Winter 2002 Vol. 11 No. 1

Ensuring the Future

Sparking Talents in the Next Generation

A key issue, in chemistry, engineering, law or any other profession, is sparking an interest among young people who do not have personal relationships with people in these professions. DuPont gives students opportunities to meet and experience a taste of professional careers through several ongoing programs.

Sylvia Stevenson, team leader, DuPont Holographic Materials, leads Girl Scouts through hands-on experiments.

For decades, the company has supported the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, NACME, which finds and grooms promising high school and college students for engineering careers. To encourage young girls to consider science and engineering, career women at DuPont have invited fifth, sixth and seventh grade Girl Scouts to spend a Saturday at the Experimental Station conducting experiments and experiencing the opportunities and possibilities.

The Pipeline: A Best Practice for Ensuring Minority Participation in Law

In Wilmington, Delaware, where DuPont has its headquarters, the "Pipeline" team developed principles and made a commitment to work directly with young people. The team decided to: - Begin focusing on minority youths at an early age-about 7th grade-and work with them through college, emphasizing a steady, long-term commitment; - Provide professionals within DuPont Legal to serve as role models and mentors; - Assist young people in mastering the basic skills necessary to enter the legal profession-such as reading, communication, logic, and computer technology; and - Define the "pipeline" as broader than attorneys-to include legal assistants and legal secretaries. Helping young people master basic skills needed to enter the legal profession, they focus on reading, communication, logic, and computer technology.

The Pipeline project serves as a mentoring program geared to "jump start" minority youth interested in entering the legal profession.

In an effort to share Best Practices, the committee has also pulled together and financially supported the creation of a "Pipeline Kit"-which is being made available through the American Corporate Counsel Association, or ACCA. Designed to serve as a roadmap for other corporate law departments, law firms and other organizations, the "Pipeline Kit" is a compilation of existing efforts from many corporations and law departments which have already received national recognition for their excellence, or proven track-record. The "Pipeline Kit" features a video, CD-ROM, and a resource guide.

Seeing Diversity Through a New Lens

Participating in a diversity workshop several years ago dramatically changed the lens through which Thomas Sager, DuPont Vice President and General Counsel, looks at diversity. "I realized that to make a real commitment and meaningful breakthroughs, I needed to develop heightened sensitivities on the subject of race," Sager says. "That workshop experience gave me the fire and passion to do something about increasing diversity at DuPont and to encourage minorities to consider careers in law." Today, Sager-a fifty something white male-champions diversity, not only recognizing the business imperative of diversity, but also embracing it wholeheartedly. The knowledge and skills of a diverse legal team are essential to DuPont whether the work is done in-house or at the 40 outside law firms, which the company selected as Primary Law Firms. Sager sees clear competitive advantage in having an energized group of diverse professionals working on the toughest legal challenges at DuPont. Under his leadership, DuPont Legal is: - Placing as much work as possible with minority-owned law firms and suppliers, and - Supporting the network of Primary Law Firms in their efforts to increase, hire, retain and use the talents of minorities and women

Tom Sager, DuPont Vice President and General Counsel.

DuPont measures diversity data at these firms through annual surveys that collect information on the number of women and minorities, the number who are partners or on the management track, the strategic plans for their development and advancement, and other key information. The annual reviews encourage progress through financial incentives, or, at times, adverse consequences. In addition, Sager launched the "Pipeline Project" that reaches out to encourages middle school students to consider the legal profession. In appreciation, the Pipeline Project sponsor, The Minority Corporate Counsel Association, established the Thomas L. Sager Award, presented annually to honor the efforts and achievements of law firms that advance diversity.