Let's work together

There's value in being inclusive. This year's winners of the Global Diversity Process Improvement Award prove it.

People are important. Inclusiveness is important. Those two simple beliefs form part of the basis of the activities of the Global Diversity and Employee Rights organization at Boeing. But for Boeing, diversity-related efforts are connected to another truth: Results are important. Indeed, the Integrated Global Diversity and Compliance mission statement ends with the phrase "to achieve enterprise objectives." In other words, there's business value in activities that leverage multiple perspectives.

To recognize teams and organizations that have improved processes and furthered business objectives in support of the Boeing global diversity and compliance strategy, the Global Diversity and Employee Rights organization recently presented its third annual Diversity Process Improvement Awards. They salute teams that undertook initiatives based on the business value of being more inclusive and demonstrated that their efforts literally paid off.

This year's awards also featured the second annual presentation of the Affirmative Action Award of Excellence. This award is given to a person or team that's demonstrated outstanding support of programs to develop and advance opportunities for women, minorities, veterans or persons with disabilities at Boeing. This year's honoree is Sandy Postel, for her work as the leader of the Quality organization at Commercial Airplanes (Postel is now the vice president and general manager of the business unit's Propulsion Systems Division).

The definition of diversity at Boeing includes demographic categories such as race, gender, national origin, sexual orientation and disabilities—as well as attributes that make people similar and different, such as expertise, life experience, position within the organization, and even styles of learning and communication.

In this package of stories, Boeing Frontiers looks at the activities undertaken by these teams and individuals.

Berry smart

In true Boeing style, a recent communication challenge at subsidiary Boeing Winnipeg was met with a combination of teamwork and technology. That solution enhanced communications with deaf teammates at the facility. It also helped Winnipeg expedite processes, develop its work force—and earn a Global Diversity Process Improvement Award.

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Model behavior

Sandy Postel knows firsthand what diversity doesn't look like. As one of the first female managers in Manufacturing Research and Development, and later becoming the first female second-level manager in MR&D, Postel grew up in a working environment in which leadership tended to encourage conformity, and female role models were few and far between.

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Dollars and (good business) sense

If there's any organization in Boeing that understands how initiatives are only as good as the business results they create, it's Corporate Treasury.

And it's not just because its daily operations focus on cash. The teams and individuals within the organization have a responsibility to do what's best for Boeing and its stakeholders. Their activities aren't done merely because they sound like good ideas: They have to create value.

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A team looks ahead

Imagine the "face of Boeing" in 2016. What do you see? Leaders in the Logistics Support Systems business unit of Integrated Defense Systems will see an organization that reflects the global nature of its business and fosters a culture of inclusion and respect, thanks to work being done by the LSS Strategic Diversity Team.

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Change Agent Award winners

In addition to the above awards, the Global Diversity and Employee Rights organization recently presented its annual Change Agent Awards. This award is given to a person or team that demonstrates an understanding of the business value of diversity; that willingly seeks multiple perspectives; and recognizes and uses the contributions of individuals with diverse backgrounds.

Below is a list of this year's Change Agent Award winners.

Boeing News Now, the Boeing news site on the Boeing Web, recently ran profiles about each winner; click on each name to read the article (internal links only).

Laurie Anderson, St. Louis Production Operations, Integrated Defense Systems

Nancy Cannon, vice president-Human Resources, Shared Services Group

Rebecca Crichton, Creative Services writer, Shared Services Group

Obie Jones, Macon, Ga., site leader, Integrated Defense Systems

Nyle Miyamoto, Payloads and Structures Engineering manager, Commercial Airplanes

Doug Passey, 737 Interiors engineering manager, Commercial Airplanes

Daryl Pelc, Anaheim, Calif., chief engineer, Integrated Defense Systems

Phantom Works St. Louis Diversity Team

Michael Villanueva, Commercial Aviation Services Technical Services electrical engineer, Commercial Airplanes

Louise Wilkinson, Creative Services video writer, producer and director, Shared Services Group