UPDATE: 2013 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies For Diversity Show Gains In Board Diversity And Expanding Employee-Resource Groups

PRINCETON, N.J., April 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- DiversityInc last night announced the 2013 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity. The list, whose members outperformed the S&P 500, includes companies from a wide range of industries whose leadership, procurement practices, communications and training best reflect the reality of the rapidly changing face of America. The full list can be found at www.DiversityInc.com/top50.

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Sodexo tops the list for 2013, followed by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Kaiser Permanente, Ernst & Young, MasterCard Worldwide, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Procter & Gamble, Prudential Financial, Accenture and Johnson & Johnson.

"On the heels of the demographically revealing 2012 presidential election, it is clear that U.S. companies are increasingly conscious of the importance of diversity," said Luke Visconti, CEO of DiversityInc. "We are very encouraged to see more companies applying for this distinction and embracing diversity more deeply than ever. We also note a continued positive correlation between achievement in diversity and overall positive stock performance."

Both the 2013 and the 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 lists outperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 on a one-, three- and five-year basis.

DiversityInc 2013 survey results show that Top 50 companies have:

• 76% more Blacks, Latinos and Asians on their boards of directors than the Fortune 500
• 54% more women on their boards of directors than the Fortune 500
• 43% more women in the top level (CEO and direct reports) than the Fortune 500
• 16.6% more Blacks, Latinos and Asians in the top level (CEO and direct reports) than the Fortune 500
• 14 times more CEOs who are Black, Latino or Asian than the Fortune 500 (16% of Top 50 CEOs are Black, Latino or Asian vs. 1.2% for the Fortune 500)

In addition, DiversityInc notes that Top 50 companies have 51% more employees in resource groups than they did five years ago and donated 53% more to multicultural charities than they did five years ago.

"As the 2012 election demonstrated, the U.S. is seeing a dynamic of an aging population and a dramatic increase in diversity among new voters and workers," added Visconti. "These two trends mean that government and companies have no choice but to focus on how best to leverage the power of diversity."

The DiversityInc Top 50 also includes a number of Specialty Lists, all of which can be viewed in their entirety at www.DiversityInc.com. They include:

• 25 Noteworthy Companies
• Top 10 Companies for Recruitment and Retention (No. 1: PricewaterhouseCoopers)
• Top 10 Companies for Supplier Diversity (No. 1: AT&T)
• Top 10 Companies for Blacks (No. 1: Sodexo)
• Top 10 Companies for Latinos (No. 1: Kaiser Permanente)
• Top 10 Companies for Asian-Americans (No. 1: Deloitte)
• Top 10 Companies for People With Disabilities (No. 1: Ernst & Young)
• Top 10 Companies for LGBT Employees (No. 1: Wells Fargo)
• Top 10 Companies for Veterans (No. 1: CSX)
• Top 10 Companies for Executive Women (No. 1: PricewaterhouseCoopers)
• Top 10 Companies for Global Diversity (No. 1: IBM)
• Top 10 Regional Companies (No. 1: MGM Resorts International)
• Top 10 Hospital Systems (No. 1: University Hospitals)
• Top 7 Regional Utilities (No. 1: Southern Company)

Methodology

The process of determining The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity is based completely on empirical data. Participation in the survey is free and companies that do business with DiversityInc receive no preferential treatment. In order to participate, an organization must have at least 1,000 employees and fill out a detailed, 300-question survey, which is divided into four equally weighted areas: CEO Commitment, Human Capital, Corporate and Organizational Communications, and Supplier Diversity. Each company is judged within its own industry and each application is vetted by DiversityInc staff. DiversityInc requires notarized CEO sign-offs on submissions from companies where it has not met with the CEO directly. For the 2013 survey, 893 companies participated. For more information, visit DiversityInc's survey FAQ. Companies interested in participating in 2014 should contact [email protected].

About DiversityInc

DiversityInc is the leading source of information on diversity management. The company is a consultancy and publishes two websites, www.DiversityInc.com and www.DiversityIncBestPractices.com, as well as a magazine, published five times a year. DiversityInc also produces diversity events, which average more than 600 attendees from 200 companies and have featured more than 20 CEOs of major corporations.

SOURCE DiversityInc