FORTUNE magazine’s ranking of the 30 “Top Companies for Minorities” survey appears in its October 30 issue. The magazine surveyed the top companies around the world with annual revenues of $500 million or more and made its selection based on the extent to which diversity is an integral part of the organization’s business strategy, the level of minority representation, managerial diversity, minority supplier programs, and how its top executives are held accountable for their diversity efforts, including performance evaluations and compensation.
In 2003, Yum! Brands ranked 35th on FORTUNE’s “Top 50 Employers for Minorities” list and in 2004, Yum! jumped 20 spots to place 15th out of 50 on the list. For the past two years, the magazine has not ranked the top companies numerically, but alphabetically. The 2006 list was refined to list the top 30 companies.
“We are honored to be recognized by FORTUNE for our commitment to diversity,” said David C. Novak, Chairman and CEO, Yum! Brands, Inc. “We are leveraging our diversity around the world to build a culture where everyone can and does make a difference by freely contributing their views, ideas, cultures and perspectives to help drive our business and satisfy our customers better than anybody,” said Novak.
For the past several years, Yum! Brands has been recognized for its commitment to diversity. More than 50 percent of Yum’s U.S. workforce are minorities as well as more than 50 percent of the company’s new hires. In addition to FORTUNE magazine’s “Top Companies for Minorities,” the company has been named one of FORTUNE’s “Top 50 Employers for Women,” one of the “40 Best Companies for Diversity” by BLACK ENTERPRISE Magazine for the past two years, one of BLACK ENTERPRISE’s “30 Hottest Franchises for 2006,” one of the “Corporate 100 Companies Providing Opportunities for Hispanics” by Hispanic Magazine and one of the “Top 50 Corporations for Supplier Diversity” by HISPANIC Trends Magazine.
Yum’s strategy for leveraging diversity includes franchising and supplier diversity. Yum! supports minority entrepreneurship through its sponsorship of the National Minority Supplier Development Council and is a founding member of the National Minority Franchising Initiative, the International Franchise Association’s Diversity Institute and the Women’s Franchise and Distribution Forum.
In addition to franchising and supplier diversity, Yum’s diversity strategy includes employment, leadership development and community involvement. The company and its franchise partners support leading community organizations such as the Congressional Black Caucus; NAACP; National Urban League; National Council of LaRaza; U.S. Pan Asian Chamber of Commerce; MultiCultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance and the Women’s Foodservice Forum, among others.
Many of Yum! Brands’ philanthropic efforts are focused on minority community giving and employee volunteer involvement through programs such as Louisville-based Dare to Care Food Bank. Yum! Brands Foundation makes a $1 million annual commitment to the organization, two-thirds of which helps reach an additional 90,000 hungry children in underserved minority communities. Yum! Brands Foundation also has committed approximately $1 million to the Louisville-based Muhammad Ali Center, an international cultural and educational institution, for the advancement of humanity worldwide. In addition, Yum! Brands is committing $250,000 for the creation of the Children’s Educational Center as part of the Kentucky Center for African-American Heritage.
