According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the state of New York has the third largest population of all the states in the union. And as the original “Melting Pot,” that population is a diverse one. Indeed, it’s estimated that 20.1% of New Yorkers are Black or African American, 10.7% are Asian, and 23.1% are Hispanic. Hundreds of thousands more are disabled and/or working past the age of 65, or identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Furthermore, approximately 21% of New York’s population is foreign-born! It’s no wonder the Empire State is home to some of the most diverse employers in the country.
Methodology
Recently, Statista surveyed 60,000 Americans working for businesses with a minimum of 1,000 employees. The survey asked each worker to rate their company on the equality of:
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- age
- gender
- ethnicity
- disability
- sexual orientation
- general diversity
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Because the survey was anonymous, workers were encouraged to openly share their opinions. Survey participants belonging to a minority group were also asked to recognize companies other than their own that they perceive as diverse. The organizations with the most recommendations were compared to a list of companies determined to have the most diverse boards and executive ranks. The final result was published by Forbes as a list of the 500 best employers for diversity. We used this list to determine the most diverse companies located in the state of New York.
1. L’Oréal
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 16
Though officially headquartered in France, L’Oréal’s New York office has been recognized as one of 2020’s best American employers for diversity, and the most diverse employer in the state of New York. The personal care organization is the world’s largest cosmetics company. It has developed myriad hair color, skin care, make-up, sun protection, hair care, anti-aging, and perfume products under its L’Oréal name and subsidiaries like:
- Garnier
- Lancôme
- Maybelline
- NYX Cosmetics
- Matrix Essentials
L’Oréal employs about 90,000 people worldwide.
2. Mount Sinai Health System
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 19
Mount Sinai Health System was founded in 2013 as the result of a merger between Continuum Health Partners and Mount Sinai Medical Center. The New York City-based hospital network employs approximately 42,000 people. This includes about 6,600 physicians. Every year, it is estimated that Mount Sinai Health System:
- admits nearly 137,000 inpatients
- delivers around 15,000 babies
- treats some 501,000 E.R. visitors.
3. New York Life
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 24
New York Life currently ranks as the third best employer in the state of New York for diversity, and 24th best nationwide. As the third biggest life insurance company in the U.S., New York Life has more than 11,000 employees and 12,000 agents. Besides life insurance, the company offers:
- long-term care plans
- asset management
- annuities.
4. Deloitte
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 27
Officially known as Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, Deloitte is considered one of the world’s “Big Four” accounting organizations. Headquartered in London, Deloitte employs about 312,000 people globally, including in its New York City office. Services provided include:
- audit
- tax, consulting
- financial advising
- enterprise risk.
5. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 41
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is one of the best employers in New York for diversity. It is the oldest (and biggest) private cancer center in the world. The cancer treatment and research institution has been around since 1884 and is associated with Cornell University. Each year, the Center’s 1,200 physicians treat patients with 400 types of cancer.
6. Mastercard
Purchase
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 56
Millions of people the world over have a Mastercard product or two in their wallets. The multinational financial services corporation processes payments between merchants’ banks and purchasers’ card-issuing banks or credit unions. Therefore, prepaid cards, debit cards, and credit cards might all be Mastercard. About 13,500 people work for Mastercard worldwide.
7. SUNY, Stony Brook (Stony Brook University)
Stony Brook
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 59
Known also as Stony Brook University, the State University of New York at Stony Brook (SUNY Stony Brook), is a public research school and part of the State University of New York system. The school is well respected as a research university. In 2019, U.S. News & World Report ranked Stony Brook the 91st best university in the country overall, and the 39th best public university. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes have also included SUNY Stony Brook on their lists of the best colleges.
8. New York University
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 61
The second university to make our list of New York State’s most diverse employers is New York University. Known also as NYU, it’s a private research university that’s known worldwide for its selective admissions, rigorous academics, and long list of esteemed alumni. Indeed, those who have graduated from NYU include:
- heads of state
- media figures
- royalty
- astronauts
- founders and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies
The university’s main campus is located in the heart of New York City. It employs approximately 9,800 academic staff and 2,200 administrative staff.
