Employees celebrate the best workplaces for diversity, where teams ‘look like America’

December 20, 2019, 12:00 PM UTC

Illustration by Sam Peet

The U.S. is becoming more diverse by the day, and so is its workforce. Along with these shifts come rising expectations that companies’ ranks reflect society at large—and that everyone feels welcome and can thrive at work. For employers, there are not-so-secret benefits to promoting diverse and inclusive workplaces: They’re more likely to drive innovation, increase market reach, and improve productivity—and they’re more enticing to job candidates.

The companies on this year’s 100 Best Workplaces for Diversity list welcome people who identify with different genders, races, sexualities, and backgrounds, as well as people from various age groups and those who live with disabilities. In ranking the list, research and analytics firm Great Place to Work weighed the effectiveness of companies and their leaders, based on employee surveys, and also took the diversity of the company’s workforce and leadership into account.

Stryker, a $13 billion medical technology company whose workforce is made up of 35% women and 26% minorities, tops the list. CEO Kevin Lobo has doubled the number of women on Stryker’s board since his appointment in 2012, and he has emphasized cultivating a workplace that mirrors the diversity of Stryker’s customers and patients.

With 3% of its workforce identifying as LGBTQ, Cisco (No. 2) has been at the forefront of corporate activism for diversity and inclusion, notably by outspokenly opposing “bathroom bills” that restrict the rights of transgender people.

In testimonials, employees explained why they value working for these companies. Among traits they singled out: open celebration of LGBTQ Pride Month, leadership opportunities for the underrepresented, and executives who “look like America.”

See all of the top 100 workplaces for diversity.

1. Stryker

Women as % of Workforce: 35%
Minorities: 26%
People with disabilities: 2%

2. Cisco

Women: 28%
Minorities: 48%
People with disabilities: 5%

3. Progressive Insurance

Women: N.A.
Minorities: N.A.
People with disabilities: 11%

4. Accenture

Women: 38%
Minorities: 51%
People with disabilities: 4.3%

5. Synchrony

Women: 62%
Minorities: 45%
People with disabilities: 16%

6. Mohegan Sun

Women: 48%
Minorities: 49%
People with disabilities: 13%

7. Workday

Women: 42%
Minorities: 45%
People with disabilities: 4%

8. Adobe

Women: 36%
Minorities: 39%
People with disabilities: 5%

9. Ultimate Software

Women: 49%
Minorities: 46%
People with disabilities: 5%

10. Marriott

Women: 55%
Minorities: 66%
People with disabilities: 5%

A version of this article appears in the January 2020 issue of Fortune with the headline “The Best Workplaces for Diversity.”

Clarification: The figure for Accenture’s “% of People with Disabilities” has been updated. The percentage previously listed for this category was an extrapolation based on Great Place to Work’s Trust Index survey of a sample of Accenture’s employees. It has been updated to reflect Accenture’s public disclosures.