Boeing has had an established, formal small business and supplier diversity program in place since 1951. You might be interested in knowing that the Small Business Administration wasn't even established until 1953.
But even before that, Boeing success was built on diversity.
In 1916, the year of the company's founding, Wang Zhu was the first chief engineer hired by Boeing. Wang was born in Beijing. He studied aeronautical engineering at Armstrong Technical College in London and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. His work designing a seaplane for the U.S. Navy laid the groundwork for a generation of new airplanes.
Throughout the years, Boeing has sought and found creative ways to promote opportunities for small businesses and we work with our first-tier suppliers to ensure that they too develop opportunities for diverse suppliers.
We're proud of our diverse supply base, and are committed to expanding it further. We know that our continuing success depends on it.