Anatomy Of A Decision, Part 3: Minorities In The Boardroom

GLG has produced a new series of videos focused on decision making in the business world.

As part of the series, GLG, the world's leading membership network for professional learning, has interviewed a number of business leaders to ask about what considerations go into making important decisions.

In this installment, GLG speaks with Pamela Thomas-Graham, former Credit Suisse Group AG (ADR) CS board member, CEO of CNBC and the first ever African American partner at McKinsey & Co. Thomas-Graham spoke about the progress women and minorities are making in the business world.

Thomas-Graham certainly experienced discrimination throughout her career, including a client that used a racial slur during a meeting. Rather than get angry, Thomas-Graham chose to finish the meeting and then pull the client aside afterward and explain why that language is offensive, hurtful and unacceptable.

“You can be angry and you can be frustrated, but if you really want to change people’s behavior you have to meet them where they are,” she says.

Related Link: Anatomy Of A Decision, Part 2: The Newsroom

Thomas-Graham notes that the business world has gotten a lot better about minority representation, but it still has a long way to go.

“I would have predicted that things would be so much better. In fact, we seem to have plateaued,” she says.

“It’s better, but there are still major companies that don’t have any people of color on their board. And they have one woman on their board, and they think that’s a big achievement.”

Thomas-Graham says Credit Suisse found evidence that companies with a higher representation of women and minorities on their boards tend to perform better. She believes diverse groups of people simply make better decisions.

Despite all of her personal professional accomplishments, Thomas-Graham says she is most proud of her decisions to create opportunities for other people throughout the years.

“I was lucky enough to have someone open a door for me, so I’m going to now open a door for you,” she says. “I think that’s an obligation we all have.”