Monsanto has made DiversityInc’s 2018 List of Top 50 Companies for Diversity again, ranking No. 27, up from its 2017 rank of No. 39. The St. Louis-based company earned the recognition for fostering a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and collaborative culture. Also cited was its exceptional corporate leadership, talent development initiatives and its support of communities around the world. Monsanto was also named to DiversityInc’s specialty list of Top Companies for Employee Resource Groups, placing 8th out of 13.
“Innovation happens best when we bring people with diverse mindsets and backgrounds together to tackle major challenges, such as sustainably feeding the growing world,” said Hugh Grant, Monsanto Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Embracing inclusion and diversity is foundational to the success of our business, our employees, our customers, and our communities.”
“Inclusion and diversity are vital to effectively serve customers in all regions of the world,” said Melissa Harper, Vice President, Global Talent and Chief Diversity Officer for Monsanto. “Diverse perspectives and experiences help us see farmers’ challenges in new and different ways, supporting our efforts to create innovative agricultural solutions and offer a great place to work for our employees.”
Companies named to DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity List are not only recognized as leaders in diversity and inclusion management, but they also excel in the areas of hiring, retaining, and promoting women, minorities, LGBT individuals, people with disabilities, and veterans. In addition to having metrics-based evidence of treating people more fairly, they also have a greater return for their shareholders.
“Events of the past year have demonstrated that decisive ethical leadership is necessary to guide any organization to success,” said Luke Visconti, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DiversityInc. “Successful leaders hold themselves accountable to be culturally competent, a skill that requires constant learning.”
Monsanto’s dedication to providing a globally inclusive and diverse work environment extends to its more than 20,000 employees as well as the many internal and external partnerships the company actively maintains. This includes supplier diversity mentoring, unconscious bias training, offering student scholarships, and recruiting and developing top talent. Additionally, more than 12 years ago Monsanto recognized the need to advance and protect human rights in its facilities and in its supply chain, and adapted a companywide human rights policy to facilitate these efforts.
In recent months, Monsanto has earned spots on several third-party workplace awards lists including Fortune Magazine’s 2018 World’s Most Admired Companies list, the National Association for Executive Women’s 2018 Top Companies for Executive Women list, the Human Rights Campaign Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality, and last September’s Working Mother Magazine’s 100 Best Companies for Working Mother’s list.
The DiversityInc Top 50 ranking is based on a 200-question extensive annual survey that yields an empirically driven ranking based on recruitment, talent development, senior leadership commitment, and supplier diversity. Eligible companies must also have more than 1,000 employees. The 2018 competition was improved by new survey questions, increased emphasis on fairness over chasing numbers and more sophisticated analysis from DiversityInc’s data scientists.
