Compiled for the LCLD Board of Directors every Wednesday, this digest is designed to brief you on the latest headlines about LCLD Members and organizations, as well as thought-provoking articles on diversity in the legal profession, talent development, mentoring, and leadership. Past issues of the Digest are also archived on the LCLD web site.

If you have questions about the Digest, or articles you'd like to share, please email Caitlin Puffenberger at cpuffenberger@lcldnet.com. 

This week, in news related to diversity and inclusion...

1. Everything You Need to Know About United's Interim CEO 

Fortune, 10/20/15

LCLD Board Member Brett Hart was named interim CEO of United Continental Holdings after CEO Oscar Munoz suffered a heart attack last week. Hart joined United in 2010 and oversaw government and regulatory affairs, customer experience, corporate security, community affairs, among other areas. At this time, Munoz is on indefinite medical leave. 

2. 100 Most Powerful Women of 2015

Washingtonian, 10/28/15

LCLD Board Member Ellen Dwyer was named one of the Washingtonian's 100 Most Powerful Women of 2015. She is honored alongside Michelle Obama, Loretta Lynch, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor. Dwyer will be honored at a luncheon in November. 

3. Celebrating the Top Performers of 2015

LCLD Communications, 10/23/15

At the Sixth Annual Meeting, LCLD announced those Members who had given the most time and energy to support the LCLD mission in 2015. This year, the Members of 15 corporations and 17 law firms received the designation of "Top Performer." 

4. Anne-Marie Slaughter: We Must Stop Devaluing People When They Become Carers

The Independent, 10/26/15

The struggles faced by women in the workplace have less to do with balance than they do with the way American culture devalues caregivers, according to Anne-Marie Slaughter, LCLD Diversity Partner and CEO of New America. “We are discriminating against people who have to care for others, which is a role that society needs people to play,” she said in an interview about her new book, Unfinished Business. Slaughter says this issue is not true just for working mothers, but also for fathers, children taking care of parents, or anyone who has to support someone who is disabled or ill. Click here to see a video of Slaughter speaking at LCLD's Annual Meeting in 2013. 

5. Microsoft Just Took a Step Toward Actual Gender Diversity

Huffington Post, 10/21/15

LCLD Member organization Microsoft Corp. nominated two women to its board, Sandra Peterson, Chairman of Johnson & Johnson, and Padmasree Warrior, former Chief Technology Officer at Cisco. If shareholders approve Peterson and Warrior, the company will have three women on its board. Academics consider this the “threshold number” for true gender diversity, as one woman on a board will often feel isolated or be expected to be the voice of all women.

6. No ‘Appreciable Progress’ for Women in Partnership Ranks

Bloomberg BNA, 10/28/15

Women have made no “appreciable progess” since 2006 in attaining equity partnership or equal pay, according to a study from the National Association of Women Lawyers. Other findings include:

• Women represent 18 percent of equity partners, up two percent from 2006.
• Women make 80 percent of the salary made by their male peers, down four percent from 2006.
• At Fortune 500 companies, 40 percent of lawyers are women; women also hold 23 percent of top positions in their legal departments. 

7. Diversity Efforts are Band-Aids That Make Us Fail to See the Elephant in the Room: Systemic Racism

Atlanta Black Star, 10/2/15/15

“Too often, diversity programs and initiatives sound…like window dressing and tokenism, ‘feel good’ exercises that fail to address the root of the problem, which is systemic exclusion and discrimination.” This is true is most industries, but particularly in the legal profession, which, despite numerous diversity efforts, is still 88 percent white. If we want to make true progress, so that the makeup and leadership of our industries reflects the larger population, we need to take a deeper look at systemic problems that keep women and minorities out.