The Fortune 500 dataset we created contains the name of each firm, its 2017 list rank, a link to its diversity and inclusion page or equal opportunity statement, and whether they release full, partial or no data about the gender, race and ethnicity of their employees. When we were able to find fully detailed diversity data — which was the case for 16 companies — we included it on our dataset. If partial data exists, it can be found by following a link to the company's diversity and inclusion or careers page. If no diversity page or statement exists, we simply noted that there was nothing available.
All of the data was collected and verified by hand because we wanted to see what was discoverable by someone considering employment at these firms and curious about their commitment to diversity and inclusion. The Fortune data team realizes that corporate diversity and hiring pages change. If the information in this dataset is inaccurate or out of date, please send a note to Fortune data reporter Grace Donnelly.
When noting whether a company made full, partial or no data available, we considered EEO-1 Reports or an equivalent to be a full data release. Any information on the gender, race or ethnicity of employees that fell short of the detail included on an EEO-1 report was considered a partial data release.
For instance, Walmart includes all the same race and ethnicity and job categories used on EEO-1 reports in its 2016 Culture, Diversity & Inclusion Report. However, the data is reported as percentages of its total workforce. Since we could only use this to generate approximate figures for how many people are in each category, the Fortune data team considered this and other instances like it a partial diversity data release.
If a company had either a standalone diversity page, like Ford Motor, a diversity commitment, like Nike, or an equal opportunity employer statement somewhere on its website, like Big Lots, then Fortune collected the link to where it can be found. If a company had neither a standalone page or statement about diversity and inclusion, Fortune did not collect a link.
The data dictionary is a combination of fields that the Fortune data team created and borrows heavily from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's own data dictionary for EEO-1 Reports. To make this data fully accessible and usable, we are also maintaining identical versions on Google Sheets and data.world.