Most Diverse Companies Revealed in Ranking: MBA News

By Pavel Kantorek Updated Nov 15, 2019

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Introduction
Recruitment
Representation
Succession planning
Workplace inclusion & retention
Accountability
Board diversity

Diversity MBA has released its annual ‘50 Out Front for Diversity Leadership: Best Places to Work for Women & Diverse Managers - Best in Class Companies’ ranking, which lists the top-10 companies across six different categories relating to diversity. It has also released an overall ranking, topped by AT&T.

Here’s the top-five in the overall diversity ranking:

1. AT&T

2. Carolinas Healthcare System

3. Clorox

4. Colgate-Palmolive

5. The Nielsen Company

AT&T dominates the individual categories, topping no fewer than five out of the six. When it comes to employers at which minorities and women can get ahead, the Dallas-headquartered telecommunications colossus seems to be way out ahead. Let’s take a look at the six different categories.

Recruitment

The first category is recruitment, looking at minorities and women as a percentage of new hires, and any formal policies relating to this.

1. AT&T

2. Carolinas Healthcare System

3. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey

4. GE (read our recruiter interview with GE)

5. Verizon

Representation

The representation category looks at the proportion of senior leadership roles occupied by women and minority incumbents; companies with leadership pipelines to ensure diversity are given particular credit. Strides have been made in terms of female representation, Diversity MBA reports.

1. Colgate-Palmolive

2. Nielsen

3. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey

4. Health Care Service Corporation

5. Bank of America

Succession planning

This category looks more closely at the pipelines that are in place to ensure that female and minority candidates are considered for leadership roles.

1. AT&T

2. Carolinas Healthcare System

3. The Clorox Company

4. The Nielsen Company

5. GE

Workplace inclusion & retention

Looking at employee engagement, workplace inclusion & retention is the category that measures a company’s dedication to diversity beyond just being able to show the numbers.

1. AT&T

2. Carolinas Healthcare System

3. Colgate-Palmolive

4. The Nielsen Company

5. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey

Accountability

The accountability category looks at leadership and systematic accountability, beyond CEO and board level.

1. AT&T

2. Carolinas Healthcare System

3. Intel

4. EMC

5. Jones Lang LaSalle

Board diversity

Board diversity has been identified by Diversity MBA as a growth area. The top companies in this category, it reports, average around 55% diversity.

1. AT&T

2. The Clorox Company

3. GE

4. Diageo

5. Verizon Communications

A total of 600 companies were researched to produce the results. “The Best in Class companies have demonstrated their commitment to implementing leading practices that result in significant work place outcomes that advance inclusive diversity. Recruitment programs for our 50 Out Front companies are a critical part of their diversity strategies. Targeted recruiting efforts to ensure that all groups are represented is where we saw the most impact in companies seeking more robust outcomes. We continued to expand this area to further understand not just the recruitment strategies, but how they are aligned with talent management,” commented Diversity MBA CEO Pamela McElvane.

Written by

Pavel Kantorek

Mansoor is a contributor to and former editor of TopMBA.com. He is a higher and business education specialist, who has been published in media outlets around the world. He studied English literature at BA and MA level and has a background in consumer journalism.