CLEVELAND, OH - March 21, 2007 "“ KeyBank today joined DiversityInc magazine's pre-eminent list of the Top 50 Companies for Diversity in 2007, ranking 9th in supplier diversity and 31st overall, based on excellence in diversity advocacy and management; CEO commitment; human capital; corporate communications; and supplier diversity. Key is one of two Ohio companies to make the list.

More than 300 companies participated in the ranking through completion of the DiversityInc Top 50 Survey. Described by the publication as "corporate transparency at its best," the survey is the most in-depth analysis of corporate diversity management, leadership and marketing ever undertaken.

Like KeyBank, many of the listed companies reported high employee retention rates; diversity funding increases, with executive compensation tied to diversity; responsibility for diversity held one direct report to one direct-report-removed from the CEO; and corporate vision statements clearly incorporating diversity's importance.

"KeyBank is much different from the average corporation; it is a true champion of diversity," notes Luke Visconti, partner and cofounder of DiversityInc, a monthly business magazine and daily web site. Visconti will discuss "Using Diversity to Drive Business: The Art of Diversity Excellence" at the KeyBank Diversity Thought Leadership Series at The City Club of Cleveland on June 1.

In addition to its DiversityInc ranking, Key this year appears among the 100 Best Corporate Citizens in 2007, based on measurements including diversity, according to Corporate Responsibility Officer magazine.

While rankings such as these can elevate a company's status, they more importantly affirm progress, according to Margot J. Copeland, executive vice president and director of Corporate Diversity & Philanthropy at Key.

"Managing diversity is lifetime work," says Copeland, who also chairs Key Foundation. "Beyond distinguishing Key as a business and employer of choice, inclusion on these lists underscores our movement in the right direction toward addressing new and continued challenges."

Key moved supplier diversity in the right direction as part of its efforts last year by surpassing 10 percent in minority and women-owned enterprises (M/WBE) procurement spend, reaching 11.6 percent, or $94 million, and saving the bank nearly $1 million. Efforts to advance this endeavor in 2007 include a series of regional business summits across the KeyBank franchise, with the intention of helping communities create jobs and raising the bar for growth and excellence at Key. M/WBEs invited to these summits will learn how to do business with Key, while networking and sharing their capabilities with peers and Key decision-makers to identify potential business opportunities.

"As a bridge between our workplace and the marketplace, diversity draws on dimensions of people that broaden our perspective of ourselves, and our colleagues and customers," says KeyCorp Chairman and CEO Henry L. Meyer, III. "Expanding the diversity of our board and workforce increases our depth of talent and overall ability to perform." Meyer will receive the 2007 NAACP Freedom Award from the Cleveland Chapter NAACP in June in recognition of his leadership in positioning Key as a major voice in advancing diversity in Cleveland's corporate community.

The framework for diversity and inclusion at Key consists of strategic workforce development; economic inclusion; market growth and superior service delivery. Hallmarks in these areas in addition to Key's recent advancements in supplier diversity include:

• Early adoption of domestic partner benefits and comprehensive employee training programs;

• Establishment of the annual "KeyBank Diversity Thought leadership Series" as a springboard for progress through workplace and community dialogues carrying important messages about relevant issues;

• Expansive philanthropic investment in organizations fostering diversity. Moreover, a commitment to diversity is a prerequisite for organizations receiving Key Foundation grants, which help build model financial literacy and workforce development programs empowering people and communities to achieve economic self-sufficiency. For more information, read Key’s Report on Philanthropic Investment at www.key.com/pdf/philanthropicir.pdf

Diversity at Key drives strategic business advantages by instilling value for inclusive environments that guide employees to respectfully capitalize on similarities and differences to reach their full potential. Diversity drives business advantages through a three-fold strategic approach rooted in Key’s values of teamwork, integrity, leadership, accountability and respect. For more information about diversity at Key, visit http://www.key.com/diversity.

About the DiversityInc Top 50
Now in its seventh year, The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list is the largest competition of its kind. The list is determined solely from a comprehensive survey of diversity management that measures CEO Commitment, Human Capital, Corporate Communications and Supplier Diversity.

Companies on the DiversityInc Top 50 are remarkable in several ways:

• The Top 50 hire 42 percent people of color; the U.S. work force is 29 percent people of color*

• Although Top 50 companies employ only 5 percent of the U.S. work force, they employ 17 percent of the college-educated people of color*

• Twenty-five percent of Top 50 companies' management are people of color, compared with 12 percent people of color in management nationwide*

• One hundred percent of the Top 50 offer domestic-partner benefits for same-sex couples, compared with 53 percent of Fortune 500 companies

• Seventy-four percent of the Top 50 include gender orientation in their nondiscrimination policies, compared with only 24 percent of the Fortune 500*

• Top 50 companies spend 9.7 percent of their procurement budgets with minority- and women-owned suppliers, compared with just 2 percent nationally*

• Ninety-six percent of the Top 50 companies link executive compensation to diversity goals

• Ninety percent of Top 50 CEOs sign off on executive compensation tied to diversity, compared with 72 percent last year*

For the fourth year in a row, the DiversityInc Top 50 companies, expressed as a stock index, beat the Standard & Poor’s 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq on a 10-, five- and one-year basis, documenting the connection between good diversity management, excellent corporate governance and return on equity for investors.

The Top 50 list was unveiled during a live video webcast today. To see the webcast and the complete list of Top 50 winners, visit www.DiversityInc.com/top50.

DiversityInc
DiversityInc is a monthly business magazine, with a daily web site, www.DiversityInc.com. The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list is a purely editorial process and is completely independent of any business conducted with the company. DiversityInc was launched in 1997. For more information, contact Luke Visconti at LVisconti@DiversityInc.com, 973-494-0502.

KeyCorp
Cleveland-based KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $92 billion. Key companies provide investment management, retail and commercial banking, consumer finance, and investment banking products and services to individuals and companies throughout the United States and, for certain businesses, internationally. For news about corporate citizenship at Key, visit www.csrwire.com/companyprofile?id=993.

Note to Editors: For up-to-date company information, media contacts and facts and figures about Key lines of business, visit our Media Newsroom at Key.com/newsroom.

KeyBank

KeyBank

KeyCorp's roots trace back 190 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $176.2 billion at March 31, 2021. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,100 branches and more than 1,400 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC. 

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