Asia Society honors the year’s ‘best employers’ of Asian Americans

NEW YORK CITY — This year’s “best employers” of Asian Pacific Americans reaped honors June 8 from Asia Society for being at the “forefront of promoting and developing Asian Pacific American (APA) leaders.”

Asia Society honored the winners with the 2015 Best Asian Pacific American Employer Award, now in its sixth year, at the 7^th Diversity Leadership Forum in its headquarters on Park Avenue.

The awardees were selected based on the quality of their APA programs as well as the results from employee surveys conducted for Asia Society’s 2015 Asian Pacific Americans Corporate Survey, the only published initiative to exclusively measure the leadership success of APAs at Fortune 500-level companies.

“As the head of a global organization, I can personally attest that diversity is transformative,” said Josette Sheeran, president and CEO of Asia Society. “Companies that recognize this will be best positioned to compete in an increasingly dynamic economy. Asia Society commends all winners for their commitment to Asian and Asian American employees and urges other organizations to follow their lead.”

For the third consecutive year, Goldman Sachs won top honors. “Goldman Sachs is honored to be named the 2015 Overall Best Employer for Asian Pacific Americans by Asia Society,” said Chris Kojima, managing director and Asian Professionals Network senior sponsor. “We are committed to fostering an environment that maximizes the potential of all of our people and are proud to be recognized as an employer of choice for Asian professionals.“

KPMG was recognized as the Best Employer for APAs to Develop Workforce Skills, also for the third consecutive year. “The unique backgrounds and perspectives our Asian American professionals bring to their roles aid KPMG in providing the highest quality service to our clients,” said Kathy Hopinkah Hannan, national managing partner of Diversity and Corporate Responsibility at KPMG.

Two award categories were introduced this year to recognize the growing role of employee resource groups and formal sponsorship programs in advancing APA employees.

AT&T came out on top as the Best Employer for APA Employee Resource Groups. “Three of our 12 ERGs are dedicated to employees of Asian heritage, and their efforts – through programs, events and leadership – have a profound impact on our employees and in our communities. Being recognized for their contribution is icing on the cake!” said Cynthia Marshall, AT&T senior vice president and chief diversity officer – Human Resources.

IBM was the award winner for Best Employer for Sponsorship of APAs, which recognizes formal programs focused on development and leadership skills. “These programs provide mentorship, coaching and career opportunities for leaders of diverse backgrounds to become the kind of IBMers our company needs to be essential to our clients,” Jon Iwata, senior vice president, marketing and communications, IBM.

Finalists and winners are chosen based on a combination of employee survey results (80 percent) and scores from a blind panel of expert judges (20 percent). Employees of Asia Society are not involved in the awards decisions. For more information about the awards, visit https://asiasociety.org/global-talent/about-awards.

Below is the full list of 2015 award winners, honorable mentions, and best practice citations: 

Best Employer Awards

Overall Best Employer for Asian Pacific Americans

Winner: Goldman Sachs

Distinguished Performance: KPMG 

Best Employer for Asian Pacific Americans to Develop Workforce Skills

Winner: KPMG

Distinguished Performance: Freddie Mac

Noteworthy Performance: Colgate-Palmolive

Best Employer for Promoting Asian Pacific Americans into Senior Leadership Positions

Winner: Freddie Mac

Distinguished Performance: Goldman Sachs

Noteworthy Performance: KPMG

Best Employer for Asian Pacific American Employee Resource Groups

Winner: AT&T

Distinguished Performance: Colgate-Palmolive

Noteworthy Performance: Discover 

Best Employer for Marketing & Support to Asian Pacific American Community

Winner: Marriott International

Distinguished Performance: Cisco

Best Employer for Sponsorship of Asian Pacific Americans

Winner: IBM

Distinguished Performance: PepsiCo

Noteworthy Performance: Goldman Sachs

Best Employer for Most Innovative Practices Benefiting Asian Pacific Americans

Winner: General Electric

Distinguished Performance: Goldman Sachs 

Best Practice Citations

Recruitment and Selection

Colgate-Palmolive; Goldman Sachs; KPMG

Retention

Colgate-Palmolive; Discover; General Electric; Goldman Sachs

Employee Growth & Advancement

AT&T; Freddie Mac; General Electric; KPMG; Marriott

Profit & Loss Leadership Development

AT&T; Freddie Mac; Goldman Sachs; General Electric; KPMG

Asian Pacific American Employee Resource Groups

AT&T; Discover; Goldman Sachs; KPMG; PepsiCo

Diversity

Colgate-Palmolive; Discover; Freddie Mac; Goldman Sachs; KPMG; Marriott; Pacific Gas & Electric

Sponsorship

AT&T; General Electric; Goldman Sachs; IMB; KPMG

Community Commitment

BNY Mellon; Cardinal Health; Freddie Mac; Goldman Sachs; Medtronic

Market Opportunities

AT&T; Cisco; Goldman Sachs; KPMG; Marriott

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TAGS: Asia Society, workplace diversity