NEW sponsors recognized as 'Best Companies for Diversity'

NEW sponsors Coca-Cola Co., General Mills Inc., PepsiCo Inc., Procter & Gamble Co. and Walmart Stores have been named to Black Enterprise magazine's 2010 list of Best 40 Companies for Diversity. Although the companies on this year's list have been forced to make organizational changes as the economy faltered, they have maintained their commitment to diversity and inclusion, according to the magazine's editors.

"The policy of inclusion can be found among recruitment and retention of rank-and-file employees, the expansion of senior management, composition of corporate directors and development of the supplier pool,” the magazine noted, adding some of the recognized companies performed better in these areas than others.

Coca-Cola, General Mills, PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble were specially recognized for their senior management diversity. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo also were noted for their supplier diversity. Board diversity is an additional Procter & Gamble strength, according to the magazine.

A number of the corporations on the list have job openings for which they're actively seeking diverse talent. "They realize that they will be rewarded by a pool of employees of different races, genders and sexual preferences that can offer a range of perspectives, experiences, skills and strategies,” the editors wrote. "In a business environment that has become increasingly multicultural and global, companies like those on our list that invest in the development and expansion of such human capital will emerge as today's winners and tomorrow's leaders.”

To select its 2010 Best Companies for Diversity, Black Enterprise sent surveys to the top 1,000 publicly traded companies and the 100 leading global companies with strong U.S. operations. The survey focused on activities related to the participation of African Americans and members of other ethnic minority groups, as defined by the Census Bureau. Information provided by companies on diversity efforts on behalf of other groups, such as women, gays/lesbians/bisexuals/transgender and the disabled, was used as a secondary supporting criterion.

Among the areas considered were companies' employee base (percentage of ethnic minorities represented in a given company's total workforce); senior management (percentage of senior management positions held by ethnic minorities); board of directors (percentage of ethnic minorities represented); and supplier diversity (percentage of total procurement dollars spent with companies owned by ethnic minority groups).