OAKLAND, Calif., - Kaiser Permanente has been ranked No. 1 by LATINA Style magazine on the publication's list of the 50 Best Companies for Latinas to Work for in the United States.
The LATINA Style survey, now in its 12th year, is an annual evaluation of corporate America's appreciation for the value of diversity in the workplace, and identifies the corporations in the United States that are providing the best career opportunities for Latinas. Kaiser Permanente was among 800 organizations included in the extensive research.
"It's an honor to be recognized by LATINA Style," said Ronald Knox, senior vice president and chief diversity officer at Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. "To deliver the kind of member experience needed to remain a leader in an increasingly competitive and diverse marketplace, our employees must reflect the communities we serve. At Kaiser Permanente, understanding our members' needs and speaking their languages is simply how we do business."
Companies are evaluated based on workplace issues that LATINA Style readers identified as most important to them. Among the principal areas of evaluation are: number of Latina executives, mentoring programs, Latina board members, educational opportunities, alternative work policies, dependent/child care support, employee benefits, women's issues, job retraining, affinity groups and Latina relations.
The LATINA Style 50 Companies will be honored on Feb. 4, 2010, during LATINA Style's Awards Ceremony & Diversity Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C., and recognized at an exclusive awards reception at the White House.
Today, Kaiser Permanente's employee and physician workforce of 181,000 is 74 percent female and 56 percent people of color, mirroring and exceeding the racial, ethnic and gender composition of its health plan membership and the communities it serves. Kaiser Permanente's board of directors also is diverse; its membership is 21 percent Black, 14.5 percent Latino, 14.5 percent Asian American and 36 percent women, making it one of the most ethnically and gender-diverse boards in the country.
Earlier this year, Kaiser Permanente was ranked No. 1 in the fourth annual 50 Out Front for Diversity Leadership: Best Places for Diverse Managers to Work by DiversityMBA Magazine. Kaiser Permanente also was named the 2009 Corporation of the Year by the Hispanic College Fund and will be honored at the publication's 16th annual gala, to be held on Oct 30 at the J.W. Marriott in Washington, D.C. Additionally, Kaiser Permanente was ranked No. 7 on the 2009 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity(R) list and was the only health care organization ranked in the top 20 of this list.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 8.6 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.
