National-Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NOV) And Investing In Diversity

Simon Property Group, Inc (NYSE:SPG)’s website does list one woman on its board of directors, who’s been a director for the company since 2004. The company also announced last month — after the Calvert report was released — that Liz Zale, formerly the vice president of investor relations for Nielsen Holdings, is a new senior vice president with Simon.

3. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B) — Diversity score of 5: One of the reasons Warren Buffett’s company, favored by many investors, received the lowest diversity score out of all the S&P 100 companies was because it was the only company that specifically stated it does not consider diversity in selecting its board of directors, according to the report.

Calvert quoted Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B) as saying, “Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B) does not have a policy regarding the consideration of diversity in identifying nominees for director. In identifying director nominees, the Governance Committee does not seek diversity, however defined.”

Despite this, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B) just added a third woman to its board of directors a few days ago, and just last week Buffett wrote a Fortune article entitled, “Warren Buffet Is Bullish… on Women.” In it he says, “The closer that America comes to fully employing the talents of all its citizens, the greater its output of goods and services will be.” But just as with National-Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NYSE:NOV), Forbes noted that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B) doesn’t have any women or minorities in the C-suite.

Investing in diversity
Diversity obviously isn’t the only aspect that should be considered when looking to invest in a company, but it shouldn’t be overlooked. Companies are built on good ideas and hard work, which find their source in different perspectives and viewpoints. To truly invest in great companies, long-term investors should consider the benefits of a diversified company workforce, and make it part of their investing equation.

The article The 3 Worst Large-Cap Companies for Workplace Diversity originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Chris Neiger.

Fool contributor Chris Neiger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Berkshire Hathaway and National Oilwell Varco. The Motley Fool owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway and National Oilwell Varco.

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