http://www.diversityinc.com





The 2008 DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for African Americans
By the Editors of DiversityInc

© DiversityInc 2007 ® All rights reserved. No article on this site can be reproduced by any means, print, electronic or any other, without prior written permission of the publisher.

 

2008 Top 50 Information

See the 2008 List

Top 50 Corporate Profiles

Methodology

Media Coverage

Frequently Asked Questions

The Specialty Lists

DiversityInc 25 Noteworthy Companies

Read the June 2008 Magazine

Contact Us

Previous Top 50 Lists

Next Diversity Rankings

What makes a Black employee develop his or her full potential at a company? Find out how these companies create a culture of inclusion for ALL their employees, which puts them on this specialty list.

 

Consider these points of comparison:

 

  • The top 10 companies for Blacks average 19 percent Blacks in their work forces, compared with a Top 50 average of 15 percent and a national average of 14 percent, according to the EEOC. There's clearly progress being made. Blacks were 22 percent of new hires for these top 10 companies, compared with 18 percent for the Top 50.
  • Blacks were 14 percent of the managers in these top 10 companies, compared with a Top 50 average of 12 percent and a national average of 6.7 percent, according to the EEOC. This ratio is important to note because it illustrates the talent pipeline, that African-American managers received an average of 14 percent of management promotions at these top 10 companies, compared with a Top 50 average of 9 percent.
  • Diversity training is extremely important to these companies. Nine of these top 10 have mandatory diversity training for the entire work force, compared with a Top 50 average of 70 percent.
  • Fifty percent of these top 10 companies have mandatory employee surveys on diversity, compared with a Top 50 average of 26 percent.

Here's the list and a key factor about why each company was named:

 

No. 1: Turner Broadcasting System, No. 23 on The 2008 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity® list.

 

Turner reports that 22 percent of its work force and 28 percent of all new hires were Black. The media company spends 25 percent of its advertising budget at media aimed at multicultural people, including Blacks.

No. 2: Darden Restaurants, one of DiversityInc's 25 Noteworthy Companies in 2008.

Chairman and CEO Clarence Otis Jr. is one of five Black CEOs in Fortune 500 companies and also sits on the board of Verizon, No. 1 in the Top 50 this year. One-third of Darden's board of directors was Black, compared with a national average of 8 percent, according to Executive Leadership Council.

 

No. 3: McDonald's

The fast-food chain spent more than 40 percent of its procurement for Tier I (direct contractors) with minority-owned businesses. Blacks were 20 percent of its work force and 28 percent of its new hires.

 

No. 4: Wachovia, No. 14 on the Top 50. Also No.  4 on The Top 10 Companies for Recruitment & Retention and on The Top 10 Companies for Executive Women and The Top 10 Companies for LGBT Employees.

Wachovia's dominance in human capital is evident. The bank reported 21 percent of its work force and 31 percent of new hires were Black. Fifteen percent of managers were Black, but 19 percent of management promotions went to Blacks.

No. 5: Bright Horizons Family Solutions, No. 41 on the Top 50.

This company, on the Top 50 for the first time this year, reported that 21 percent of its work force and 23 percent of new hires were Black.

 

No. 6: Macy's, No. 39 on the Top 50. Also No. 7 on The Top 10 Companies for Recruitment & Retention.

 

The retailer, very strong on human capital, reported that 20 percent of its work force and 23 percent of new hires were Black.

 

No. 7: General Motors, No. 44 on the Top 50. Also on The Top 10 Companies for People With Disabilities.

 

General Motors, which has a strong employee group for Blacks, reported that 13.5 percent of management promotions went to Blacks. 

No. 8: Kaiser Permanente, No. 43 on the Top 50. Also on The Top 10 Companies for Executive Women and The Top 10 Companies for People With Disabilities and the Top 10 Companies for Latinos.

The board of directors was 21 percent Black at this healthcare company. Kaiser also has a commitment to its minority-owned suppliers, spending almost 6 percent of its Tier I (direct contractors) procurement budget with minority-owned businesses.

 

No. 9: Sodexo, No. 12 on the Top 50. Also No. 3 on The Top 10 Companies for Recruitment & Retention and on The Top 10 Companies for Latinos and The Top 10 Companies for People With Disabilities.

This first-rate diversity company, which has very strong employee groups and metrics, reports that 26 percent of its work force and 28 percent of new hires were Black.

 

No. 10: Cox Communications, No. 6 on the Top 50.

 

The media company noted that 15 percent of its managers are Black and 16 percent of its management promotions went to Blacks. Of all its women managers, 19 percent were Black and 22 percent of promotions to women managers went to Black women.

 

More 2008 Top 50 >>



© 2006-2008 DiversityInc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction without written permission is strictly prohibited.