Cummins achieves high ranking on Diversity Best Practices’ Inclusion Index

"The Inclusion Index continues to grow as more and more organizations are willing to be transparent about their progress and workforce demographics," said Deborah Munster, Vice President, Diversity Best Practices. "We applaud their efforts and will continue to set a high bar in order to drive change and accountability."

Cummins was one of 80 companies to achieve a 60% or higher rating – 148 companies filled out an exhaustive survey as part of the index review. Diversity Best Practices, a division of Working Mother Media, champions best practices in diversity and inclusion and developing innovative solutions for culture change. The index was released July 30.

Diversity Best Practices says companies’ interest in diversity and inclusion continues to grow, pointing to the 17% increase in applications for the index this year. The group arranges its findings into three broad areas:

•    Recruitment, retention and advancement of people typically underrepresented in business settings (women, racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and LGBTQ individuals).
•    Company culture including leadership accountability.
•    Transparency and improvement in year-to-year demographic diversity. In 2019, the organization put an increased emphasis on assessing demographics, particularly at the more senior level of companies.

The index is designed to help organizations understand gaps in demographic representation and create a road map to drive internal change and solutions through proven best practices. Key findings from this year’s ranking included 93% of the top 10% of organizations in the index had diversity in their executive succession planning, compared to 79% of index members overall, and 61% of all index participants.

Diversity and inclusion are corporate values at Cummins and have long been emphasized by company leaders. The company put a special emphasis on inclusion in 2018, working to include, appreciate and value the unique backgrounds and skills that each employee brings to work.

“We are extremely pleased to be included as a Diversity Best Practices Inclusion Index member,” said Kelley Creveling, Executive Director - Global Diversity & Right Environment at Cummins. “It’s an honor to be among only 80 organizations recognized by The Working Mother Research Institute for our efforts in creating a diverse and inclusive work environment for all of our employees.”