4.11.2005 ET

(CSRwire) ABBOTT PARK, IL - By establishing a commitment from senior management, providing diversity training for employees, creating networking groups like Women Leaders in Action (WLA) an internal networking group, founded and led by women in top management, Abbott embraces an inclusive culture that has been named No. 5 on the annual list of the "Top 50 Companies for Diversity," from DiversityInc's magazine.

In order to achieve that recognition, Abbott is working to create an environment and a culture that embraces diversity and makes all our employees feel comfortable, regardless of their gender, cultural background and individual beliefs. As a global health care leader and one of the Chicago area's largest employers, Abbott is one of only two pharmaceutical companies to make the list. The complete list of rankings will appear in the magazine's June issue.

"Diversity and inclusion are critical to Abbott's business. Hiring and advancement of the best talent and a diverse employee base is a strategic priority. Women represent 39 percent of the management population and 17 percent of the management population at Abbott are minorities," said Tom Wascoe, senior vice president, human resources, Abbott. "This long-term commitment to workplace diversity ensures that our employees represent and have diverse experiences, viewpoints, cultures and backgrounds to help us solve some of the most complex diseases and problems in medicine today."

In this year's ranking, Abbott was specifically recognized on DiversityInc's specialty lists as No. 1 on "Best Companies for Executive Women," No. 3 on "Best Companies for Recruitment and Retention for Women and Minorities," No. 6 for Asians and No. 7 for Latinos.

About DiversityInc
DiversityInc's annual list of "50 Top Companies for Diversity" appears in the magazine's June issue, which is available at newsstands on May 31. The list is now available on its Internet site, www.diversityinc.com. This year the number of entries doubled with 203 companies participating in the survey. Criteria for selecting companies is based on a detailed questionnaire, which measures such factors as: CEO commitment, human capital, corporate communications (internal and external) and supplier diversity.

About Abbott
Abbott has received several other awards for its employee programs, including recognition as one of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" by Working Mother magazine in 2004. In addition, FORTUNE magazine has named Abbott as one of the best companies in the country for its diversity practices and initiatives, including seven straight years in the publication's "50 Best Companies For Minorities" rankings. FORTUNE also has named Abbott as one of "America's Most Admired Companies" every year since the list's inception in 1983.

Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The company employs more than 60,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries.

Abbott's news releases and other information are available on the company's Web site at www.abbott.com.

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