No "best" firms for NE women of color
Don't look for any New England companies on Working Mother magazine's 2007 list of best companies for multicultural women.
And don't expect to find any companies from California or Texas on the list either - about half the top 20 companies hail from New York City.
The year marks the fifth anniversary of Working Mother's Best Companies for Multicultural Women initiative, Working Mother said; companies on the list, which is arranged by alphabetical order, include financial-services giant Citigroup Inc. and consumer products company Colgate-Palmolive Co., both of New York, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the Arkansas-based retailer.
Also on the list is Procter & Gamble Co. of Cincinnati, which because of its acquisition of Gillette Co., has a presence in Boston.
Verizon Communications Inc. of New York is another out-of-state company on the list with a sizable Massachusetts presence.
One possible reason for the list's high concentration of New York companies is that New York happens to be where Working Mother is based.
To be considered for the list, a company has to submit an application to the magazine, supplying data about hiring, pay, and promotion of multicultural women, the magazine said; this year, Working Mother gave the most weight to questions involving representation, recruitment, and retention of women of color.
The magazine declined to say how many New England companies submitted an application to be considered for the list.
In an e-mail response to a question submitted by the Globe, Suzanne Riss, editor in chief of Working Mother, said, "Since we protect the identity of companies that apply and don't make the list, we can't comment on whether companies from New England applied or not."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)
