Survey finds big four accounting and insurance firms beat out global banks when it comes to diversity

Diversity has long been a concern in financial services. And, according to the 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list, the Big Four and insurance appear to be making strides, while many of the global banks and investment firms were noticeably absent.

Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers ranked number one. According to the survey, PricewaterhouseCoopers was selected based on the firm’s “CEO commitment and corporate and organizational communications, as well as their strong human-capital results.”

The survey highlighted PwC’s chain of command, noting that the chief diversity officer was a direct report to the firm’s CEO. DiversityInc also cited PwC for its partners’ sponsorship efforts for minority employees and resource groups used for recruitment, talent development, marketplace connections and diversity training. PricewaterhouseCoopers took the number one spots on a number of specialized lists, including the Top 10 Companies for Recruitment and Retention and Top 10 Companies for Executive Women lists.

Another Big Four firm, Ernst & Young, placed number six on the Top 50 Companies for Diversity list. DiversityInc cited the firm’s newly launched coaching and mentoring program for incoming African American and Latino staff members and newly promoted African American and Latino managers.

Ernst & Young also received number one awards for Top 10 Companies for People with Disabilities and Top Company for Global Cultural Competence. DiversityInc cited Ernst & Young’s efforts for “understanding and developing locally culturally competent workforce policies, including resource groups for women, LGBT people and black employees in several countries, as well as leadership-development training and supplier-diversity efforts." The bulk of the firm’s workforce is outside of the U.S.

Deloitte ranked number eight and KPMG took number 22 on DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity list. A number of other financial services firms placed in the top 50 Companies for Diversity, including Prudential Financial (9), Accenture (12), Aetna (24), Bank of America (31), Wells Fargo (33), Booz Allen Hamilton (36), Allstate Insurance (37), Capital One (47) and MetLife (50).

Wells Fargo placed number one on DiversityInc’s Top 10 Companies for LGBT Employees.

The companies and firms were assessed based on CEO commitment, human capital, corporate and organizational communications and supplier diversity.