Major Diversity Programs

Good Faith Efforts

The Good Faith Efforts (GFE) initiative encourages facility-driven diversity events that enhance the customer experience and increase associate development. The GFE program is a component of the Diversity Goals Program, driving diversity into the business, increasing supplier diversity and mentoring associates, including persons of diverse race, gender or background.

Our Company's commitment to diversity is strong. In fact, officer compensation is linked to the achievement of diversity goals. If company officers and select company managers do not meet their individual diversity goals, bonuses may be reduced by up to 15 percent. This year, 100 percent of our officers achieved their Home Office and/or Field Management Placement Diversity Goals and their Good Faith Efforts Diversity Goals. Additionally, 99 percent of more than 50,000 members of management reached their Good Faith Efforts diversity goals.

Mentoring at Wal-Mart

Sharing knowledge, inspiring associates and developing internal talent are several reasons why Wal-Mart continues to build a strong initiative around the importance of mentoring. Our culture reflects the basic principles that all associates can embrace — respect for the individual, service to our customer, and strive for excellence. The Mentor Me program is designed to facilitate the exchange and transfer of diverse knowledge, experience and perspectives among our associates. The program empowers associates to take an active role in their development by providing resources, tools and suggestions to drive effective mentorships.

Associate Resource Groups

The Associate Resource Groups (ARGs) at the Home Office were developed to help build and foster a sense of community among associates sharing similar backgrounds and interests. They focus on three key areas: business development, professional development and heritage. Currently more than 2,500 associates participate in ARGs, where members:

• Serve as focus groups and partner with business units to ensure cultural relevance.
• Host workshops to help associates with personal and professional development.
• Participate in community events that support diversity and inclusion.
• Provide sustainability outreach to suppliers and organizations.
• Support recruiting efforts among diverse communities.
• Provide cultural heritage education support to local schools.
• Assist in on-boarding associates during new-hire orientation.

Employment Practices Advisory Panel

The Employment Practices Advisory Panel (EPAP) was established in 2006 to evaluate and provide guidance regarding employment practices and diversity and inclusion initiatives. The panel provides quarterly updates and best-practice recommendations to the Compensation, Nominating and Governance Committee, a sub-committee of our Board of Directors. In 2008, the Panel led associate focus groups, worked with company leadership in developing diversity strategies for each division, and conducted diversity and inclusion benchmarking with other corporate leaders.

Diversity training

Our Company provides diversity training for all levels of management and hourly associates, including:

• Managing diversity and inclusion training for new and newly-promoted management associates.
• Diversity and inclusion computer-based learning for associates at all levels.
• Diversity Development Series — seminars designed to help our associates better understand diversity trends and challenges.
• Effective Leadership in a Diverse and Inclusive Environment (ELDIE) — a forum that encourages diversity and inclusion education, engagement and exploration through candid discussion and practical application.

Career Advancement Systems

As Wal-Mart career opportunities expand, presenting opportunities for internal growth and external job openings, systems such as Career Preference continue to stay ahead of the curve to meet the growing demands of associates in our stores, clubs, distribution centers and transportation offices. Wal-Mart is committed to advancing diversity and inclusion at all levels of the Company. We are proud of the strides we are making to create opportunities for all associates.

Supplier Diversity

At Wal-Mart, we believe — and have seen how — we can use our position to help develop and support minority- and women-owned business enterprises. In 1994, we began our Supplier Diversity Program in the U.S. with the goal of growing our corporate spending with minority- and women-owned business enterprises. The Supplier Diversity team has since developed a three-pronged approach to supplier diversity and has committed to increasing the amount of business we do with minority- and women-owned businesses. The team focuses on engaging our largest suppliers to do business with minority- and women-owned firms in order to increase our 2nd-Tier spend. And, we're dedicated to investing in opportunities that assist in the establishment and growth of minority- and women-owned businesses.

Today, nearly 15 years later, our total spending with minority- and women-owned business enterprises has grown from $2 million to more than $6 billion. Additionally, our 2nd-Tier program, which tracks what our suppliers spend with minority- and women-owned business enterprises, continues to grow year after year. In 2006, for example, 37 suppliers reported spending $931 million with diverse enterprises. In 2007, 93 suppliers reported spending more than $1.4 billion. In 2008, 153 suppliers reported spending more than $2 billion in 2nd-Tier spend.

We are extremely proud of our Supplier Diversity program, because it allows us to create opportunities for diverse suppliers to provide their goods or services to our customers, to grow and expand as businesses and to create jobs in their communities. The program also helps us because it allows us to bring a broad array of quality products and services to the diverse, global base of more than 200 customers and members we serve million every week.

To further promote supplier diversity within our own company and beyond, we are a member of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), a widely recognized minority supplier accreditation organization; the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the most broadly used women's business accreditation organization; and the Billion Dollar Roundtable (BDR), an organization comprised of public companies that spend more than $1 billion each with minority- and women-owned business enterprises. We have also established a Supplier Diversity Internal Steering Committee (SDISC) comprised of senior leaders across the business units. The SDISC is charged with positioning supplier diversity as a corporate focus and integrating supplier diversity into our procurement practices.

Junior Military Officer Program

In 2008, Walmart Stores U.S. created the Junior Military Officer (JMO) program to draw upon the diverse, talent-rich pool of qualified leaders represented by military officers transitioning to civilian careers in the United States. The JMO program has successfully recruited 150 transitioning junior military leaders into store management positions. During onboarding that lasts up to 12 months, recruits undergo specific training that includes Walmart culture, merchandising, store financials and hands-on operations. Program participants include personnel transitioning from active duty and serving Reserve component leaders from all military branches.

Program Accomplishments:

• 150 transitioning military leaders have been hired into Developmental Market Manager, Developmental Store Manager, and Developmental Co-Manager positions in Walmart stores across the U.S.
• 2008 program recruitment exceeded its recruitment goals by 50 percent.

Diversity Around the World

We are pleased to see our stores around the world embrace this same commitment to diversity and inclusion. As mentioned earlier, Wal-Mart Argentina's diversity program has been in place since 1995. The program is aimed at ensuring full respect of human and political rights through equity in the recruitment, selection and hiring processes, and professional development of people with special needs.

In Central America, 42 percent of the associates are women, as are 37.5 percent of our managers. In Mexico, 53 percent of Wal-Mart de Mexico associates are women; 14 percent of the Company's vice presidents are women, as are 36 percent of the Board of Directors and 67 percent of the Auditing and Corporate Practices Committees. More than 900 mature associates work at Wal-Mart de Mexico, as do more than 1,000 people with disabilities. In India, the 389 associates in our Bharti Retail Joint Venture Home Office are 31 percent female and 69 percent male.

In 2007, Wal-Mart Canada established its first diversity council, comprised of associates and executives alike. Today, roughly 69 percent of the hourly-paid associates and 45 percent of store managers in Canada are women.

Wal-Mart Brazil created a diversity program called GAD (Grupo de Aprendizado da Diversidade; Group of Diversity Learning) to discuss and to implement diversity-related initiatives focusing on ethnicity, age, gender and people with special needs. Today, a group of associates is also working on a program designed to address sexual orientation and obesity.