St. Louis-based Monsanto Co., is among the nation’s most inclusive companies, according to DiversityInc.
Monsanto ranks 25th on the publication and website’s 2008 Top 50 Companies for Diversity listing.
For the second time in three years, Verizon is No. 1 on the list.
In the list’s eighth year, companies are ranked in four areas: CEO commitment, human capital, corporate and organizational communications and supplier diversity.
This is Monsanto’s first appearance in the Top 50. It scored highly in the human capital and corporate and organizational communications categories.
“Monsanto has robust employee-resource groups, which are funded by the company and meet during the workday,” DiversityInc., noted.
“The company gets strong marks for its website demonstrating its dedication to diversity.”
Monsanto was also lauded for its commitment to its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered employees.
“To sustain and grow our business across all world areas, we require diverse business perspectives and the flexibility to work with a variety of people wherever we conduct business,” Monsanto states on its website.
“Our work must reflect and respect the cultures, ideas and interests of all the consumers we serve and the communities we touch.”
Details on the Top 50, including in-depth profiles of the winning companies, interviews with their CEOs and their best practices, will be found in the June issue of DiversityInc magazine.
Wachovia, which recently acquired St. Louis-based A.G. Edwards, ranks 14th “and for good reason,” said DiversityInc.
Bank of America, which continues its major presence in St. Louis and Missouri, is a perennial member of the Top 50. Based in Charlotte, N.C., Bank of America finished second to Verizon.
Other facts include:
? Top 50 members hire 44 percent blacks, Latinos, Asians and Native Americans, up from 33 percent five years ago. By comparison, the U.S. work force is 29 percent black, Latino, Asian and Native American, the same level it was three years ago.
? 25 percent of managers in the Top 50 are black, Latino, Asian or Native American, compared with 19 percent five years ago. The U.S. work force has 17 percent managers from these groups, compared with 15 percent five years ago.
? Although Top 50 companies employ only 5 percent of the U.S. work force, they employ 17 percent of the college-educated Black, Latino, Asian and Native American workers.
? Top 50 boards of directors are 23 percent black, Latino, Asian and Native American, compared with 13 percent nationally. Top 50 boards are 22 percent female, compared with 15 percent nationally.
“Top 50 companies have clarity of their absolute values of human dignity, demonstrating a global adherence to these core beliefs. These sustainable values drive margin,” said Luke Visconti, partner and cofounder of DiversityInc.