the whole world," Jackson said during the meeting, which was held in Santa Clara. "We need you to assume a different level of leadership. Today, too few have too much, too many have too little, and the middle class is sinking."

In response, Whitman stated that Hewlett Packard has been for more than 40 years at the forefront of building racial diversity among its supliers, and expressed that HP may be the only major company that employs women in the positions of CEO and chief financial officer, in reference to Catherine Lesjak.

However, Whitman also conceded that there is indeed much to be done to increase diversity, not only in Silicon Valley, but in the whole country.

In the same article above, it was reported that HP Executive Vice President Henry Gomez stated in an email addressed to the Associated Press that HP spent nearly $1 billion with almost 500 minority business enterprises in the U.S. and an additional $500 million with businesses owned by women during 2013.