Citigroup tops on diversity as Berkshire-hathaway lags

Citigroup Inc. and Merck & Co. are among the most inclusive U.S. companies for women and minorities while Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has made less progress, according to a report by Calvert Investments Inc.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Coca-Cola Co. also received high marks based on an analysis of diversity practices at companies in the Standard & Poor’s 100 Index, the mutual fund said Friday. Berkshire was among the lowest-rated partly because it doesn’t consider diversity when selecting board members, according to the report.

While corporations have become more diverse over the past two years, women and minorities still hold relatively few leadership roles, Calvert said. Women made up 19 per cent of director positions last year, up from 18 per cent in 2010, and represented 8 per cent of the highest-paid executives, according to the report.

“It is important to recognize that much hard work remains to be done,” Barbara J. Krumsiek, Calvert’s CEO, said.

Berkshire Hathaway, with more than 70 operating subsidiaries, has two female directors on its 12-member board, according to its 2012 annual report.

Christine De Groot, associate sustainability analyst at Calvert and one of the report’s authors, said “there’s no evidence that diversity is a priority for the company at all. In fact, the company takes an active stance against diversity in the board room.”

Berkshire Hathaway didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the report.

More than half of S&P 100 companies had no women or minorities among their highest-paid senior executives last year, said Calvert. Ninety-eight companies had females on their boards and 86 had minority directors.