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December 2, 2004

Partnership head looks back on legacy of corporate change

Yawu Miller

When Benaree Wiley took the helm at The Partnership, Inc. in 1991, the organization was bringing 34 people a year through its professional mentoring program.

Now, with more than 1,300 graduates, the Partnership has become a major force in Boston’s business world, helping scores of African Americans to integrate themselves into the corporate life of the city.

In a city that has a nation-wide reputation of being unfriendly to blacks, opening doors to corporate boardrooms has not always been easy, according to Wiley.

“Even at institutions that had the best of intentions, it is difficult for people to share power across racial lines,” Wiley said. “Even when there is no money on the line.”

Wiley’s job has been twofold: to encourage white managers and executives to open doors for their black employees and to help those black employees navigate the city’s complex corporate culture.

The keystone of the organization’s work has been the Boston Fellows Program, a nine-month course designed to help African Americans break through the ranks of middle management. Enrollees attend monthly forums designed to build corporate skills.

They also participate in small group breakfasts with Boston executives who discuss strategies for responding to professional challenges. The Fellows Program also incorporates community investment, pairing participants with third grade students in a Boston Scholars mentoring program.

Additionally, The Partnership offers a Boston Associates Program to mentor professionals in the early stages of their careers and a Senior Executive Program.

The aim of The Partnership’s programs are to help black professionals not only to advance in their jobs, but also to encourage them to stay in the Greater Boston area. While the city’s universities and job market have always attracted people of color, the small number of blacks in the city’s corporate life has long been a problem for blacks in business.

Part of The Partnership’s job has been to help its trainees to identify the invisible biases in organizations that exclude people of color from positions of power.

“It’s the informal structures, the unseen perceptions that are barriers to creating an environment where people can thrive,” Wiley said. “People often don’t get the assignments that allow them to demonstrate their skills and experience. I don’t think it’s intentional. I just think our society is conditioned to conform to certain expectations.”

Born in Washington, DC, Wiley graduated from Harvard Business School and worked as a business consultant and small business owner before beginning at newly-formed Partnership.

Now companies turn to The Partnership for help in building diversity in their workforce and creating supportive environments for people of color.

“It’s taken 14 years to build it to where it is,” she said. “It takes time to develop relationships. Companies have a confidence in our judgement and the work we’ve done helping them to hire and cultivate people of color. We’ve built relationships and we’ve done it with high quality service.”

Wiley, who will soon leave The Partnership, says much remains to be done in breaking down barriers in Boston’s corporate culture. A study released by The Partnership earlier this year showed a 12 percent gain in the number of minority officers and managers in Boston between 1999 and 2003.

Of the 1,300 people who have graduated from the organization’s trainings, 84 percent have chosen to remain in Boston. Of those, 70 percent said The Partnership played a key role in their decision to stay in the area.

“It’s because we’ve built a critical mass of people who want to succeed and people who want to be high-quality contributors to Boston’s communities of color,” Wiley said.

 

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