Black Enterprise Includes Marriott in Top '40 Best Companies for Diversity'

The July feature article, available on newsstands today, highlights Marriott for its board of directors and employee base.

"Our business is all about people," said Jimmie Paschall, global diversity officer and senior vice president, external affairs for Marriott International, Inc. "As our company grows globally, it is imperative that we expand our diversity and inclusion strategy to encompass cultural competencies, building upon our success in the United States."

In 2003, Marriott's Board of Directors established the Committee for Excellence, chaired today by board member Debra L. Lee, chairman and CEO of BET Networks, to monitor the progress of the company's diversity initiatives.

Marriott has surpassed both of its major diversity goals set in 2005:  to spend $1 billion with diverse suppliers and have 500 hotels owned or operated by diverse groups by 2010.  To date, Marriott has spent $2.3 billion with diverse-owned businesses, more than doubling its 2005 goal, and has more than 550 diverse-owned hotels that are open for business.    

The company continues to be recognized for its diversity and inclusion achievements.  This year, Marriott was ranked seventh on DiversityInc's "Top 50 Companies for Diversity" list and among the "Top 50 Companies for Executive Women" by the National Association for Female Executives.  

To select the 2010 companies, Black Enterprise sent surveys to the nation's top 1,000 companies as well as to the 50 leading global companies with strong U.S. operations. The questionnaire focused on the participation of African Americans and members of other ethnic minority groups as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Because of the high number of job losses since the recession, a heavier weighting was applied to the senior management and supplier diversity areas. The final scores, along with the results of reporting and research conducted by the editorial staff, were used to determine the 40 Best Companies for Diversity.

The complete report, including methodology and selection criteria, is available in the July issue of Black Enterprise magazine, on newsstands June 29.