9. Ernst & Young
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 73
Ernest & Young is considered one of the Big Four accounting firms (along with Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and KPMG, all of which also make this list). The multinational professional services firm is actually headquartered in London, though it has a large office in New York City. Fortune consistently ranks Ernst & Young as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For.”
10. JetBlue Airways
Long Island City
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 76
Headquartered in Queens, JetBlue is the United States’ sixth largest airline (by passengers carried). The low-cost airline landed on 2019’s Fortune 500 list in the 399th spot, and is often recognized as one of the best companies to work for. JetBlue operates over 1,000 flights daily, and employs more than 22,000 people.
11. New York Times Company
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 80
The New York Times Company is a mass media company best known for publishing The New York Times newspaper. Headquartered in Manhattan, The New York Times Company has been around since 1851. Its newspaper is circulated to approximately 572,000 people daily, while its Sunday edition goes to 1,087,500 subscribers. Its digital-only is available to 2.9 million who pay to access the company’s content. Approximately 4,300 people work for The New York Times Company in varying capacities.
12. PricewaterhouseCoopers
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 85
Like Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers is a Big Four accounting firm. The company’s global headquarters is located in London, though a large office operates in New York City. In fact, the company employs around 251,000 people in 721 locations in 158 countries, making it one of the largest privately owned companies in the world.
13. McKinsey & Company
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 87
Those interested in management are likely to already know about McKinsey & Company. The management consulting firm employs more than 27,000 people in its offices, including its New York City headquarters. Known for applying accounting principles to management, McKinsey:
- publishes the McKinsey Quarterly
- produces various reports on management topics each year
- authors popular books on the topic of management
- funds the McKinsey Global Institute research organization.
14. The Estée Lauder Companies
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 92
Based in Manhattan, Estée Lauder manufactures fragrance, hair care, makeup, and other health and beauty products. A slew of brands exist under the Estée Lauder umbrella, including Clinique, Bobbi Brown, La Mer, Smashbox, Jo Malone London, and Aveda, to name but a few. The company has offices worldwide, and employs about 46,000 people.
15. Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 115
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is the 10th largest private university in the United States. It’s known worldwide for its degree programs in art, computer science, and engineering. RIT enrolls nearly 20,000 students at any given time. More than 2,500 administrative staff are employed, as are 1,500 academic staff. It’s also home to the “revolutionary” National Technical Institute for the Deaf, which is committed to providing equal opportunities to the more than 1,000 RIT students who are deaf or hard of hearing.
16. Assurant, Inc.
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 130
Assurant, Inc. provides risk management products and services, and is headquartered in New York City. Through three operating segments — Global Preneed, Global Housing, and Global Lifestyle — the company provides niche-market insurance products relating to property, casualty, device protection, and preneed insurance. It’s currently ranked #440 on the Fortune 500.
17. TIAA
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 134
The Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) is a financial services company based in Manhattan. In fact, TIAA remains the leading provider of financial services in the academic, medical, cultural, research, and governmental fields. The company currently serves more than 5 million active and retired employees, and employs approximately 17,500.
18. Penguin Random House
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 146
In 2013, successful publishing companies Penguin Group and Random House combined to form Penguin Random House, the 18th best company in America for diversity. Though headquartered in New York City, Penguin Random House has offices worldwide, and employs about 10,000 people globally. The company publishes around 15,000 titles each year under its 250 different imprints and divisions. Forbes has also ranked Penguin Random House the #2 Best Midsize Employer in America (2019), and the 58th Best Employer for Women (2018).
19. Merrill
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 150
Merrill, previously known as Merrill Lynch, is a division of Bank of America focusing on investing and wealth management. The company deals mainly with prime brokerage and broker-dealer activities, but also operates the electronic trading platform Merrill Edge. According to the most recently reported numbers, Merrill:
- manages $2.3 trillion in client assets
- employs more than 14,000 financial advisors
- occupies a whopping 34 floors of 250 Vesey Street in Manhattan.
20. Consolidated Edison
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 151
Consolidated Edison — or Con Ed, as it’s widely known — is an investor-owned energy company headquartered in New York City. The company boasts a number of subsidiaries, through which it provides a slew of energy-related products and services. These subsidiaries include:
- Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.
