Abbott rated highly for diversity initiatives

Abbott has won praise for its employee diversity and inclusion policies following a survey conducted by industry analyst Calvert.

The advocacy group assessed the diversity programmes, policies and performance of companies in Standard and Poor's 100 Index, with Abbott receiving a rating of 90 out of 100.

This was higher than the average score of 72 seen in the pharmaceuticals sector, as well as being above the overall average of 68.5 among all companies in the index.

It is one of a number of awards recently presented to Abbott, which has been named as a great place to work by various publications in more than 20 countries around the world.

William Lee, director for corporate diversity, inclusion and compliance at Abbott, said: "We view our diversity as a tremendous asset for our innovation-driven businesses and continue to focus on building an inclusive culture that values and leverages people's differences to provide Abbott with a competitive advantage."

Earlier this month, the company won a 2010 Chicago Innovation Award for the Architect HIV Ag/Ab Combo assay, an innovative new medical device offering.