About Us

Our Mission

DiversityInc’s mission is to bring education and clarity to the business benefits of diversity.

DiversityInc

DiversityInc is the leading source of information on diversity management. We are a consultancy and we publish two websites, www.DiversityInc.com and www.DiversityIncBestPractices.com, as well as a magazine, published five times a year. We also produce events, which average more than 600 attendees from 200 companies and have featured more than 20 CEOs of major corporations.

The core of DiversityInc’s information gathering is The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity competition, now in its 12th year. Last year, 535 companies participated, up 19 percent from the previous year. The data we receive in that competition gives us information on what defines top accomplishment and the correlated best practices necessary to achieve it.

DiversityInc’s CEO and owner is Luke Visconti. He directs all editorial and business operations of the publication, as well as events and the consulting practice. His column, Ask the White Guy, is a top draw on DiversityInc.com.

DiversityInc was founded in 1998 as a web-based publication; our print magazine was launched in 2002.

Definition of Diversity Management

We define diversity management as the proactive management of race/culture, gender, orientation, disability and age to ensure equal outcome in relationships with employees, customers, investors and suppliers. We feel that the first two factors (race and gender) are the most important because they impact the treatment of the other three factors and are the most dominant loci of discrimination.

We believe that all people are created equally and therefore talent is distributed equally as well. We feel that an organization’s management of diversity can be defined and judged in absolute metrics, most easily with human-capital statistics.

The inclusiveness of an organization’s culture can actually be quantified based on the human-capital results, especially for retention and promotion. Our data has demonstrated four stages of diversity management, each of which has distinctly separate human-capital results.

The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity

The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list began in 2001, at the same time many corporations were beginning to understand the business value of diversity-management initiatives. Like diversity management itself, the list has evolved significantly and continues to be refined and improved to reflect how rapidly companies are adapting these strategies. In 2011, new software was implemented to allow for more concise measurements for consistency across the four areas measured: CEO Commitment, Human Capital, Corporate and Organizational Communications, and Supplier Diversity.

Participation in the list has increased every year. In 2011, 535 companies participated, up 19 percent. There is volatility on the list as new companies gain strength and others work to keep up with quickly evolving best practices. The DiversityInc Top 50 list is derived exclusively from corporate survey submissions. Companies are evaluated within the context of their own industries, with more than 15 industries represented. Subsets of the same data submission are used to determine our other lists. The methodology for determining the list is data driven and the process is editorially driven. The list is completely unbiased; companies that have a business relationship with DiversityInc receive NO preferential treatment.

DiversityInc Events

DiversityInc produces diversity conferences every year. More than 600 people from more than 200 companies attend our two-day spring and fall events, where we’ve had more than 20 CEOs of major corporations speak. The first day is for senior executives and includes professionally facilitated discussion periods. No consultants are allowed in the first-day session—it’s a peer-to-peer environment. Unlike other diversity events, you cannot buy a speaking slot at our events; we select our speakers carefully, pay them and jury their presentations. Our gala dinner always includes top-level speakers. In the spring, we release the DiversityInc Top 50 list, and in the fall, we announce our unique-achievement awards, which are accepted by each company’s CEO. For more information, go to www.DiversityInc.com/events.

Innovation Fest! February 2012 – Marriott Newark Airport Hotel: DiversityInc is going to produce an Innovation Fest! on Feb. 22, 2012, at the Marriott Newark Airport Hotel. Companies with the best ideas will have the opportunity to present them at our Innovation Fest! We’ll feature “The Wisdom of Crowds” author James Surowiecki speaking at lunch. Click here for more information.
Managing the Global War for Talent – April 24–25, 2012, Marriott Marquis, New York City: Companies of all sizes are grappling with the dilemma of finding, retaining and developing the best talent across the globe to meet today’s competitive challenges. Our spring program will showcase CEOs and diversity leaders with the most innovative and successful approaches. These sessions will augment DiversityIncBestPractices.com’s Living Textbook sections on Global Diversity, Talent Development, Succession Planning and Employee-Resource Groups.

Our two-day program, which will start in the afternoon of April 24, will provide a mix of high-level speakers and interactive panels and plenty of time for networking with your peers. No consultants will be allowed during the day-time learning sessions.

The event will feature a dinner the night of April 24 with a streamlined announcement of The 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity and a brief presentation on data findings from the new list. Click here for the full agenda.
From Accountability to Succession Planning: Oct. 10-11, 2012, Marriott Marquis, New York City: Discover at our Fall 2012 event how to transform the top level of your organization for improved diversity management. The two-day event on Oct. 10-11, 2012 will conclude with an awards dinner and the announcement of the 2012 DiversityInc Special Awards. Click here for more information.

Visit www.DiversityInc.com/events for more information on our diversity events.

Staff

DiversityInc is located in Princeton, N.J. More than half of our employees are women and more than 75 percent are Black, Asian, Latino and/or American Indian. Our diversity is evenly representational across all levels of salary and responsibility. DiversityInc offers partner benefits, 401(K) and tuition reimbursement. Our job openings are posted on our career center.

The DiversityInc Foundation

The DiversityInc Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization launched by DiversityInc Media in 2006. Its mission is to support and fund higher education. We currently serve Bennett College for Women (an HBCU), New Jersey City University (a Hispanic-serving institution and minority-serving institution) and Rutgers University. The foundation raises money through Luke Visconti’s speaking fees and distributes 100 percent of those funds to scholarship funds administered by the respective school. We have distributed more than $450,000 since 2006 and more than $1.5 million in advertising and other in-kind donations.

Our goal is to donate 2 percent of our gross revenue through the foundation.

DiversityInc Philanthropic Alliances

DiversityInc contributes generously and has alliances with several diversity-related charities and nonprofit organizations, including:

Bennett College

NAACP

USBLN

HACR – Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility

HACE – Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement

Jackie Robinson Foundation

INROADS

Madrinas

IFDHM – Institute of Diversity in Health Management