53% of all American Express corporate leaders are female.

Cultural awareness is a business imperative for this financial services company, which operates offices in every state and 44 countries around the world. Multicultural women make up 36% of all U.S. senior managers, and their numbers are likely to grow, thanks to brand-new coaching, mentoring and career development initiatives designed to increase the number of female, African-American and Hispanic employees in the pipeline. Every staffer who enrolls in the company’s leadership training program takes a course called “The Power of Diversity,” which demonstrates how inclusiveness makes for a better work environment and stronger bottom line. To give a voice to women at all levels, six employee networks hold regular discussions with their regional diversity councils, who then report to the CEO; members’ advice is tapped when the company launches diversity recruiting and retention efforts. When they travel for business, senior executives often sit down with multicultural women from the area, which allows them to form important relationships and exchange ideas. Financial support of Ascent, an organization seeking leadership roles for multicultural women, shows that the company puts its money where its mouth is.

Multicultural Women 24%
Chairman & CEO Kenneth Chenault
Chief Diversity Officer Kerrie Peraino

At American Express, multicultural women represent…
5% of corporate executives
36% of senior managers
14% of the top earners
29% of the company hires
32% of the company losses
24% of participants in mentoring programs
24% of participants in career counseling programs