Are you as culturally diverse, inclusive or knowledgeable as you say you are?

I’m ashamed! Embarrassed actually. I, the woman who is half Black and half Puerto Rican, who has so many different ethnicities within my own family, who is a DIVERSITY Recruiter by trade, who grew up in the melting pot that is New York, am not as cultured as I claim to be. Now hold on. I’m not a fake or phony. But I just had a rude awakening about myself.

I was sitting here in my office watching a rerun of an Oprah show about the most celebrated and popular celebrities in the WORLD. I tuned in and was curious to see just who she had on. Would it be Michael Jordan, Brad & Angelina, President Obama? The show opens with China’s version of Oprah Chen Luyu. Apparently this is a woman who is very popular in China who modeled her show after Oprah. She’s been on the air for seven years in Beijing. Her set is even modeled after Oprah’s and she has, get this, 140 million viewers a day. Yes, a day. Oprah herself admits to having about 40 million viewers per week. I was floored. They had one of Oprah’s producers follow Chen Luyu while preparing for her show. I was absolutely amazed.

Her next guests were the world’s most famous couple. So I’m thinking Will & Jada, Brad & Angelina, Victoria & David. But she brings out India’s husband and wife team of Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan. They have 5 billion fans in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. They were beautiful people indeed. But I had to stop myself.  I’m thinking who are these people that she keeps bringing on the show today? When are we going to see some American couples. Then it hit me. As much as I profess to be culturally open and diverse, I am extremely sheltered! What an epiphany!  I tell people all the time I really would like to travel internationally and I worked hard to gain international clients with my recruiting firm. I’ve never once stopped to think about getting immersed in the culture. People abroad know about American stars and leaders.  But how many Americans can name anyone outside of political leaders and the fashion models from other countries who affects their pop culture? I can now name five! But that’s still sad.

Part of my mission with this magazine, my brand, is to celebrate all cultures of professional women.  I get so focused on what’s going on at “home” that I don’t pay attention to what’s going on outside of our country. In my quest to keep the message of diversity, I haven’t done a good job of reaching out to my professional sisters in other countries. They are everywhere and they are making just as many strides as we are right here. I want to learn about the powerful women in the Middle East, Asia, South America, Europe, Africa, Australia, the Caribbean, and everywhere else where Fearless, Empowered Woman are.  So as part of my commitment to Reinvention & Upgrading for 2010, I am making a concerted effort to reach out to my counterparts and get to know them. Not just what they do in their career or business. But also their culture. I’ll let you know how I do. Expect to see some phenomenal women in upcoming issues of the magazine, on the radio show and in our shows on the internet tv channel.

It’s not enough to be a Diversity Recruiter who works to make companies more diverse. Nor is it enough to just make sure there is visual representation in our pages or screens. Think of it as expanding your horizons and opening your mind to new ideas and cultures. I’ll never look at diversity & inclusion the same again. Thanks Oprah for showing me that I wasn’t as opened as I thought I was!

How committed are you to diversity?

Til next time,

Adrienne Graham