The economy may be in turmoil, but the Top 5 Best Companies for Multicultural Women refuse to retreat. Diversity leaders at General Mills, Goldman Sachs, IBM, KPMG and Procter & Gamble are all focused on finding creative and resourceful ways to make their programs work. Here, they share what they’re doing to make their efforts recession-proof and why it’s so important—now more than ever—to remain committed to nurturing a diverse, inclusive workplace. For some, this means introducing microinequities training. To others, it means delivering a vibrant online diversity and inclusion curriculum. In all cases, diversity and inclusion are more than buzzwords; they’re a way of doing business.

Edith Hunt
COO of Human Capital Management and Chief Diversity Officer
Goldman Sachs
In this current environment, we’re focused on retaining our top talent and having optimal engagement and productivity to ensure our continued commercial success. We are challenged to develop new, timely and relevant diversity content that directly impacts our people’s commercial agility, career development and workplace experience. We are aggressively leveraging technology to deliver a robust online diversity and inclusion curriculum. E-learning courses focus on topics such as cross-cultural competencies, generational differences and religion in the workplace. These online courses give our people the flexibility to engage in diversity training outside of the traditional classroom setting. We also host the Multicultural Women’s Loft Series, small-group discussions led by senior leaders from around the firm. Being diverse is not optional; it is what we must be.

Kenneth Charles
VP, Diversity and Inclusion,
General Mills
Our success at creating an inclusive workplace directly impacts our ability to compete globally. Productivity, innovation, retention and market penetration are essential for any organization, and each of these business essentials is a fruit of the diversity tree. Today’s economic challenges present an opportunity for companies to demonstrate the solid business value generated by diversity and inclusion. This year, General Mills is introducing microinequities training. This training is meant to help employees leverage the opportunity to encourage other employees to make greater contributions through microadvantages, which have a powerful effect on performance and can directly impact the bottom line. We view diversity as a way of doing business rather than a strategy to employ in good times or bad. We must appreciate the demographic shifts under way and the importance of the multicultural consumer.

Jeffery Smith
Global Diversity and Inclusion
Practice Leader
Procter & Gamble
Leveraging diversity continues to be a key strategic priority. It enables us to be in touch with consumers around the world and helps us meet their varied needs. Our diversity efforts are linked to our business strategy and are fully integrated into how we operate. This integrated approach fuels innovation and growth for the company. Our global diversity and inclusion mission is “Everyone Valued, Everyone Included, Everyone Performing at Their Peak.” This drives our internal efforts to engage all of our employees on a daily basis and to engage them at every point of their career development. We continue to invest in leadership and capability building. We realize it will take a highly skilled, fully engaged organization to compete in today’s dynamic business environment.

This is important at every level of the organization and in every region. We are committed to winning with our consumers and our employees. Leveraging diversity and inclusion remains the core of our long-term success.

Ronald Glover
VP, Diversity and
Workforce Programs
IBM
Global workforce diversity is a cornerstone of our strategy to differentiate ourselves as one of the world’s great companies, and that’s especially important during challenging economic times.

IBM remains fully committed to a culture of diversity and inclusiveness as an essential part of how we attract and retain the best people around the world. That means we extend beyond the traditional subjects of diversity—race, gender, genetics, religion, disability or sexual orientation—so that it becomes a natural extension of our company’s strategy and culture of innovation. An inclusive workplace makes for a creative environment. IBM believes this—and will continue to promote global workforce diversity regardless of the economic climate.

Angela L. Avant
Partner in Charge of Diversity
KPMG
I am fortunate to work for a firm that has taken a long-term strategic view on its commitment to diversity.
The strategic plans KPMG adopted and began implementing roughly two years ago and our goals around recruiting, retention, development, advancement and inclusion remain in place. While we, like most businesses today, are experiencing the impact of the economic downturn, we continue to be committed to developing consistent and sustainable strategies for hiring a diverse population of top talent. With the globalization of the workforce, it is important that we continue our efforts to create, retain, develop and advance a strong talent pipeline that focuses on all aspects of diversity. These efforts extend beyond race and gender to include generational, cultural and sexual differences. Having a diverse workforce makes our firm stronger and more equipped to meet the needs of the global business community that we serve.