Structural Racism is Alive and Well According to Time Warner Inc. CEO Richard Parsons

The CEO of Time Warner Inc., Richard Parsons is a crusader of workplace diversity. Especially when it comes to his own company Time Warner which operates one of the largest subscriber television services on the planet. Not to mention partnering with internet service provider AOL for several years, Time Warner inc is truly on the forefront of corporate powerhouses that are seeking to employ and empower minorities and women throughout their organization. Recently when Mr. Parsons was interviewed he on CNN, he acknowledged that diversity in corporate America and in the workplace in general has made some considerable advances, that "structural racism is alive and well."

Institutional racism (or structural racism or systemic racism is a theoretical form of racism that occurs in institutions such as public bodies and corporations, including universities. The term was coined by black nationalist, pan-Africanist and honorary prime minister of the Black Panther Party Stokely Carmichael. In the late 1960s, he defined the term as "the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin".^[1](2007 Wikipedia)

When used in the context of employment and diversity hiring practices it can be taken to mean that the way in which the handlers for a diversity recruiting program have structured their recruiting efforts and hiring trends that there is really little or no minority representation within the organization. This can be due in part to HR managers and diversity officers not looking in the right places to find the qualified minority prospects who are undoubtedly out there.