For the second consecutive year,
DiversityInc magazine today named Marriott International one of the
“Top 50 Companies for Diversity,” the only lodging company on the list.
Marriott placed 12th overall, up from 25th last year. A total of 203
companies competed in the survey. According to DiversityInc, the Top 50 Companies for Diversity survey is
the only national ranking of its kind and is the most in-depth empirical
analysis of corporate diversity management and planning. This year’s
ranking is based on more than 300 detailed questions analyzing human
capital, CEO commitment, corporate communications and supplier diversity.

“Diversity is more than a goal at Marriott International; it’s our
business. Our determination to provide opportunities for our associates
and customers is one of the main reasons people want to work and do
business with us,” said J.W. Marriott, Jr., Chairman and CEO. “It gives
our company strength and a competitive edge. We’re proud that we’ve set
the standard for the entire hospitality industry.”

In the human-capital area, which was one of the areas that Marriott
International scored particularly well, important factors included: top 10
percent highest paid employees, CEO commitment, diversity training,
management compensation linked to diversity, and measurement of
recruitment, retention, promotion and salaries. The lodging leader ranked
ninth out of the Top 10 Companies in the Recruitment & Retention category;
seventh in the Top 10 Companies for Asian Americans; and seventh in the
Top 10 Companies for Executive Women.

“How well a company manages its hiring, recruitment and retention
practices directly affects its competitive edge and may well be the
deciding factor in its very survival,” said Luke Visconti, partner and
co-founder of DiversityInc. “Marriott International’s substantive employee
programs ensure that its pipeline is full of top talent who want to build
a future with the company because they are treated well and prepared for
advancement through proper succession planning.”

As a “Hall of Fame” member of Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to
Work For” list for eight consecutive years, Marriott has always been
committed to employing a talented and diverse workforce. In particular,
the company has doubled the number of women and minorities in its top 400
leadership positions over the last six years. Marriott’s current and
future success in workforce diversity is supported through programs such
as its “Leadership Education Series,” which teaches managers how to lead
and build their careers in today’s increasingly diverse and complex
marketplace. The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People) has ranked Marriott number one in its Lodging Industry
Report six out of the past seven years.

After exceeding its goal of spending 7 percent of its annual purchasing
dollars with minority-and women-owned suppliers in 2004, Marriott
established a new goal of spending more than $1 billion over the next five
years with diverse suppliers. The company has also implemented numerous
initiatives to double the number of its 270 minority and women owners and
franchisees in five years.
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