Supplier Diversity For Dummies

Chapter 2

Understanding the Foundation of Supplier Diversity

IN THIS CHAPTER

Considering a brief history of employment discrimination legislation

Tracking the phases of supplier diversity

Projecting some important factors in supplier diversity’s next step

When compared to other areas within your organization, supplier diversity is relatively young as a department or even a strategic initiative. Despite its auspicious start during the 1960s, it languished for many years and wasn’t always embraced or welcomed. Not until the 1970s did organizations and communities across the country begin to get intentional about their commitment and create programs that can have a lasting impact on their communities.

In this chapter, I look at the foundation of supplier diversity — where it began, its evolution, and some trends shaping its future. I haven’t designed this chapter to be a big history lesson. It’s here to provide more context to why supplier diversity programs were started, how they’ve evolved, and how certain elements became part of the structure you know today. This background can inform your thinking as a practitioner so you can move beyond a cookie-cutter approach to create or build ...