Profiles: 1-10
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ERNST & YOUNG
STEVE HOWE
Americas Area
Managing Partner
“Our clients expect us to
bring diverse teams and
thinking to help solve
their problems. Given the
challenges companies
are facing in the current
economy, they need those
diverse perspectives now
more than ever. Our diversity
and inclusiveness efforts
have remained front and
center, and that is not going
to change. Our competitive-
ness now, and in the years
to come, depends on it.”
WHY IT’S IN THE DIVERSITYINC TOP 50
Ernst & Young has moved up the list substantially this year from No. 17 last year.
The reason is its clear focus on embedding diversity and inclusion in all of its
global lines of business. The company’s emphasis on strong talent development
has paid off in a dedicated managerial/professional work force with a substantial
pipeline to senior leadership.
BILLIE WILLIAMSON
Americas
Inclusiveness Officer
“In a down economy,
concern grows that diversity
initiatives will be negatively
impacted. At Ernst & Young,
our leaders have been com-
municating regularly with our
people about the financial
crisis. In those commu-
nications—via voicemail,
webcasts, and meetings—
they have clearly said that
inclusiveness remains a top
priority. Now more than ever,
we need people who think
about familiar problems in
new ways and who reject
groupthink. We know that
harnessing the strength of
our inclusive culture is a
competitive advantage.”
Steve Howe, Americas
area managing partner,
is a very public diversity
advocate. The appointment last year of Billie
Williamson as Americas
inclusiveness officer has
brought new depths to
the diversity programs
based on her history of
advocating within the
company for people
from traditionally underrepresented groups.
Ernst & Young has a
remarkable mentoring
program, and all of its
managers are involved
as mentors/mentees in
some way.
Williamson has
been involved in the
development of several programs that add
substantially to the
company’s ability to
DIVERSITY STRENGTHS
nurture talent. They
include the Executive
Mentoring Program
that pairs high-potential
Black, Latino, Asian and
American Indian partners and principals with
members of the firm’s
Americas Executive
Board; Learning
Partnerships, which provide Black, Latino, Asian
and American Indian
professionals access to
senior leaders in both a
structured and informal setup; Pathways to
Meaningful Partnership,
a training program
for women, Blacks,
Latinos, Asians and
American Indians; and
Minority and Women’s
Leadership Conferences.
In addition, Ernst
& Young gets perfect
scores for its work/
life benefits and the
benefits it offers same-sex domestic partners
of employees. And the
firm has strong and
innovative programs
for its employees with
disabilities.
Diversity training is mandatory for
the entire work force,
lasts more than a
full day and is held
every month. And 20
percent of the firm’s
philanthropy goes to
multicultural organizations, including the
National Association of
Black Accountants, the
Association of Latino
Professionals in Finance
and Accounting,
the Human Rights
Campaign, and Ascend.
SPECIALTY LISTS: No. 2 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for People With Disabilities; No. 1 in The DiversityInc
Top 10 Companies for LGBT Employees ● INDUSTRY: Professional Services ● MAIN COMPETITORS: Deloitte, KPMG,
PricewaterhouseCoopers ● U.S. HEADQUARTERS: New York ● NUMBER OF U.S. EMPLOYEES: 26,220 ● ANNUAL GLOBAL
REVENUE: $24.5 billion ● OF OPERATIONS OUTSIDE U.S.: 81
