Black Enterprise Announces 40 Best Companies For Diversity

 NEW YORK -- The Great Recession particularity challenged the value of inclusion as corporations restructured operations, slashed budgets, and laid off thousands of workers. It’s amidst this backdrop that BLACK ENTERPRISE unveils its sixth annual listing of the 40 Best Companies for Diversity. The companies featured in the publication’s July issue and accompanied by a package on www.blackenterprise.com demonstrated a commitment to diversity in one or more of four key areas: board of directors, employee base, senior management and supplier diversity.

“Although they have been forced to make organizational changes in the current environment, these companies have maintained their commitment to diversity across the board. They realize that hiring diverse employees and leveraging differences sharpens their competitive edge.”

“As the economy recovers, the organizations on our list of the 40 Best Companies for Diversity continue to use inclusion as part of their business strategy,” said Careers/Lifestyle Editorial Director Sonia Alleyne. “Although they have been forced to make organizational changes in the current environment, these companies have maintained their commitment to diversity across the board. They realize that hiring diverse employees and leveraging differences sharpens their competitive edge.”

Of the 40 best, McDonald’s Corp. and WGL Holdings Inc. demonstrated significant strengths in all four areas surveyed. Burger King Corp., Pepco Holdings Inc., PG&E Corp., Sodexo Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp., TIAA-CREF and Xerox Corp were cited as solid in three. Making their first appearance on this list are Norfolk Southern Corp. and the U.S. Postal Service.

The full list of the Black Enterprise 40 Best Companies for Diversity is as follows:

To select our 2010 companies, BLACK ENTERPRISE sent surveys to the nation’s top 1,000 companies as well as to the 50 leading global companies with strong U.S. operations. Thequestionnaire focused on the participation of African Americans and members of other ethnic minority groups as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Because of the high number of job losses since the recession, a heavier weighting was applied to the senior management and supplier diversity areas. The final scores, along with the results of reporting and research conducted by the editorial staff, were used to determine the 40 Best Companies for Diversity.

The complete report, including methodology and selection criteria, is available in the July issue of BLACK ENTERPRISE magazine, on newsstands June 29.

BLACK ENTERPRISE, your ultimate source for wealth creation, is the premier business, investing, and wealth-building resource for African Americans. Since 1970, BE has provided essential business information and advice to professionals, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and decision makers. Every month, BLACK ENTERPRISE magazine provides four million readers with information on entrepreneurship, careers, and financial management. As multimedia company, BLACK ENTERPRISE produces television programming, business and lifestyle events, Web content and digital media. BLACK ENTERPRISE is the definitive source of information for and about African American business markets and leaders, and the authority on black business news and trends.