NEW YORK— 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.
The digital media company BuzzFeed, 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.
Other best employer winners include:
- Chevron for “marketing & support to the APA community;”
- Discover for “promoting APAs into senior leadership positions;”
- KPMG for “sponsorship;”
- Marriott for “LGBT Asian employees;” and
- Medtronic for “promoting APA women.”
Asia Society will present the awards on June 20 in New York City, in conjunction with the 2018 Corporate Insights 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 Employer 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
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.