- Con Edison Energy
- Con Edison Solutions
- Con Edison Development
- Con Edison Transmission, Inc., among others.
Approximately 16,000 people call themselves Consolidated Edison employees.
21. H&M (Hennes & Mauritz)
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 152
With more than 5,000 stores worldwide, H&M is one of the world’s most popular clothing brands. The Swedish retail company is known for its fast-fashion clothing for men, women, and children. H&M employs about 150,000 people worldwide in its stores and at its corporate level.
22. American Express
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 157
Founded in 1850, American Express is today one of the best known financial services corporations. Indeed, it was recently ranked by Forbes as the 23rd most valuable brand in the world! American Express offers a variety of services, including a charge card, credit card, and traveler’s cheques. Headquartered in Three World Financial Center in Manhattan, American Express employs about 60,000 professionals.
23. Nielsen
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 173
Though Nielsen dropped in the rankings compared to 2019, it remains one of the best companies in America for diversity. Fans of television may recognize Nielsen as the name behind the ratings system which determines whether your favorite shows are renewed for another season or canceled. Of course, determining the number of people tuning into a particular program is just one aspect of all that Nielsen does. Though it’s headquartered in New York City, the information, data, and measurement firm operates in more than 100 countries. Interestingly, in 2018, the American Marketing Association declared Nielsen #1 in its ranking of the “50 Market Research Firms in the United States.”
24. Cornell University
Ithaca
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 178
Located in Ithaca, Cornell University is an Ivy League research university. It consistently ranks as one of the best schools in the United States and the world, partly due to the fact it has graduated 31 Rhodes Scholars, 55 Olympic Medalists, and 14 living billionaires, among other successes. In addition to its administrative staff, Cornell employs 1,640 academic staff at its Ithaca campus.
25. PVH
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 189
You may not be familiar with the name PVH, but we’re confident you’ve heard of many of the clothing company’s brands. Indeed, PVH owns Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, IZOD, and True & Co., to name a few. Additionally, the company licenses such brands as Max Azria, Michael Kors, Sean John, and others. The company has 19,600 full-time and 16,900 part-time employees.
26. Foot Locker
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 195
A staple in malls and gyms worldwide, Foot Locker is a retailer of sportswear and footwear. About 70% of all that Foot Locker sells is Nike brand. Currently, the company operates 3,300 stores in 28 countries, and employs approximately 32,000 people.
27. Wolters Kluwer
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 198
Though headquartered in The Netherlands, the Dutch company Wolters Kluwer has a large New York City office. Founded in 1836, the company is best described as a global information services company. Its published material is used in a variety of markets including:
- healthcare
- finance
- tax
- accounting
- business
- audit, among others
Worldwide, the company employs about 19,000 professionals.
28. KPMG
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 205
The New York City-based KPMG LLC is the United States member firm of KPMG International, headquartered in The Netherlands. The company is one of the Big Four accounting firms, and offers financial advisory, financial audit, and tax services. Approximately 207,000 people are employed by KPMG worldwide.
29. IPG Mediabrands
New York
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 209
IPG Mediabrands is one of five major networks in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc., a large advertising company. IPG Mediabrands deals specifically with IPG’s data management and media buying, and includes such companies as:
- Stickyeyes
- Cadreon
- Universal McCann
- MAGNA, to name but a few.
30. IBM
Armonk
Ranking on National List of Diverse Companies: 237
IBM was founded in 1911, and it’s been relevant ever since. The multinational information technology company produces and sells hardware, software, and middleware. It provides hosting and consulting services in everything from mainframe computers to nanotechnology. The company can be credited for a slew of world-changing inventions, including:
- the automated teller machine (ATM)
- the magnetic strip card
- the UPC barcode
- the floppy disk
- and the hard drive, among countless other things
IBM has operations in more than 170 countries, and employs more than 350,000 people worldwide. Interestingly, among IBM employees past and present are:
- five Nobel Prize winners
- five National Medals of Science winners
- six Turing Award winners
- 10 National Medals of Technology recipients.
