DiversityInc Announces 2005 Top Companies for Diversity List Link to Shareholder Return Demonstrated

Published 04-11-05

Submitted by DiversityInc

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - A total of 203 companies competed for a spot on the "DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity" list. Altria, Turner Broadcasting, Citigroup, PepsiCo and Abbott Laboratories are the top five winners. The largest industry category was financial-services companies (32% of the Top 50) for the third year in a row.

Competition was intense with 72% more companies participating than two years ago. Thirteen companies that submitted data for the first time achieved a spot on the list.

All publicly traded companies in the Top 50 have been placed in a stock index, which is calculated by Standard & Poor's. The results are impressive. "As a stock index, the publicly held companies in our Top 50 post competitive results compared with the S&P 500, Dow Industrial Index and the NASDAQ 100 for one-, three- and five-year return," said Luke Visconti, partner/cofounder of DiversityInc. "This documents the link between excellence in diversity management and excellence in overall management and shareholder value."

The complete list of winners is announced today on www.DiversityInc.com and results will be detailed in the June issue of DiversityInc magazine.

Several Key Trends From the Survey

Key findings demonstrate that companies on the DiversityInc Top 50 are dramatically different when compared with the average U.S. corporation.

The Top 10 employ 30% more executive-level managers of color than all U.S. employers (13% vs.10%). (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

The Top 50 have 40% more people of color in management than the national work force (21% vs. 15%). (Source: EEOC)

The Top 50 hire 41% more people of color (38 % vs. 27% people of color in the national work force). (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

The retention rates for the Top 10 companies averaged 93% for people of color compared with 52% for companies which ranked 91 or higher.

More than four times the number of companies on the Top 50 (92%) offer domestic-partner benefits, compared with all U.S. companies with more than 500 employees (21%). (Human Rights Campaign)

Tough Metrics and Solid Methodology Set the List Apart

The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list is derived exclusively from corporate survey submissions. The survey has more than 200 questions, and invitations were sent to more than 700 companies as well as promoted on DiversityInc.com and DiversityInc magazine. Questions were organized in four areas: CEO Commitment, Human Capital, Corporate Communications (internal and external) and Supplier Diversity.

The Top 10 Winners

1. Altria
2. Turner Broadcasting System
3. Citigroup
4. PepsiCo
5. Abbott Laboratories
6. The Coca-Cola Company
7. Xerox
8. Allstate Insurance Company
9. Verizon Communications
10. Kraft Foods

Participating companies also competed for the survey's specialty lists: "The Top 10 Companies for Diversity Recruitment & Retention," "The Top 10 Companies for Supplier Diversity," "The Top 10 Companies for African Americans," "The Top 10 Companies for Latinos," "The Top 10 Companies for Asian Americans," "The Top Companies for Women Executives," "The Top Companies for GLBT Employees," "The Top 10 Companies for People with Disabilities," and "25 Noteworthy Companies." The specialty lists will be released over a nine-week period on the DiversityInc Web Site starting on April 18.

www.DiversityInc.com

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DiversityInc Announces 2005 Top Companies for Diversity List Link to Shareholder Return Demonstrated

DiversityInc Announces 2005 Top Companies for Diversity List Link to Shareholder Return Demonstrated

DiversityInc

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