MGM on list of best companies for diversity

By Steve Green

Monday, June 28, 2010 | 1:20 p.m.

For the sixth consecutive year, MGM Resorts International has been named among the "40 Best Companies For Diversity" by Black Enterprise magazine.

MGM Resorts is the only Nevada company and the only gaming company on the Black Enterprise list, which was released today.

Black Enterprise, in reporting the results, said the Great Recession has challenged the value of inclusion as corporations restructured operations, slashed budgets and laid off thousands of workers.

"As the economy recovers, the organizations on our list of the 40 Best Companies for Diversity continue to use inclusion as part of their business strategy,” Careers/Lifestyle Editorial Director Sonia Alleyne said in a statement. “Although they have been forced to make organizational changes in the current environment, these companies have maintained their commitment to diversity across the board. They realize that hiring diverse employees and leveraging differences sharpens their competitive edge."

For MGM Resorts, this is at least the second national diversity list it’s appeared on this year.

In March, the casino resort operator was named to DiversityInc’s 2010 Top 50 Companies for Diversity list. It has made DiversityInc’s list four of the past five years.

MGM Resorts is known for formal diversity training, cultivating minority suppliers and for promoting diversity as giving it a competitive business advantage.

The full list of the Black Enterprise 40 Best Companies for Diversity is available here.

Companies were honored based on factors including participation in corporate affairs by black and other minorities, diversity in senior management and supplier diversity efforts.