Seeking Diversity at the Top

Houston is the city with the second-highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies, behind New York's 45. But none of the chief executives of Houston's 22 giants is African-American or Latino — a noteworthy fact in a metropolitan area where blacks and Hispanics are 50 percent of the population.

"The executive hallways in these corporations are not reflective of Houston and there are many reasons why," said Albert Myres, senior adviser to the president of Shell Oil Co. and formerly the head of Shell Oil Foundation.

One may be that Houstonians have not pushed for diversity in corporate offices as aggressively as they have for civil rights in other areas of society. Another may be that Houston's corporate landscape is still dominated by the oil and gas industry.

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