DiversityInc, one of the leading sources of human capital metrics, recently released its 2023 Top 50 Companies for Diversity list. The Top 50 Companies for Diversity list aims to assess the performance of companies in six key areas of diversity and inclusion management.

The rankings provide a public and trusted measure of employer and investor data transparency, equitable human capital outcomes for U.S. employers and the effectiveness of DEI strategy, policies and practices.

The Top 50 list results are derived exclusively from survey submissions from employers with at least 750 employees in the United States.

“The DiversityInc Top 50 survey has become the go-to external validator for large U.S. employers that are committed to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Carolynn Johnson, CEO of DiversityInc. “These rankings represent evidence-based, superior human capital outcomes that are achieved only by data transparency and an unwavering commitment to workplace fairness for everyone.”

The 2023 rankings include many companies who conduct business in Huntsville including Raytheon, Northrop Grumman and Boeing.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was ranked as the 4th in DiverstyInc’s Top Utilities list and also held their own Supplier Diversity Awards here in Huntsville.

The Supplier Diversity Awards was held over a three day summit focused on diversity at the Westin hotel in Bridge Street.

In a speech given by TVA’s Jan Cable, she stated that diversity is “directly connected to TVA’s mission of service, which is to make life better for the people of the Tennessee Valley.

“When we partner with small, diverse, and valley based businesses that can provide quality products and services, those partnerships help bring TVA’s mission to life. We are excited that we have been able to utilize several small and diverse businesses here today,” Cable continued.

The awards recognize businesses and individuals who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to the supplier. Diversity Awards are presented in three categories: Diverse Supplier of the Year, Prime Supplier of the Year, and TVA Supplier Diversity Champion.

Nominees for the Diverse Supplier of the Year are small and diverse businesses that have partnered with TVA for more than one year with more than 1 million in annual spend. There were three nominees for 2023 Diverse Supplier of the Year.

Those nominees included Restoration Services Inc (RSI), headquartered in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. RSI is an Alaska native small business that has provided project support services to TVA for more than five years and has maintained a safety record of zero reportable injuries and no lost time events throughout their service to TVA.

Another nominee, HJM LLC that is headquartered in DeKalb, Mississippi, is a small valley hub zone business that provides right of way vegetation maintenance and clearing services. For the past 12 years, HJM has supported the Mississippi area and was critical in completion of several major transmission line construction projects.

The award was ultimately given to Tennessee Valley Archeological Research, a small woman owned business located in Huntsville. This group was recognized for being “dedicated professionals who have consistently delivered on time and under budget.

“Over the years, TVA has worked to develop great professional relationships with these internal business partners. Their small business mindset allows for a small, versatile experience by being able to shift to TVA’s changing project units,” Cable mentioned.

The winner of the TVA Prime Supplier of the year was given to Holtec International. In a statement to HBJ, Suzanne D’Ambrosio of Holtec gave the following statement.

“Holtec International is an industry leader in the services and capabilities it provides and continues to grow in the way it leads as well. Supplier Diversity is so important as an evolving aspect of Holtec and the work of our own vendors and suppliers. We are humbled and honored to receive this recognition from TVA. It is our pleasure and privilege to continue to work with TVA, as we share many of the same tenets…safety, innovation, excellence, and of course, a commitment to diversity.”

This annual awards show and the diversity summit mirrors TVA’s mission to become a more diverse workplace internally that showed in their DiversityInc ranking.

In the company’s 2022 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Report, they highlighted steps made over the last year to achieve this mission. These included establishing representation goals aimed at increasing the number of women and people of color in leadership to match the available workforce by 2033.

TVA also hired a third-party firm to conduct an independent equity review to assess inclusiveness and identify biases.

The company also released 10-year Enterprise Diversity Goals which show their plans to increase their percentage of people of color in leadership from 10.4% to 15% by 2027 and 20% in 2033.

Their goals for female leadership representation is to go from 19.1% to 24.5% and 31% respectively.

For more information, please visit TVA’s page on diversity and inclusion here.