Southwest Airlines Celebrates Diversity With North Texas Summit

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Oct 07, 2010, 10:00 ET

DALLAS, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southwest Airlines is celebrating workplace diversity by hosting its first Diversity Summit today themed "Join the Conversation." The Summit will gather executives from North Texas local Fortune 500 companies to dialogue about diversity and inclusion initiatives, fostering new opportunities, and expanding best practices.

Joining the conversation as keynote speaker is Dr. George C. Wright, President, Prairie View A&M University. Dr. Wright will be sharing his personal diversity journey and the impact it has had on his life. The Summit will focus on dialogue, education, and strengthening relationships to support an ever-changing workforce. The Summit also will provide participants with a workshop hosted by Pamela Tegarden, founder of the Soluna Institute, about raising the tide on gender diversity, and Tegwin Pulley, who will discuss, "Diversity, Employees, and the Bottom Line."

"We are thrilled to be hosting the first Southwest Airlines Diversity Summit in our hometown of Dallas. The purpose of this Summit is to listen and learn about diversity and inclusion best practices through open dialogue and interactive workshops," said Linda Rutherford, Southwest's Vice President Communication and Strategic Outreach. "A modern and diverse workforce is a key competitive advantage in the national marketplace. Southwest Airlines has an outstanding network of more than 35,000 Employees systemwide in 35 states, and growing."

The Southwest Airlines Diversity Summit was created and hosted by the airline's Corporate Diversity Council. This Council is comprised of Southwest Employees who meet every month to improve the recruitment and advancement of women and minorities, increase supplier diversity, educate/train "Respecting Differences" consistent with meeting our Company's business objectives, and create awareness of and show appreciation for cultural or lifestyle differences within our diverse workforce. This year, Hispanic Business Magazine named Southwest Airlines as one of the top Elite companies for Diversity.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

After nearly 40 years of service, Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) continues to differentiate itself from other low fare carriers—offering a reliable product with exemplary Customer Service. Southwest Airlines is the nation's largest carrier in terms of originating domestic passengers boarded; now serving 69 cities in 35 states. Southwest also is one of the most honored airlines in the world known for its commitment to the triple bottom line of Performance, People, and Planet. To read more about how Southwest is doing its part to be a good citizen, visit southwest.com/cares to read the One Report. Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 3,200 flights a day and has nearly 35,000 Employees systemwide.

www.southwest.com

SOURCE Southwest Airlines