On April 23, during diversity and inclusion’s keystone event at Cipriani Wall Street, DiversityInc announced BASF came ranked #28 on its 2015 Top 50 Companies for Diversity ranking. They also ranked #10 on DiversityInc’s list of Top 10 Companies for Diversity Councils. More than 900 senior executives from across the country were present for the annual announcement dinner.

“Making the list for the third year in a row, BASF has a strong executive diversity council and has made great progress in recruitment,” said DiversityInc CEO Luke Visconti. “Led by the diversity council and a team of professionals dedicated to making diversity and inclusion a key business priority,  the company’s D&I efforts have been enhanced by its detailed diversity scorecard.”

“At BASF, the value of diversity and inclusion is fundamental to how we create chemistry for a sustainable future,” said Hans Engel, Chairman and CEO, BASF Corporation. “The different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives that our people bring to solving our customers’ challenges are critical to driving innovation and growth. They also make BASF a great place to work.”

DiversityInc Top 50 companies have significantly more diversity than average American corporations. Compared with EEOC statistics, Top 50 companies have 20% more Blacks, Latinos, and Asians in management, and 13% more women. In the Top 10 the contrast is even sharper, with 41% more Blacks, Latinos, and Asians, and 46% more women than US corporate average. This year, for the first time, the National Organization on Disability tracker was required for the Top 10 Disabilities list.

CNBC covered the DiversityInc Top 50 event and provided the stock market econometric evaluation. “The Top 50 list outperformed the market on a short and long-term basis – which has been the case over the past several years. This shows evidence of the link between excellence in diversity management and superior corporate governance,” said Visconti.

Any company with over 1,000 U.S.-based employees is eligible to enter, and there is no cost to compete. Each company’s rank is based on objective analysis of 183 separate factors, based on data from a 300-question survey. The four equally weighted areas of measurement include Talent Pipeline, Equitable Talent Development, CEO/Leadership Commitment, and Supplier Diversity.

The announcement dinner included a keynote address from Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr., whose Rainbow PUSH Coalition has been calling on the tech industry to embrace more diversity as a business opportunity.