News Releases

March 13—The 2009 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity^® list and specialty lists were announced March 12. Ameren was ranked No. 4 on The DiversityInc Top Regional Utilities.

"Competitive companies such as Ameren have switched from trying to move the status quo to establishing a new one," said Luke Visconti, CEO of DiversityInc. "Smart companies see increasing diversity efforts in an economic downturn as a way of beating less-adept competition that will pull back."

A total of 401 companies, an increase of 14 percent from last year, vied for the DiversityInc Top 50 this year, underscoring the increasing emphasis on diversity management among progressive companies.

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Methodology

The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list is a purely editorial process with no connection to business done with DiversityInc. It is determined entirely by a statistical analysis of responses to our 200-question survey. There is no fee to enter. DiversityInc Top 50 companies demonstrate consistent strength in four areas: CEO Commitment, Human Capital, Corporate and Organizational Communications, and Supplier Diversity. The list itself covers 19 industries, from consumer-facing companies to B-to-B's to industrial businesses. They range from small regional companies to global giants.

DiversityInc also compiles 11 specialty lists, which will be unveiled on www.DiversityInc.com on these dates: The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Recruitment & Retention (March 23), The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Supplier Diversity (March 30), The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for African Americans (April 6), The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Latinos (April 13), The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Asian Americans (April 20), The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for LGBT Employees (April 27), The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for People With Disabilities (May 4), The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Executive Women (May 11), The DiversityInc Top 10 Global Diversity Companies (May 18), The DiversityInc Top Regional Utilities (May 26) and DiversityInc's 25 Noteworthy Companies (June 1).

For more detailed information on our methodology, please visit www.DiversityInc.com/top50.

About DiversityInc

Launched in 1997, DiversityInc is the leading business publication connecting diversity and the bottom line, with 1 million unique monthly visitors. DiversityInc.com includes the largest diversity job board in the nation. DiversityInc also produces events and conducts benchmarking, custom research and consulting.

Key findings from The 2009 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity:

• In the United States, the DiversityInc Top 50 hire 41% Blacks, Latinos, Asians and American Indians, compared with the U.S. work force, which is 32% Black, Latino, Asian and American Indian (BLS)
• 25% of DiversityInc Top 50 companies' managers are Black, Latino, Asian and American Indian, compared with 17% nationwide (BLS)
• DiversityInc Top 50 boards of directors are 23% Black, Latino, Asian and American Indian, compared with 13% nationally
• DiversityInc Top 50 boards of directors are 24% female, compared with 15% nationally
• One-third more DiversityInc Top 50 chief diversity officers now report to their CEOs than four years ago (28% vs. 18%)
• 88% of DiversityInc Top 50 CEOs personally sign off on executive compensation tied directly to diversity initiatives, compared with 72% in 2005
• All of the DiversityInc Top 50 companies now have employee-resource groups for their LGBT employees, 70% have groups for employees with disabilities, and 40% have generational resource groups. DiversityInc benchmarking customers seek data on employee-resource groups more than any other subject
• In 2005, less than 1% of DiversityInc Top 50 philanthropy went to multicultural groups; today, almost 25% does
• There has been a 50% increase in companies including supplier diversity in their RFPs (requests for proposals) since 2004 (60% vs. 90%)