UPS Corporate Responsibility

Diversity

Linking People, Cultures and Commerce

With employees in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, diversity is part of the social fabric at UPS. Diversity adds value to our culture and contributes to the success of our company.

At UPS, diversity encompasses more than race and gender. It also extends to ethnicity, sexual orientation and physical ability. Inclusiveness, respect and cooperation are core values that help drive the way we do business with our customers and suppliers. These values strengthen our bonds with a multi-cultural community of friends and neighbors.

Through workforce, customer and supplier diversity, the company’s goal is to help communities thrive by embracing and leveraging the unique ideas, cultures and ideas of its people. In this section, you'll learn more about this goal and how the cornerstones of fairness, respect and dignity serve as the basis of our work environment and our supplier diversity program.

Diversity Policies

Employees are the key to continued success at UPS. UPS's multicultural, multidimensional workforce is one of the most diverse of any company in the nation and reflective of the communities where we live and work. Long-standing company policies, such as employee ownership, equal opportunity and promotion from within, have helped to foster employee dedication, making UPS a preferred employer.

• Workplace Policies: UPS has clear workplace policies and practices and maintains aggressive training programs to ensure all employees are treated with respect and dignity. These policies include:
  • Operating on a personal basis founded on teamwork and first-name relationships
  • Promotion from within
  • Practicing objective, careful hiring methods
  • Encouraging and assisting employee development by communicating regularly with employees
  • Providing training opportunities and recognizing accomplishments
  • Compensating employees fairly and maintaining a safe work environment
  • Shunning favoritism
  • Respecting each employee's point of view
• Professional Conduct and Anti-Harassment Policy: UPS encourages a positive work environment through its Professional Conduct and Anti-Harassment Policy, which prohibits harassment based on race, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, age or religion. New employees receive a detailed orientation on the policy and regular refreshers throughout their UPS careers.
• Supplier Diversity Process: Formally launched in 1992, the UPS Supplier Diversity Process is committed to providing procurement opportunities to diverse suppliers interested in providing their products and services to UPS.

  Why is UPS committed to supplier diversity? Simply put, because everybody wins. UPS broadens its access to the best suppliers around, while quality suppliers get new opportunities to grow their business.

  UPS makes the following pledge to each and every diverse supplier:

  • We will have designated people at the corporate, region and district offices responsible for reviewing the business opportunities for your company's products and/or services.
  • If you qualify to do business with UPS, we will work with you to help you meet our product specifications and our quality, cost and delivery objectives.
  • We will review your application and certification(s) as quickly as possible and inform you of potential business opportunities when available.

Programs

UPS has many programs that complement individual needs, continue UPS’s legacy of inclusion, and provide opportunities for everyone. These programs help UPS ensure diversity within our communities, customers, people, and suppliers. Examples include:

• Black Executive Exchange Program: UPS is the largest corporate sponsor of the National Urban League's Black Executive Exchange Program (BEEP). The program exposes African-American college students to the world of business, broadens their career aspirations and presents positive role models. BEEP builds links between industry, government and Historically Black Colleges and Universities by enlisting high-ranking African-American executives and professionals to serve as teachers, mentors and role models to the youth in these institutions. UPS's sponsorship of BEEP reflects our ongoing support for organizations and programs that have a positive impact on the communities we serve.

  Listen to UPS BEEP volunteers talk about their involvement with the program, how students, schools and executives are impacted and why UPS continues to support it.  Also hear from the National Urban League about what UPS's involvement has meant to BEEP.

  Featuring (in order of appearance):

  • Marc H. Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League
  • Don Wofford, UPS retiree and BEEP participant
  • Gwen Lusk, UPS Human Resources Manager and BEEP participant
  
  
  
  
• Women’s Leadership Development:

  Women's Leadership Development is designed to provide an integrated and aligned series of tools and practices to nurture talented women from the hiring phase, through skills development, and into higher levels of responsibility at UPS. In spite of the program’s name, it provides opportunities for both women and men to learn leadership skills and develop personal, professional and community networks.

  The program is comprised of three interconnected components that support internal networking sessions and membership in external business and community organizations:

  • UPS Connections is an internal networking program designed to provide women with career-enhancing relationships with other UPS women. It features sessions about life-work issues that encourage open dialogue, support and informal mentoring.
  • Business Connections is an external networking program designed to help women expand their knowledge by connecting with businesswomen outside of UPS.
  • Community Connections offers leadership lessons through volunteer service and community involvement. This has included work with the Susan G. Komen Foundation, Dress for Success and dozens of other volunteer events.

Awards & Recognition

UPS has been widely recognized for its diversity efforts. Recent examples include:

• America's Most Reputable Companies - UPS ranked third in the Reputation Institute's Global Pulse 2009 study of the most reputable companies in the U.S.  UPS followed Johnson & Johnson and Kraft Foods. The study surveyed 30,000 consumers in 29 countries who rated companies based on overall respect, trust, esteem, admiration and "good feelings."  
• Top Corporate Supporter of HBCU Engineering Programs - U.S. Black Engineer & Information Technology Magazine: UPS was named one of the 2009 Top Corporate Supporters of HBCU Engineering Programs, citing the company's dedication to help educate and support minority engineering students and commitment to increasing the pipeline of talented individuals that will enter the U.S. workforce.
• America's Top 50 Organizations for Multicultural Business Opportunities - DiversityBusiness.com: UPS named to DiversityBusiness.com's list of America's Top 50 Organizations for Multicultural Business Opportunities. The award was based on factors such as volume, consistency and quality of business opportunities that a company grants to women- and minority-owned suppliers. Over 650,000 women- and minority-owned businesses had the opportunity to vote online. UPS was the sole transportation company on the list.
• America's Top Companies for Women's Business Enterprises - Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC): For the ninth consecutive year, UPS has been named to WBENC's list of America's Top Companies for Women's Business Enterprises.
• Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality - Human Rights Campaign: UPS was named to the Human Rights Campaign's 2009 list of "Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality," which recognized businesses that scored 100% on their 2009 Corporate Equality Index. The foundation is the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization.

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