Best Companies for Asians, Blacks and Hispanics
Why They're the Best
Rank
Company
1997 Revenues
(millions) Minority Board Members Top
25
Paid Managers Workforce
Asian
Black
Hispanic Diversity Programs Notes
1
Pacific Enterprises
Los Angeles
$2,777 2 of 8 2 34.10% 50.70%
7.80%
12.40%
29.90% 5 Allows people to nominate themselves for the company's fast-track management-training programs. That's one reason PE has the highest percentage of minority officials and managers of any company on our list.
2
Advantica
Spartanburg, SC
$2,609 4 of 12 2 29.90% 46.00%
3.40%
13.60%
28.40% 4 Talk about a turnaround. The parent company of Denny's now has a diverse group of suppliers and franchisees. Every penny of charitable giving goes to groups that primarily benefit minorities.
3
BankAmerica Corp.
San Francisco
$23,585 2 of 13 3
(of 45) 25.90% 43.80%
16.70%
9.60%
16.80% 8 BankAmerica's approach to diversity: Make the company a comfortable place for everyone to work, and the cream -- black, white, Hispanic, Asian, whatever -- will rise to the top.
4
Fannie Mae
Washington, DC
$27,777 3 of 18 3 22.80% 38.80%
8.30%
26.60%
3.60% 7 In breaking down barriers to home ownership for blacks and Hispanics, Fannie Mae has found a new growth business. Last year 18% of the single-family homes it financed were bought by minorities, vs. 13% in 1993.
5
Marriott International
Bethesda, MD
$12,034 2 of 9 na 18.50% 50.30%
6.00%
24.20%
19.60% 6 A year ago only one franchise was owned by a person of color. Now 29 are: 20 by Asians, five by blacks, four by Hispanics. As many as 30 languages are spoken at some Marriotts.
6
Applied Materials
Santa Clara, CA
$4,074 1 of 9 8 16.40% 32.20%
13.90%
7.30%
10.70% 0 The semiconductor company recruits at historically black Howard University and at the National Hispanic University in San Jose. Among its 25 highest-paid executives, eight are minorities, the best showing on the list.
7
Edison International
Rosemead, CA
$9,235 4 of 18 2 24.30% 41.00%
7.40%
8.80%
23.90% 2 Another turnaround tale. The utility paid $11.25 million to settle a 1996 discrimination case; since then the number of minority corporate officers has gone from one to five.
8
Computer Associates
Islandia, NY
$4,040 2 of 7 6 11.70% 18.50%
10.90%
4.30%
3.30% 6 Founder and CEO Charles Wang is from China. President and COO Sanjay Kumar is Sri Lankan. Wang donated $25 million to the State University of New York for an Asian-American center.
9
Ryder System
Miami, FL
$5,351 0 of 11 8 12.60% 25.30%
1.10%
17.30%
6.30% 6 Ryder ties Applied Materials, with the most minorities among the 25 highest-paid employees. Many senior executives also take part in the company's extensive minority mentoring program.
10
Pitney Bowes
Stamford, CT
$4,101 2 of 11 2 19.40% 39.30%
4.70%
25.00%
9.30% 7 Three years ago the postage-meter maker set a goal of spending $52 million with minority and women suppliers by 2000 (it spent $52.8 million in 1997). Minorities accounted for nearly half of new hires in the past year.
Paid Managers Workforce
Asian
Black
Hispanic Diversity Programs Notes
11
Allstate
Northbrook, IL
$24,949 1 of 8 4 21.10% 25.50%
2.80%
16.20%
6.10% 6 Play or pay: The insurance company ties 25% of its managers' merit bonuses to diversity measurements. The diversity index, a twice-a-year survey, asks all 50,000 employees if they feel they've been treated fairly by their managers.
12
TIAA-CREF
New York, NY
$29,348 6 of 31 1 18.70% 48.50%
7.50%
29.90%
10.90% 6 The $29 billion Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund has numerous mentoring and internship programs, and the most minority board members of any company on the list.
13
Shoney's
Nashville, TN
$1,203 1 of 9 2 23.40% 41.40%
0.80%
35.40%
4.30% 6 After a $135 million discrimination settlement, minorities account for 30% of the restaurant chain's managers, and Shoney's has gone from diversity sinner to winner.
14
Newport News Shipbuilding
Newport News, VA
$1,788 1 of 7 2 18.10% 38.50%
0.60%
37.40%
0.30% 6 More than a third of the company's charitable contributions go to local organizations such as the Urban League chapter and Chrome, a program that encourages minorities and women to study math and engineering.
