Nielsen has moved up 13 places to No. 19 on the prestigious DiversityInc list of the Top 50 Companies for Diversity, after placing 32 in 2017. This tremendous advancement is a testament to the support, dedication, engagement and determination of our leaders, employee resource groups (ERGs) and all of our associates who remain committed to infusing diversity and inclusion into everything we do. The list recognizes the top companies for hiring, retaining and promoting women, minorities, people with disabilities, LGBT+ and veterans. Nielsen was also named to two additional specialty lists—for LGBT+ employees and for recruitment.

“Nielsen’s results to date prove that leveraging our diversity of cultural backgrounds, experiences, talents and skills makes our company stronger and more useful to our clients and stakeholders,” said Nielsen CEO Mitch Barns. “Diversity is key to our growth and ability to innovate.”

Measurement and accountability are key components of our diversity and inclusion strategy and have been critical to our improvements in workforce representation, promotions, recruitment, retention and supplier diversity spend. For one, we’ve seen a nine-percentage-point increase in the racial diversity of our workforce over the past five years. Similarly, our global female representation in senior leadership is 33.8%—which is higher than other global companies, where percentages of females in senior management range between 24% and 29%, according to Catalyst, a global nonprofit that advocates for inclusive workplaces for women.

“Nielsen’s business is predicated upon people—their preferences, choices and behaviors,” said Nielsen Chief Diversity Officer Angela Talton. “Global population shifts are causing those behaviors to change at a rapid pace. Our investments, in diverse talent and programming, advance our ability to help clients anticipate and respond to those shifts.”

As the leading global provider of insights and comprehensive understanding of consumer behavior, our nuanced understanding of an increasingly diverse market’s influence on consumer trends is driven largely by our diverse and inclusive workforce.  

In the U.S., Nielsen’s Diverse Intelligence Series utilizes the breadth of our measurement portfolio and the diversity within our workforce to produce reports that showcase the unique purchasing and media consumption habits of multicultural and diverse consumers. In 2017, the series focused specifically on the influence of multicultural women on mainstream culture, media representation and consumption.

Today, 70% of the countries where Nielsen operates have at least one ERG. Nielsen’s commitment to inclusion is also represented by the key milestones that our global ERGs achieved in 2017. Both the Sustaining Active Black Leadership and Empowerment (SABLE) and PRIDE (LGBT+) ERGs celebrated 10-year anniversaries. Last year, we also launched two new ERGs. Nielsen Generation (N-GEN), our eighth ERG, launched in China, is designed bring together legacy associates with associates earlier in their career. Multinational Organization Supporting An Inclusive Culture (MOSAIC), our ninth ERG, launched in the U.K. was created to recognize, celebrate and leverage the diversity of our associates.

DiversityInc’s extensive annual survey yields an empirically driven ranking based on recruitment, talent development, senior leadership commitment and supplier diversity. We’re joined on this year’s list by a number of clients and strategic partners. Learn more about the list, and how it was compiled.

Pictured above: Nielsen leaders with Carolynn L. Johnson, COO, DiversityInc (center) at the DiversityInc dinner, where our ranking was announced. From left: Wilburt Carpenter, Manager, Industry Partnerships; Kelly Abcarian, SVP, Product Leadership; Karthik Rao, President, Nielsen Portfolio; Amilcar Pérez, Chief Revenue Officer, Nielsen Gracenote; Andrew McCaskill, SVP, Global Communications and Multicultural Marketing; Carolynn L. Johnson; Angela Talton, Nielsen Chief Diversity Officer; Sam Renovato, Analytics Manager, Diversity & Inclusion; Nancy Phillips, Chief Human Resources Officer; Mitch Barns, CEO; Eric Dale, Chief Legal Officer.