[Jobs] 2008 DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for People With Disabilities, Diversity Inc., 5/27/08

[Nightingale, Noel]

Link:
http://www.diversityinc.com/public/3573.cfm

Text:
The 2008 DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for People With Disabilities By
the Editors of DiversityInc. Date Posted: May 27, 2008
 
This very important list is calculated differently from most of the
other demographic lists because we do not have real demographic data on
these companies--many people with disabilities do not self-identify. We
ascertain this list by factoring in the questions we ask about people
with disabilities, such as whether the company actively recruits them
and has employee-resource groups for them. We also examine work/life
benefits that help this population, such as telecommuting and flex time.
We factor in whether the company has vendors owned by people with
disabilities and/or veterans with disabilities. And we separately
examine each company's web site for images of people with visible
disabilities and content on reaching all people with disabilities as
employees, suppliers and customers.

Consider these facts about this top 10 list:

All of them have specific programs to recruit employees with
disabilities, compared with 88 percent of the Top 50 People With
Disabilities
 
They all offer the ability to work at home and/or telecommute, as do all
of the Top 50 They all offer job sharing, as do 80 percent of the Top 50
Eighty percent of them offer alternative career tracks for those with
long-term family-care issues, as do 56 percent of the Top 50 All of them
have employee-resource groups for people with disabilities, as do 71
percent of the Top 50

Here are these top 10 with a relevant fact about each of them:

No. 1: IBM, No. 9 on The 2008 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for
Diversity(r) list. Also one of the Top Global Diversity Companies, No. 2
on the Top 10 Companies for Asian Americans and No. 1 on the Top 10 for
LGBT Employees.

With 77 percent of its managers participating in mentoring programs, IBM
clearly takes a nurturing role toward its employees, including those
with visible and non-visible disabilities. The company has a
supplier-diversity component aimed at people with disabilities.

No. 2: Eastman Kodak Co., one of DiversityInc's 25 Noteworthy Companies.
Also No. 6 on the Top 10 for LGBT Employees.

A longtime champion of people with disabilities, Kodak has first-rate
work/life programs, including a confidential 24/7 Lifeworks & Referral
Service. The company also has developed strong supplier-diversity
relationships with vendors owned by people with disabilities and
veterans with disabilities.

No. 3: PepsiCo, No. 28 on the Top 50. Also one of the Top Global
Diversity Companies and No. 4 on the Top 10 for LGBT Employees.

The company has a strong employee group called Different Abilities.
Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi meets often with members of this and other
employee groups. 

No. 4: Kaiser Permanente, No. 43 on the Top 50. Also No. 8 on the Top 10
for African Americans, No. 1 on the Top 10 for Latinos and No. 5 on the
Top 10 for Executive Women.
 
The company has a supplier-diversity component for vendors owned by
veterans with disabilities and a strong employee-resource group for
people with disabilities.

No. 5: Health Care Service Corp., No. 34 on the Top 50. Also No. 10 on
the Top 10 for Executive Women.

The company directs 75 percent of its philanthropic efforts toward
initiatives that address health and human services in the communities it
services.

No. 6: Sodexo, No. 12 on the Top 50. Also No. 3 on the Top 10 Companies
for Recruitment & Retention and No. 9 on the Top 10 Companies for
African Americans.

With a strong employee-resource group, Sodexo Organization of
disabilities Resources, Sodexo also has a philanthropic relationship
with the National Organization on Disability.

No. 7: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, No. 19 on the Top 50. Also
No. 7 on the Top 10 for Executive Women.

With a valued relationship with the National Disability Council,
Starwood also has supplier-diversity efforts with vendors owned by
people with disabilities and veterans with disabilities.

No. 8: General Motors, No. 44 on the Top 50. Also No. 7 on the Top 10
for African Americans.

A longtime leader in this area, General Motors has a robust People With
Disabilities Affinity Group and comprehensive diversity training.

No. 9: Deloitte, No. 16 on the Top 50. Also No. 7 on the Top 10 for LGBT
Employees.

With 75 percent of its managers participating in mentoring programs,
Deloitte makes a deep and concerted effort to ensure all employees reach
maximum potential. The firm has generous and trendsetting work/life
benefits that help people with disabilities, including periodic
reduced-workload arrangements.

No. 10: Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., No. 31 on the Top 50 

The company has a Caregivers Affinity Group as well as a group for
People With disAbilities and Chronic Health Issues.