The results are in. This month, Diversityinc.com's annual survey featured the top 50 companies for diversity. Inclusion in the top 50 list was determined after surveying specific indicators of a "company's commitment to diversity as a vital business strategy." Those indicators included: representation--recruiting and retention metrics, people strategies that support diversity (e.g. work-life, mentoring and/or domestic-partner benefit programs, support from the top, multicultural advertising, supplier diversity, commitment to philanthropic endeavors, and communicating diversity messages on everything from homepage to intranet. Diversity can and should benefit everyone in the organization. The goal of effective diversity programs is not to create quotas, and not necessarily to leverage affirmative action programs, but to instead render them unnecessary. How do they accomplish this? By creating inclusive environments, opportunities for ALL employees to grow and develop, by ensuring barriers do not exist for any segment of the organization (which requires periodic review of key staffing and development indicators), and by implementing the requisite supporting systems (e.g. mentoring programs, career paths, etc.) to ensure everyone has an opportunity to network with other more experienced organizational members and to contribute in ways that build upon their natural strengths and interests. How does your company rank? To assess your company's success at creating an inclusive environment for all, review the above characteristics of an effective diversity program, and engage your HR or Sr. Management staff in an open discussion. By the way, the top 10 companies according to Diversityinc.com were as follows: 1. Ford 2. Fannie Mae 3. American Express 4. Verizon 5. IBM 6. Safeco 7. Deloitte & Touche 8. Eastman Kodak 9. Bank of America 10. Xerox Please email me at susan@thevaluescoach.com and request my consulting materials to further explore how I may help your organization assess/implement effective diversity strategies.