Verizon is No. 1, Cox No. 6
in 2008 Diversity Top 50

NEWARK, N.Y. – Verizon Communications ranks No. 1 nationwide and Cox Communications is No. 6 in DiversityInc’s 2008 Top 50 Companies for Diversity, the print and online journal said.

Other companies with local operations in this year’s Top 50 include: 3rd, Bank of America; 4th, PricewaterhouseCoopers; 7th, Merrill Lynch & Co.; 11th, Marriott International; 13th, JPMorganChase; 14th, Wachovia; 17th, Ernst & Young; 24th, Prudential; 26th, Wells Fargo & Co.; 39th, Macy’s; 45th, Citigroup; 46th, Capital One Financial Corp.; 49th, KPMG; and 50th, Hilton Hotels Corp.

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The list – now in its eighth year – is based on companies’ answers to a 200-question survey sent on request to any company with more than 1,000 employees. This year, the survey was completed by 352 companies, 10 percent more than last year and twice as many as in 2003, the magazine said.

Winners must demonstrate consistent strength in four areas: CEO commitment to diversity, human capital, corporate communications and supplier diversity. The survey data are also used by DiversityInc in compiling 11 specialty lists.

Verizon – which has been in the list’s Top 10 since 2001, and made it No. 1 in 2006 – is the only company to earn the top spot more than once, DiversityInc said, adding: “This long-time diversity leader ensures it remains competitive by continually assessing and improving its advantages, especially in the areas of communications and supplier diversity.”

"What I want the company to be is relevant,” said Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg, whose leadership garnered a near-perfect score on the survey’s CEO Commitment scale. “If you’re not diverse, you’re not relevant – and in an ever-evolving industry we need to understand our dynamic and diverse markets so that we can anticipate and meet our customers’ needs.”

Seidenberg personally reviews Verizon’s diversity scorecard, which measures 17 key criteria, on a quarterly basis, the report noted. One result? Thirty-nine percent of the company’s managers are Black, Asian, Latino or Native American.

The Top 50 companies employ 5 percent of the U.S. work force, but 17 percent of the nation’s college-educated people of color, DiversityInc said. People of color make up 44 percent of their staff, versus 29 percent for the national work force; and 25 percent of management at Top 50 companies, versus 17 percent for companies nationwide; and 23 percent of their boards of directors, versus 13 percent nationally. Women make up 22 percent of board members at the Top 50, versus 15 percent nationwide.

Cox, meanwhile, moved up from 25th place last year and 32nd in 2006, its first year on the list – a surge that “underscores the commitment of President Pat Esser,” DiversityInc partner and co-founder Luke Visconti said in a statement. “This reflects what I personally witnessed when presenting information to Cox's top executives and system general managers. The entire leadership of this company is passionate about diversity management and serving their communities.”

“We are thrilled that Cox has excelled in the DiversityInc Top 50 listing, particularly in light of increasing competition for this prestigious recognition,” Esser said in a statement.

“This year, we formed local employee diversity and inclusion councils in each of Cox's operating systems, continued our efforts to improve measurement of appropriate metrics for diversity which are tied to incentives and endeavored to better communicate our commitment to diversity to both internal and external audiences, including those companies with whom we do business,” Esser noted, adding: “Everyone at Cox understands that inclusiveness and the active promotion of diversity are business imperatives that are key ingredients to our ongoing success, as well as reflections of our core values. To best serve our customers, we must be a diverse organization that is a mirror of our communities.”

DiversityInc is a monthly business magazine and daily Web site. Its full Top 50 list and related information can be found at www.DiversityInc.com/top50.

Cox Communications, a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, is a nationwide broadband communications and entertainment company. Additional information is available at www.cox.com.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), a Dow 30 company, delivers broadband and other communications services through its Verizon Wireless and Verizon Wireline divisions. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.