Dive Brief:
- Accenture, ADP, Anthem, IBM, L'Oréal USA, New York Life, Procter & Gamble, Verizon, Visa Inc. and WellStar Health System comprised the top 10 companies on Working Mother magazine's 2019 Best Companies for Multicultural Women. Employers earned the "best place to work" title for creating and using best practices in hiring, retaining and promoting multicultural women, according to Working Mother. The magazine said it extended the list of winners this year from 25 to 50 because applications more than tripled.
- Working Mother's 2019 report found multicultural women's representation at the managerial level increased to 15% in 2019 from 13% in 2018, according to a news release. A steady increase in Asian women's representation in nearly all job categories, especially in the highest managerial ranks, was the biggest change in the report since 2018, but significant gaps remain for black and Latina women. More multicultural women participated in sponsorship and leadership development programs, and more CEOs held leadership responsible for diversity results, the report said.
- "As the demographics in our country continue to move toward a growing minority population, companies recognize that they must create an inclusive workplace environment for multicultural women or else they will miss out on that portion of the talent," Working Mother Media President Subha V. Barry said in the news release. "The fact that we expanded our list to 50 companies this year reinforces the notion that companies are taking the hiring, mentoring, sponsoring and promotion of multicultural women seriously, and are more confident in their progress on this front."
Dive Insight:
The increase in the number of employers cited as inclusive workplaces for multicultural women, more women represented in leadership roles and the growth in the number of CEOs holding leaders accountable for diversity results are notable findings from Working Women's 2019 report. Employers appear to be recognizing diversity and inclusion's value to the hiring and retention of underrepresented groups in their organizations and to their bottom lines. The expansion in the number of employers cited for the honor is also noteworthy, given that some of the nation's most recognizable enterprises topped the list.
Employers looking to better themselves in this area can look to strategies that have been tested by research. Women and ethnic minorities are more likely to benefit from mentorship programs, a 2018 survey by Heidrick & Struggles showed, for example. Sponsorship has also proved a useful strategy, although employers may want to consider how they can sponsor women without sending the wrong message.
The pain point in the results, however, is the lack of progress in hiring and promoting African American and Latina women. Black women earn 21% less than white women in comparable jobs, according to a LeanIn.org survey published last year. As such, employers that want to improve outcomes for black women will want to make inclusion compulsory in their D&I efforts.