15
Federal Express
Memphis, TN
$11,520 1 of 13 na 26.90% 39.00%
3.00%
28.00%
7.50% 5 FedEx is a solid supporter of minority-owned businesses. Through the company's diverse supplier-development program, it spent $110 million last year with black-, Hispanic-, and Asian-led businesses.
16
Lucent Technologies
Murray Hill, NJ
$26,360 1 of 9 7 16.60% 22.80%
6.20%
11.90%
4.30% 5 With seven minorities among its 25 highest-salaried employees, Lucent trails only two other companies in this category. It seeks talent by advertising in minority trade publications like Hispanic Engineer and Minority MBA.
17
Bell Atlantic
New York, NY
$30,194 4 of 22 2 17.70% 25.90%
1.50%
20.80%
3.40% 6 Bell Atlantic lags behind the group in purchasing from minority vendors (just 1.6% of overall spending) but is well represented in management, where 17.7% of its staff are minorities.
18
Du Pont de Nemours (E.I.)
Wilmington, DE
$41,304 2 of 12 3 11.80% 17.80%
1.70%
13.80%
2.00% 8 No latecomer to diversity, Du Pont has spent $1.2 billion over the past five years through TEMPO, its 25-year-old minority-purchasing program. The chemical company buys everything from equipment to information systems.
19
Consolidated Edison
New York, NY
$7,121 2 of 13 2 15.70% 31.00%
3.20%
18.30%
9.50% 7 Utilities often hire from urban areas, hence their above-average representation of minorities at most levels. People of color make up 16% of Con Ed's officials and managers.
20
Chase Manhattan
New York, NY
$30,381 1 of 17 1 23.20% 39.50%
5.60%
23.20%
10.50% 7 In 1997, Chase offered jobs to 80% of its Inroads interns, the highest rate among employers who participate in the minority internship program. Chase gives four-year scholarships and part-time jobs to 1
21
Xerox
Stamford, CT
$18,166 2 of 14 2 21.20% 26.70%
5.10%
14.10%
6.90% 5 Winner of the U.S. Labor Department's first Glass Ceiling Award in 1995, Xerox is now educating employees' children with a toolkit on diversity. The kit's a hit and will soon be available to corporate clients.
22
Gannett
Arlington, VA
$4,730 3 of 10 2 14.40% 24.60%
2.10%
16.20%
5.40% 5 Young journalists don't make much money, but Gannett still manages to find talented minorities. The company spots them years before graduation, hires them as interns, and offers them jobs in melting-pot cities.
23
Baxter International
Deerfield, IL
$6,138 2 of 17 4 13.60% 25.20%
10.30%
8.20%
6.30% 3 Baxter's 15-year-old financial development program gives employees a chance to rotate among three to five positions in finance and accounting. Over the past few years, 30% of the participants have been minorities.
24
Anheuser-Busch
St, Louis, MO
$11,056 5 of 16 2 na na
na
na
na 4 Of the companies on our list, this beermaker has the second-highest percentage of minorities on its board of directors. Its apprenticeship programs date back as far as the early 1970s.
25
Nike
Beaverton, OR
$9,187 2 of 13 0 19.20% 38.90%
9.10%
22.20%
6.90% 3 Close to a fifth of Nike's officials and managers are minorities. African-American, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific, and Native American employees can attend monthly support-group meetings on company time.
26
Abbott Laboratories
North Chicago, IL
$11,884 2 of 16 4 12.10% 28.20%
8.70%
12.10%
6.50% 7 The pharmaceuticals company's summer internship program in science, engineering, and business is considered the best in the country. Last year 40% of the 300 interns were minority students.
27
Times Mirror
Los Angeles
$3,319 2 of 17 2 12.50% 30.00%
4.50%
12.00%
13.40% 7 Metpro, the company's 14-year-old training program for minority students, once just taught reporting and editing. Now it covers business basics too. More than 80% of Metpro graduates pursue journalism careers.
28
Ford Motor
Dearborn, MI
$153,627 1 of 11 3 21.70% na
na
na 7 To find real and perceived barriers to minority advancement, Ford conducts annual polls and regular focus groups, and judges managers on the results. It has a history of giving to Hispanic educational institutions.
29
Coors Brewing
Golden, CO
$1,822 2 of 8 3 12.30% 19.20%
1.50%
7.70%
9.10% 6 In 1984, Bill Coors was quoted (incorrectly, he claims) saying black Africans lack the intellectual capacity to succeed. His nephew, Peter Coors, now CEO, made a truce with minorities, promising jobs and business relationships.
30
American Express
New York, NY
$17,760 2 of 14 na 17.00% 24.00%
na
na
na 6 It belongs to the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, a group of companies that pays for minorities to obtain MBAs. Minorities make up 17% of officials and managers at the company. |
