2006 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies

For the first time this year, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. entered the annual list which recognizes companies that demonstrate strong unbiased recruitment and retention as well as excellence in communications and supplier diversity.

April 26, 2006 - Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. is placed number 42 in the ranking of the Top 50 Companies and number 7 in the related list of Top 10 Companies for Asian-Americans. The rankings are based on an extensive 200+ questionnaire submitted by 256 U.S.-based for-profit companies with a minimum of 1,000 U.S. employees.

Those selected for the Top 50 in 2006, in its sixth year, were required to show consistent strength in four key areas of diversity: human capital, CEO commitment, corporate communications (internal and external), and supplier diversity. More weight was given to CEO commitment, because DiversityInc believes that no diversity-management initiative can achieve real long-term success without a strong diversity champion at the top of the company.

The top five companies on the list are Verizon Communications/Wireless, Consolidated Edison Co. of New York, The Coca-Cola Co., Health Care Service Corp. and HBO. Abbott Laboratories and Merck and Co. were also among the Top 50, ranked at number 8 and 34, respectively.

Facts about The Top 50 companies

• The Top 50 outperform the Standard & Poor's 500 by 12.8% over a 10-year period and are competitive with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq 100.
• The Top 50 have 40% more people of color in management than the national work force (21 percent vs. 15 percent).
• The Top 50 hire 41% more people of color (38 percent vs. 27 percent people of color in the national work force).