PwC’s Distinctive Dialogues program engages company partners in candid discussions about what it’s like to be a female or multicultural employee.

Diversity isn’t an afterthought at this global accounting firm: It’s mission-critical. As U.S. Chairman Dennis Nally said last year, “Our clients want more women and minorities advising them to gain broader thinking and perspectives.” To create an atmosphere where these perspectives get heard, PwC offers networking circles for female and multicultural employees and encourages one-on-one coaching in which staffers are assigned a coach from day one. Without it, employees like Lisa Ong—a former audit manager whose boss, noting she was drowned out at meetings, urged her to be more aggressive—might not have found the courage to explain that aggression wasn’t part of her cultural skill set. (He got the message—and now he makes a point of calling on his people during meetings instead.) Today, Ong proudly leads one of PwC’s new initiatives, Cultural Onboarding, which brings employees and managers together to explore cultural barriers to professional success.

Multicultural Women: 16%

Multicultural Women Managers/Execs: 9%

Chief Diversity Officer: Roy Weathers

Hires who are multicultural women: 17%

Hires who are multicultural men: 12%

Multicultural women managers/execs: 9%

Multicultural men managers/execs: 9%

Top 20% earners who are multicultural women: 9%

Top 20% earners who are multicultural men: 10%

Multicultural women on board of directors: 0%

Offers formal compensation program to reward managers who specifically help multicultural women advance: NO

Rates managers on the number of multicultural women employees advancing: NO

Uses outside recruiter to focus on finding multicultural women candidates: YES

Offers support groups specifically for multicultural women: YES

Offers mentoring programs specifically geared toward multicultural women early in their careers: YES

Offers sponsorship program specifically geared toward multicultural women early in their careers: YES