Alcoa Wins International Innovations in Diversity Award

　　Alcoa (AA) has been named one of the Top 10 International Innovations in Diversity Award winners by Profiles in Diversity Journal. The award honors corporations, organizations and institutions that have demonstrated unique, out-of-the box thinking and developed innovative solutions that offer measurable outcomes in the area of workforce diversity and inclusion.

　　Alcoa and Alcoa Foundation were recognized for their commitment to diversity and inclusion, investments in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) initiatives, and for inviting National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) student members to “tweet” about their experiences at the annual convention earlier this year, which resulted in nearly 1,600 tweets.

　　Winners will be featured in Profiles in Diversity Journal’s 2012 July/August issue.

　　“At Alcoa, our diversity efforts focus on building on our similarities while leveraging our differences so we can achieve optimal performance,” said Gena Lovett, Alcoa’s Chief Diversity Officer. “We need diversity of experience, diversity of thought, diversity of gender, and diversity of ethnicity to fully capture the opportunities in front of us.”

　　During the NSBE convention, Alcoa hosted more than 200 minority college engineering students at its Pittsburgh Office to learn about the different roles they can play in a global mining, manufacturing and engineering company. To date, nine full-time job offers and 20 internship positions have been accepted by NSBE members who attended the career fair.

　　In addition to its partnership with NSBE, Alcoa Foundation dedicated more than $3 million to STEM and workforce development initiatives in 2011 and recently announced partnerships with the Academy of Model Aeronautics, FIRST? Tech Challenge and Manufacturing Institute to prepare individuals for jobs in advanced manufacturing – from trades people and operators to designers, engineers and managers.

　　About Alcoa

　　Alcoa is the world’s leading producer of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina. In addition to inventing the modern-day aluminum industry, Alcoa innovation has been behind major milestones in the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation, consumer electronics and industrial markets over the past 120 years. Among the solutions Alcoa markets are flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, as well as Alcoa? wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and building systems in addition to its expertise in other light metals such as titanium and nickel-based super alloys. Sustainability is an integral part of Alcoa’s operating practices and the product design and engineering it provides to customers. Alcoa has been a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for ten consecutive years and approximately 75 percent of all of the aluminum ever produced since 1888 is still in active use today. Alcoa employs approximately 61,000 people in 31 countries across the world. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com.

　　About Alcoa Foundation

　　Alcoa Foundation is one of the largest corporate foundations in the U.S., with assets of approximately US$446 million. Founded more than 50 years ago, Alcoa Foundation has invested more than US$550 million since 1952. In 2011, Alcoa Foundation contributed more than US$20 million to nonprofit organizations throughout the world, building innovative partnerships, engaging its people to improve the environment and educating tomorrow’s leaders. The work of Alcoa Foundation is further enhanced by Alcoa’s thousands of employee volunteers who share their energy, passion and purpose to make a difference in the communities where Alcoa operates. Through the company’s signature Month of Service program, in 2011, a record 56 percent of Alcoa employees took part in more than 1,200 events across 24 countries, reaching 81,000 children, serving 9,000 meals, planting 34,000 trees and supporting 1,800 nonprofit organizations. More information can be found at www.alcoafoundation.com.

　　About International Innovations in Diversity Award

　　Each year in the July/August issue, Profiles in Diversity Journal looks to honor individuals and teams working in organizations and institutions anywhere in the world that have developed innovative solutions offering measurable outcomes in the area of workforce diversity and inclusion. Our objective is to encourage and increase the number of businesses and institutions implementing innovative programs, projects, or practices that will help to improve workforce diversity/inclusion excellence. These awards will recognize innovations within the organization that have been launched within the past five years, and have had an influence and delivered a positive outcome on diversity management, staff recruitment, and/or toward inclusiveness and improved equity in the workplace. Any one idea or project qualifies as long as the results are already making a greater impact on diversity management and/or business and institutional diversity/inclusion excellence than anything prior.