Eleven Network sponsors named to Top 50 diversity list

DiversityInc magazine has announced its 10th annual Top 50 Companies for Diversity -- and 11 of the organizations named are Network of Executive Women sponsors.

The Network sponsors honored are: Johnson & Johnson (ranked No. 2), Colgate-Palmolive (No. 14), Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. (No. 16), the Coca-Cola Co. (No. 17), Procter & Gamble (No. 18), Accenture (No. 22), Deloitte (No. 25), General Mills (No. 29) Kraft Foods (No. 35), Target Corp. (No. 40) and SC Johnson (No. 41).

The 2010 DiversityInc Top 50 shows a sharp escalation in diversity initiatives, the magazine reported. An average of 22 percent of employees are members of employee resource groups, compared with 19 percent last year and 5 percent five years ago. Ninety percent of the firms have cross-cultural mentoring programs, compared with 82 percent last year and 42 percent five years ago. Also, an average of 39 percent of philanthropy went to multicultural charities, compared with 22 percent last year and 5 percent five years ago.

This year, 449 companies participated in the DiversityInc Top 50 competition, up 12 percent from last year. There is no fee to enter the competition. Surveys with more than 200 empirical questions with predetermined weightings were sent in October to interested companies that have at least 1,000 employees; the companies had until early February to return the surveys.

Companies must score above average in all four areas measured to earn a spot on the list. CEO commitment is the most heavily weighted area. Any company that doesn’t offer same-sex domestic partner benefits is automatically disqualified from the DiversityInc Top 50 List. Ten percent of the companies competed for the first time. Thirty companies moved up in rank this year; 19 fell.

The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Executive Women will be revealed Monday, April 19.