Many of the firms are taking their cue from the Students for Educational Opportunity (SEO), a New York-based organization that matches students of color with internship opportunities in the corporate world.

The group has provided more than 2,300 internships since its inception in 1980. Seventy-five percent of those interns have gone on to accept full-time positions in the fields where they worked, says Assistant Director of the SEO Career Program Recy B. Dunn.

"We've had a good hand in changing the complexion of Wall Street," Dunn says. "There's a need to have a diverse workforce with the diverse demographics of the world. It just makes sense."

More and more, corporate firms are expanding their definition of diversity.

Gays and Lesbians at McKinsey (GLAM), a network of gay and lesbian consultants at the firm, brought together gay candidates from Harvard and MIT at a dinner in Boston last week.

According to Marc P. Diaz '99, a business analyst in McKinsey's New York office, the dinner is an important part of "actively reaching out to candidates who represent diverse backgrounds."

Diaz says the event sought to show how at McKinsey, the outreach process continues even after employees are hired. He describes GLAM as "strong source of support...[that] enables us to thrive at McKinsey."

And at Goldman Sachs, a firm with one of the biggest recruiting presences at Harvard, encouraging diversity also plays a major role in the process, says Elizabeth W. Wamai, a member of the firm's Diversity Recruiting Team.