8 Insurers Named to BLACK ENTERPRISE’s 40 Best Companies for Diversity

BLACK ENTERPRISE released its seventh-annual listing of the 40 Best Companies for Diversity as featured in the publication’s July issue. Chosen companies demonstrated a commitment to diversity in one or more of four key areas: board of directors, employee base, senior management and supplier diversity, says BLACK ENTERPRISE.

Eight insurers made the list:

Aetna Inc.

Aflac Inc.

Allstate Corp.

MetLife Corp.

Nationwide

Prudential Financial Inc.

State Farm Insurance Cos.

TIAA-CREF

BLACK ENTERPRISE said it began publishing its list of the Best Companies for Diversity in 2005, identifying those corporations that best fostered an atmosphere of inclusion for African Americans within their workforce. This year, the editors singled out those that also have implemented policy to ensure that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) employees are protected from additional discrimination and gain access to opportunities for advancement.

To select the 2011 companies, BLACK ENTERPRISE says it sent surveys to the nation’s top 1,000 publicly traded companies as well as to the 100 leading global companies with strong U.S. operations. The questionnaire focused on activities related to the participation of African Americans and members of other ethnic minority groups as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. A heavier weighting was applied to the senior management and supplier diversity areas. The final scores, along with the results of reporting and research conducted by the editorial staff, were used to determine the 40 Best Companies for Diversity.