This year, for the first time, we have created The DiversityInc Top Global Diversity Companies, which are listed here in alphabetical order. There are only five companies on this list because there aren't that many corporations yet that are getting it right.
The relevance of global diversity can be explained clearly by looking at the statistics.
Companies on the Standard & Poor's 500 last year obtained 49 percent of their revenues globally, compared with 31 percent in 2001. Companies on The Top Global Diversity Companies list last year obtained 58 percent of their revenues globally, compared with 34 percent in 2001.
What factors went into creating this list? We looked at whether companies train their employees and their employees' families to be culturally competent in foreign cultures (the overwhelming majority of Top 50 applicants did this). A more important differentiator was whether they have mandatory diversity training and employee-resource groups worldwide. These two factors tell you if these companies are clearly communicating to all their employees across the globe that everyone is valued and everyone must be treated with respect and dignity.
Finally, and crucially, we examined whether the companies' commitment to their absolute core values included refusing to do business in countries with values they perceive as oppressive (60 percent of the Top Global Diversity companies) and working to change the laws in countries with these troubling values (40 percent of the Top Global Diversity companies).
We anticipate increasing the importance and number of global diversity questions in next year's surveys. The questions did not count in the overall Top 50 for companies with less than 10 percent of their revenue outside of the United States.
Here are the five DiversityInc Top Global Companies for Diversity, in alphabetical order,
and a relevant fact about each of them:
Ford Motor Co., No. 27 on The 2008 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity® list
Ford was the first company in the automotive industry to develop its own Code of Basic Working Conditions, announced in May 2003. The code is based on the fundamental elements of internationally recognized labor standards, including the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labor Organization Covenants, the UN Global Compact Principles, the Global Sullivan Principles, the Fair Labor Association and the International Metalworkers Federation.
IBM, No. 9 on the Top 50. Also No. 2 on The Top 10 Companies for Asian Americans, No. 1 on The Top 10 Companies for LGBT Employees and No. 1 on The Top 10 Companies for People With Disabilities.
From apartheid in South Africa to current oppressive conditions against women and LGBT people, IBM has long been a leader in fighting violations globally of human and civil rights. The company utilizes its Global Workforce Diversity Scorecard.
PepsiCo, No. 28 on the Top 50. Also No. 4 on The Top 10 Companies for LGBT Employees and No. 3 on The Top 10 Companies for People With Disabilities.
The company mandates its values training to all employees globally. PepsiCo rolls out a Code of Conduct every year globally for all employees, which includes diversity.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, No. 4 on the Top 50. Also No. 10 on The Top 10 Companies for Recruitment & Retention, No. 6 on The Top 10 Companies for Asian Americans and No. 8 on The Top 10 Companies for LGBT Employees.
In 2006, the firm formed its Global Gender Advisory Council, which reports to the global CEO. At the 2007 Extended Leadership Meeting of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) CEOs from around the world, the GAC presented "The Leaking Pipeline," a qualitative study of nearly 100 PwC women, speaking frankly about their careers and paths to leadership. In addition, PwC staff are trained on global diversity issues and attend a training course on cultural differences.
Procter & Gamble, No. 5 on the Top 50
All employees worldwide receive a Worldwide Business Conduct Manual that flows from the Company Purpose, Values, & Principles. All employees must review the manual annually via company intranet or hard copy and sign that they have reviewed it.
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