Diversity and its Role within the Airline
American Airlines offers their employees 15 Employee Resource Groups. These groups show the different varieties of communities that can be found among American Airline’s diverse employee population. These groups not only offer their employees cultural guidance, but they also offer ideas that can be used to support the airline’s business initiatives. There are two members from each of the 15 groups, which serve on the airline’s council for diversity advisory (Kinkaid, 2008).
American’s dedication to diversity leadership helps us to foster an environment where
individuals’ experience and perspectives are valued and to ensure that customers and
communities receive service delivered by committed, passionate people. This dedication
also supports our ongoing program to identify minority, women, LGBT owned, and
small businesses to be considered as potential business partners for American. (Kinkaid,
2008)
Even though American has built on the company’s history of “marketing to key customer constituencies”, American Airlines has started two councils of advisory. One of these councils focuses on the female travelers, and the other council focuses on the “Lesbian/Gay/Bi-Sexual/Transgender (LGBT) travelers” (Kinkaid, 2008). American Airlines is known as the first airline that developed special marketing and sales teams to market and sell to these two groups of customers, as well as for Hispanics and African-Americans. American Airlines has been the leader of the airline industry in starting budgets for dedicated advertising to Hispanic and African-American audiences. The airline also leads the way in offering information portals that are tailored for their women customers (Kinkaid, 2008).
American Airlines has a team of committed and talented professionals that are diverse, which strive in creating an environment in which each employee can offer their own “unique experience, perspectives, and ideas” (American...