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Letter to the editor

Diverse companies score well

Of a wide range of Tampa Bay firms making one or more of the top lists, most are large companies. It's hard for smaller businesses to crack the rankings.

By Times staff writer
Published October 28, 2007

They are crude measures at best, but recent diversity rankings show plenty of large companies with prominent operations in the area fared well on this year's many lists of businesses commended for their commitment to corporate diversity programs.

Who stands out? Big banks. Accounting and consulting firms. A telecommunications giant. An insurance company and some hotel and restaurant chains. A retailer and even a supermarket chain.

According to the "best" lists of 2007 published by the magazines DiversityInc, Working Mother, Hispanic Business, and Black Enterprise, many larger corporations stand out in some very practical ways in their diversity efforts.

The lists are helpful, but are neither comprehensive nor scientific. Smaller companies based in the Tampa Bay area are rarely represented in most of these national rankings.

Besides, larger companies typically have the extra time and manpower to document and pitch their corporate diversity virtues to these magazines, thus better assuring their prominence and favorable publicity year after year on such lists.

Among the big banks, Bank of America Corp. and Wachovia Corp. - the two North Carolina banks with the largest market share in this area - are prominent. Bank of America, for example, was one of the very early corporations to allow gay couples to share employee company benefits.

Verizon Communications Inc., the dominant area telecommunications provider, also ranks high on several lists. "We embrace diversity because it's the right business strategy and the right thing to do," says the company's diversity statement.

Black Enterprise gave more specific kudos to certain companies. For example, Allstate Corp. and State Farm Group won credit for their marketing diversity, while hotel chains Marriott International Inc. and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, as well as McDonald's Corp., were cited for the diversity of their work forces.

In addition, Orlando-based Darden Restaurants, the parent of the Red Lobster and Olive Garden chains, as well as the diversity comeback kid - once-maligned Denny's Corp. - were praised for the diversity of their boards of directors.

The best of 2007 diversity lists

Among the businesses named, these are prominent in the Tampa Bay area:

DiversityInc Top 50

• Bank of America Corp.
• Verizon Communications Inc.
• J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
• Wachovia Corp.
• PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida
• Merck & Co. Inc.
• Deloitte & Touche USA LLP
• Citi (formerly Citigroup Inc.)
• Allstate Corp.
• Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
• Ernst & Young LLP
• Darden Restaurants
• Marriott International Inc.
• Accenture Ltd.

 
Working Mother:100 Best Companies

• Accenture Ltd.
• Allstate Corp.
• Bank of America Corp.
• Citi (formerly Citigroup Inc.)
• Deloitte & Touche USA LLP
• Ernst & Young LLP
• General Electric Co.
• IBM Corp.
• J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
• Marriott International Inc.
• Merck & Co. Inc.
• Merrill Lynch & Co.
• Northern Trust Corp.
• UBS AG
• Verizon Communications Inc.
• Wachovia Corp.

5 Black Enterprise best-company lists for diversity

For marketing diversity

• Allstate Corp.
• State Farm Group
• Time Warner Inc.
• Verizon Communications Inc.
• Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

For supplier diversity

• Aramark Corp.
• Bank of America Corp.
• McDonald's Corp.

For senior management diversity

• Denny's Corp.
• McDonald's Corp.
• PepsiCo Inc.
• Starbucks Corp.
• State Farm Group

For corporate board diversity

• Citi (formerly Citigroup Inc.)
• Darden Restaurants
• Denny's Corp.
• IBM Corp.
• Marriott International Inc.
• Merrill Lynch & Co.
• Verizon Communications Inc.

For work force diversity

• Marriott International Inc.
• McDonald's Corp.
• Starwood Hotels & Resorts

Best practices

Why five companies made the 2007 DiversityInc Top 50 list, ranking in parentheses:

Bank of America Corp. (No. 1): The company tracks GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) suppliers, which only 22 percent of Top 50 companies and very few other companies do. Forty-four percent of its work force is people of color, compared with 34 percent of the Top 50.

Verizon Communications Inc. (No. 6): The company has mandatory diversity training for its work force, a policy practiced by only 58 percent of the Top 50. Thirty-nine percent of its managers are people of color, compared with 25 percent for the Top 50.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (No. 9): In 2006, the banking company won the Corporate Legacy Award from Abilities!, an advocacy group for people with disabilities.

Darden Restaurants (No. 45): The Orlando company's board of directors is 39 percent people of color (compared with an 18 percent average for the Top 50). Diversity training is mandatory for its work force.

Marriott International Inc. (No. 46): Management is 37 percent people of color, compared with a 25 percent average for the Top 50 and a 12 percent average nationwide.

Fortune magazine

Sample from 2007 best companies to work for:

Publix Super Markets Inc.: Because seniors have a good chance at a job. More than 22,000 associates are over 55.

Nordstrom Inc.: Because diversity is a "key priority" at this chain of upscale fashion stores. In 1988 people of color made up 24 percent of staff. Now it's 41 percent. In managerial ranks, 31 percent are now people of color and 72 percent are women.

[Last modified October 25, 2007, 14:24:54]