Looking for an employer that values diversity? You're in the right place

I've spent most of my career in higher education, in part because I believe in its mission of increasing and spreading knowledge, but also because I like to work in environments that welcome and support diverse individuals who can contribute a wide variety of perspectives to the institution.

After checking out DiversityInc magazine's 2010 list of the Top 50 Companies for Diversity, I've come to the conclusion that I've been working in the wrong field: I should be in financial services.

Thirteen of the 50 companies – one-fourth of the total – are in the financial services industry, including five large banks, the four largest accounting firms and the two largest credit-card companies – one of which, American Express, is run by an African-American, CEO Kenneth Chenault.

Healthcare is also well represented in the DiversityInc Top 50, with nine firms on the list.

These stats mean that people like me who value diversity should have no trouble finding a suitable place to work in the Philadelphia area. Of the 50 companies on the list, at least half have operations in the Philadelphia-Wilmington region, including all of the banks except Comerica, all of the accounting firms, and three of the pharmaceutical firms.

Even if you're not into finance, banking, or medicine, there are companies on the Top 50 list in other industries that operate in this region, including food giant Kraft Foods (#35), consumer-products giant Colgate-Palmolive (#14), retailers Target Corp. (#40) and JCPenney (#46), foodservice leader Sodexo (#1) and telecom companies AT&T (#3) and Verizon (#11).

To see the entire list of 50 companies and read profiles on each one, visit the DiversityInc website.

To find a job in the Philly area, visit PhillyJobs.com.

By Sandy Smith

Sandy Smith is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his career in public relations and corporate communications. His work has appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia CityPaper, PGN, and a number of Web sites. Philly-area residents may also recognize him as "MarketStEl" of discussion-board fame. He has been a part of the great reserve army of freelance writers since January 2009 and is actively seeking opportunities wherever they may lie.