Asia Society Names 2018 Best Employers for Asian Pacific Americans

NEW YORK, May 22, 2018 — Goldman Sachs was named "overall best employer" as part of Asia Society’s 2018 Best Asian Pacific American (APA) Employer Awards, followed by KPMG and Colgate-Palmolive. The global investment bank was also recognized as best employer for developing workforce skills.

"We believe we perform at our best when we foster an environment that maximizes the potential of all of our people and reflects the communities and cultures in which we operate," said Suzzanne Yao, co-head of the Asian Professionals Network at Goldman Sachs.

Now in their ninth year, the awards honor employers at the forefront of promoting and developing Asian Pacific American (APA) talent. Awardees are selected based on the quality of their APA workforce initiatives and the results from Asia Society’s annual Asian Corporate Survey, which measures the experience of APAs at Fortune 500 and other large companies. More than 2,800 APA employees participated in the 2018 survey.

BuzzFeed, the tech-driven media company and a newcomer to the survey, won best employer for "APA employee resource groups (ERG)." Edwin Wong, BuzzFeed’s senior vice president for research and insights, and the executive sponsor of APOP, the company’s Asian-affinity ERG, says a third of all U.S. BuzzFeed employees have attended at least one of its events, improving company-wide understanding of the diversity of the Asian culture and experience. "Adding to the success, the vast majority of our Asian workforce are also saying this ERG has increased their sense of belonging at BuzzFeed in our annual employee satisfaction survey," Wong added.

Marriott, the global hospitality company, was recognized as the best employer for LGBT Asian employees. "Marriott is proud of its strong people first culture and a big part of that is making sure everyone feels welcomed and included," said David Rodriguez, executive vice president and chief global human resources officer for Marriott International. "This recognition underscores our commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace through promoting unity and a sense of family while creating an environment that supports growth and opportunity for all." 

Other best employer winners include:

• Chevron for "marketing & support to the APA community;"
• Discover for "promoting APAs into senior leadership positions;"
• KPMG for "sponsorship;" and
• Medtronic for "promoting APA women."

Asia Society will present the awards on June 20 in New York City, in conjunction with the 2018 Diversity & Marketing Leadership Summit.

Finalists and winners are chosen based on a combination of employee survey results (80 percent) and scores from a blind panel of expert judges (20 percent). Employees of Asia Society are not involved in the awards decisions.

Below is the full list of 2018 award winners.

Best Companies Awards

Overall Best Employer for APAs: Goldman Sachs
Distinguished Performance: KPMG
Noteworthy Performance: Colgate-Palmolive

Best Employer for APAs to Develop Workforce Skills: Goldman Sachs
Distinguished Performance: Chevron
Noteworthy Performance: KPMG

Best Employer for APA Employee Resource Groups: BuzzFeed
Distinguished Performance: 3M
Noteworthy Performance: AT&T

Best Employer for LGBT Asian Employees: Marriott
Distinguished Performance: BNY Mellon
Noteworthy Performance: Medtronic

Best Employer for Marketing & Support to APA Community: Chevron
Distinguished Performance: Medtronic
Noteworthy Performance: Marriott

Best Employer for Promoting APAs into Senior Leadership Positions: Discover
Distinguished Performance: Goldman Sachs
Noteworthy Performance: 3M

Best Employer for Promoting APA Women: Medtronic
Distinguished Performance: Marriott
Noteworthy Performance: Goldman Sachs

Best Employer for Sponsorship of APAs: KPMG
Distinguished Performance: AT&T
Noteworthy Performance: PG&E

Best Practice Citations

Asian Pacific American Employee Resource Groups: AT&T, BuzzFeed, Chevron, Credit Suisse, Nielsen

Community Commitment: AT&T, Freddie Mac, KPMG, Marriott, Medtronic, Proctor & Gamble, Walmart

Employee Growth & Advancement: Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Freddie Mac, Medtronic

Market Opportunities: Chevron, Freddie Mac, Goldman Sachs, KPMG, Marriott, Medtronic

LGBT Asian Employees: 3M, Goldman Sachs, Marriott, PG&E, Prudential

Profit & Loss Leadership Development: Chevron, Credit Suisse, Medtronic, Nielsen

Promoting Asian Pacific American Women: AT&T, Credit Suisse, JPMorgan Chase, Medtronic

Recruitment and Selection: Goldman Sachs, IBM, KPMG, Medtronic, Nielsen, Prudential

Retention: AT&T, Chevron, Goldman Sachs, KPMG, Prudential

Sponsorship: AT&T, KPMG, Marriott, Proctor & Gamble, Prudential

About Asia Society

Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller 3rd, Asia Society is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works to address a range of challenges facing Asia and the rest of the world. Asia Society has cultural centers and public buildings in New York, Hong Kong, and Houston, and offices in Los Angeles, Manila, Mumbai, Tokyo, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Washington, D.C., and Zurich. Across the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, Asia Society provides insight, generates ideas, and promotes collaboration between Asia and the world.