Novartis ranks in top 50 for diversity in US

March 27, 2007 - Novartis was recognized among the “Top 50 Companies for Diversity” in 2007 - and became the top-rated pharmaceutical company - in a US study of large employers' commitment to diversity in their work forces and business relationships. The survey was conducted by DiversityInc, a monthly business magazine devoted to diversity issues and news.

Novartis ranked No. 16 in the survey of 317 participating employers with more than 1,000 U.S. employees. Our company improved from No. 42 in the 2006 study. Within the pharmaceutical industry, Johnson & Johnson ranked No. 17 and Merck & Co. was No. 18.

The magazine scores large employers based on a 230-question survey that takes an in-depth look into four main areas of diversity management: CEO commitment, human capital, corporate communications and supplier diversity.

The study gathers data on employment based on race, gender and disabilities; recruitment and retention; benefit structures; use of minority-owned and women-owned suppliers; and management incentives for diversity performance.

Luke Visconti, partner and founder of the magazine, summed up the findings: “DiversityInc Top 50 companies demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of diversity management and the differences in people. They are better prepared to compete globally and with our rapidly diversifying domestic (US) market.”

The magazine noted that its Top 50 Companies for Diversity also tend to perform well in the financial markets, with stock prices for the top diversity companies beating the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq and Standard & Poor's 500 indexes over a 10-year period, as well as in each of the past four years.

Details of the Top 50 survey will be published in the June issue of DiversityInc. Top-line results are available through the magazine's daily website.