LAS VEGAS—For 2018 BLACK ENTERPRISE (BE) magazine has named MGM Resorts International one of the “Best Companies for Diversity” in the United States based on MGM Resorts’ diversity and inclusion practices.
The 50 companies featured in the publication’s special report demonstrate a commitment to diversity in one or more of four key areas, including: Board of Directors mix, employee diversity, senior management mix and supplier diversity.
“We are incredibly honored to achieve this recognition from BLACK ENTERPRISE,” said Phyllis A. James, Chief Diversity and Corporate Responsibility Officer for MGM Resorts International. “As a responsible corporation we strive daily to embed diversity and inclusion into the core of our company’s culture and operations for the empowerment it brings to our employees and the strength it brings to our business. We salute BLACK ENTERPRISE for this effort that continues to send a strong message of the moral imperative, business necessity and transformational value of diversity and inclusion in America.”
In compiling this year’s list, the BE research team sent surveys to more than 1,000 of the largest publicly traded companies and global companies with significant U.S. operations. Companies were also chosen based on programs created to nurture and maintain a diverse professional space. Surveys did not simply focus on black inclusion, but ethnic minority groups as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. The complete report, including methodology and selection criteria, is available in the November/December 2018 issue of BE.
Gaming’s First Voluntary Diversity & Inclusion Initiative
In 2000, MGM Resorts pioneered the gaming industry’s first voluntary Diversity and Inclusion initiative. That year the company installed a policy requiring minority business enterprise (MBE) participation in all construction bids, followed in 2003 by a policy mandating MBE participation in all biddable commodity procurement contracts and purchases exceeding $1,000.
Since the establishment of those policies, the company has spent more than $4.5 billion with certified diverse-owned (including minority- and women-owned) business enterprises. MGM has become not only the industry pacesetter but also a widely-acclaimed corporate leader of Diversity and Inclusion in corporate America. Some of the company’s recent highlights include:
- MGM Resorts is an employer of choice with robust talent recruitment and development initiatives. MGM’s workforce is richly diverse, with minorities comprising more than 68 percent and women more than 51 percent of employees. More than 42 percent of management is minority; more than 44 percent of managers are women.
- In 2017, MGM Resorts’ expenditures with certified diverse-owned (including women-owned) business enterprises in procurement and construction exceeded $323 million.
- In 2017, MGM Resorts earned top accolades for its diversity best practices from national benchmarks, including: No. 3 of Top Regional Companies (DiversityInc Magazine) and America’s Top Corporations for Women’s Business Enterprises (Women’s Business Enterprise National Council).
