Insider Q&A: Nellie Borrero recounts 4 decades of addressing racism and bringing change to Accenture

NEW YORK (AP) — It didn't take long for Nellie Borrero to encounter racism in 1986 when she joined a major consulting firm that was the predecessor to Accenture.

A secretary handed her a subway token and told her she was the “token hire.” At her first Christmas party, the partner who hired her gave her brightly wrapped gift that turned out to be roach spray and told her everyone knew Puerto Ricans had roaches in their homes. The next Monday, Borrero confronted the partner to explain she felt humiliated and felt she didn't belong at the company. The partner, Borrero says, expressed remorse and promised to help her change the company's culture if she stayed.

Borrero, now Accenture's senior strategic adviser for global inclusion and diversity, shared these stories in “Unwavering: Rejecting Bias, Igniting Change, Celebrating Inclusion,” a new book detailing her nearly 40-year effort to build DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) practices at the company. In 2020, Accenture set goals surrounding racial and gender representation in its U.S. workforce, including increasing the number of Hispanic U.S. employees from 9.5% to 13% by 2025 and the number of Hispanic U.S. managing directors from 3.5% to 4.7%.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Borrero discusses her book and why Accenture is sticking with its goals despite a legal battle against DEI policies by conservative activists and elected officials. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.