Fannie Mae (FNM/NYSE), the nation’s largest source of financing for home mortgages, was ranked second on Fortune magazine’s 2001 list of the 50 Best Companies for Minorities. The list, which will appear in the July 9th issue of the magazine on newsstands next week, recognizes that companies that maintain a commitment to diversity, even in difficult economic times, actually enjoy a business advantage.

Fannie Mae has been ranked no lower than fourth place on the list for each year that Fortune has been compiling the information. It moved up from third place on last year’s list. More than 24 percent of the company’s management group, consisting of officers and directors, are minorities. Minorities make up nearly 42 percent of the total workforce, and women comprise nearly 55 percent of the workforce. The company’s commitment to diversity also extends to workers with disabilities, older workers, and gay and lesbian employees.

The magazine reports that companies now see it as being in their own interests to have a diverse workforce, and that there is a growing realization among corporations that a correlation exists between financial performance and a multicultural workforce.

"Diversity is not just an initiative at Fannie Mae, it’s a principle that permeates every aspect of how we do business," said Maria Johnson, vice president of diversity, health and work-life. "Diversity is codified as one of the company’s core commitments. We also provide diversity training to many of our lender customers, and regularly host benchmarking sessions for other employers who want to fine-tune their own diversity efforts based on our successes."

Information for Fortune’s rankings was compiled by the Center for Responsibility in Business (formerly called the Council on Economic Priorities), which last month awarded Fannie Mae a Corporate Conscience Award for the company’s diversity leadership. Fannie Mae also recently received an award from the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) for its commitment to providing opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses.

Fannie Mae was ranked second on Fortune’s list of the top five companies for black employees, and fourth on the list of companies with the largest number of minority employees among the 50 highest-paid workers. The company also has an extensive corporate mentoring program, which the magazine cites as a proven approach to improve corporate life for minority employees.

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