New Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Bozoma Saint John has divided opinion after revealing the lengths to which she went to increase diversity in the workplace during her corporate career.
The businesswoman, 47, previously held high-ranking positions at companies such as Uber, Netflix, PepsiCo and Apple Music before venturing into reality TV.
Discussing her hiring practices at the 2019 Women in the World Summit, the former Netflix CMO said she intentionally sought out other women of color for positions, even if they had not applied for the position she was hiring for.
“I walk into the room and very rarely do I look like someone who reflects my community, my friends or my circle,” he told the crowd.
‘I decided, heck, focus group of one, team of one, I’ll just hire myself. Over and over and over and over and over again.
“If I want to increase the number of diversity, or especially black women in technology, I will do it myself,” she continued.
“So, as I was looking at resumes that were NOT diverse candidates, I started choosing from my group of friends,” she laughed.
‘I started throwing them. Like, “Girl, what are you doing today? Do you like your job? You don’t like your job, come on!”
New RHOBH star Bozoma Saint John (pictured) admitted to hiring her black friends for jobs after discovering the candidates applying weren’t diverse enough.
When discussing her hiring practices, the former Netflix CMO said she intentionally sought out other women of color for roles, even if they had not applied for the position she was hiring for.
“The first black woman I hired was like, ‘Okay, great. Fantastic. We didn’t even know it existed.’ I was like, ‘I know, I got it.’ And then the second one was like, ‘Okay…’ The third one, it was like everyone paused.’
Bozoma said she then received a call from the human resources department after hiring her fourth consecutive woman of color.
He was asked if there was “something wrong” with the candidates HR had been sending him because it seemed like he was “hiring a certain type of person.”
And I said, “Yeah, you’re right.” And then they said, “Well, is there any way we can help make sure that we’re looking at a broad range of candidates so we have a broader pool of people to hire?”
“And I said, ‘Did you say that to the guy in the hallway?’ Did you tell him he shouldn’t hire more white men? Because I don’t believe it!” he concluded.
Bozoma’s resurfaced comments divided opinion afterward All about tea He reposted the clip on his Instagram account, but most people seemed to support the star.
‘This! It’s fine when they do it, but it’s a problem when we do it!’ gushed one fan.
“She is BRILLIANT,” wrote another. “Instead of huffing and puffing and reacting to emotions, she was strategic, professional, and INTENTIONAL in the way she made that change.”
The 47-year-old joined the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills this year.
The fourteenth season of the popular reality show recently premiered
A third added: “This makes me like it even more.” She can’t do anything wrong.
However, not everyone was a fan of Bozoma’s tactics, with one commenting, “DEI is never the right way to hire someone.” It doesn’t matter what race you are. The most qualified candidate should get the position.
Another wrote: ‘So she actively discriminates against qualified people to artificially increase the number of black employees.’ That is pure racism. Scandalous and contrary to the law!’
Bozoma is one of the most successful women in the field of marketing.
Her work has previously been recognized by Forbes, Billboard, Fortune and Ad Week, and she was inducted into the American Marketing Association’s Marketing Hall of Fame in 2022.
He joined the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills this year alongside actress Jennifer Tilly.
She was introduced as a friend of Sutton Stracke in the series, but has since formed a close bond with Dorit Kemsley.