What does this indicator measure?
This indicator measures the number of people of various ethnicities and backgrounds that hold high-level positions in companies recognized as industry leaders. It also measures the number of companies in the Dallas Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA) that appear on various "best companies" lists for people of various ethnicities and backgrounds.
Why is this indicator important?
Measuring leadership diversity in corporations is representative of the opportunities available to people of all ethnicities and backgrounds to achieve success in their fields.
How are we doing?
Several organizations collect and report data and compile "best companies" lists when researching leadership diversity among top companies. Some of these data and findings are reported here.
The Dallas Morning News conducts an annual survey of corporate diversity among Dallas–Fort Worth’s top 100 companies. For the last three surveys (2003, 2004, and 2005), the newspaper has reported that Dallas lagged behind the national averages of women and minorities holding leadership positions in businesses.
- The Dallas Morning News reported in a May 2005 article that the percentage of minorities and nonminority women in board director and executive corporate office positions declined in 2004 compared with the number in 2003, from 15.1% to 14.3%.
In the same May 2005 Dallas Morning News story reported that the data are not broken down by ethnicity in the annual survey results, but that other groups do provide this information, citing the following statistics:
- The Executive Leadership Council found that African Americans held 8.1% of boardroom positions at Fortune 500 firms nationwide in 2004. For Fortune 500 firms in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, the figure was 3.5%.
- Latinos accounted for 2.4% of board positions nationwide in 2003, according to the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility, and 2.3% in the Dallas–Fort Worth area.
- Asian Pacific Americans represented 1% of board seats in 2003, according to the Committee of 100, and 2% in the Dallas–Fort Worth area.
Fortune reports on the “50 Best Companies for Minorities” annually. Data show the following Dallas-based companies have been in the rankings, which are based on the number of minorities in the workforce and in leadership positions:
- For 2005, Brinker International (Dallas County) and Texas Instruments (Dallas County) were in the rankings.
- For 2002, 2003, and 2004, one Dallas-based company was in the rankings. Wyndham International (Dallas County) ranked 17th, 12th, and 34th, respectively.
Fortune also reported there were more women running Fortune 500 companies as of April 2006 than there were in 2005, with 10 Fortune 500 companies being run by women and 20 Fortune 500 companies having women in their top positions.
- The majority of these companies are based on the East or West Coast.
- One is in the Dallas PMSA. The Zale Corporation located in Irving (Dallas County) has a female CEO.
The National Association of Female Executives annually ranks the Top 30 Companies for Executive Women. In 2006, for the first time in recent years, one company located in the Dallas PMSA appeared in the top 30 rankings—Texas Instruments (Dallas).