What can be measured can be managed. How can data help tilt the scale in the corporate efforts to increase diversity and inclusion? Mike Dionne, Regional Managing Director of the Americas, explains.
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Companies frequently make commitments to change workplace demographics, but it’s hard for anybody outside the executive suite to gauge whether these initiatives are succeeding.
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By adding diversity and inclusion metrics to the data we track at global corporations, we’re giving investors a new way to gauge which companies are making progress and which need to work harder.
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Greater visibility and openness through reliable data can have an immediate and tangible effect.
During Black History Month, we celebrate the wonderful contributions that Black entrepreneurs, scientists, scholars, writers, artists, and athletes have made to American culture.
This year, Black History Month comes on the heels of a tumultuous period in which the U.S.—and the world—gained new perspective on the importance of making progress to end systemic racism and to create a more just and equitable society.
We should all be inspired by Black achievement, and through this inspiration, continue to build on the progress we’re making in the U.S. to drive greater diversity and inclusion at all levels of society.
It’s a tall order, and every company – and individual – will approach it differently. At Refinitiv, now a part of LSEG ( London Stock Exchange Group), we believe our core strengths in data and analytics can play a key role.
By adding diversity and inclusion metrics to the data we track at global corporations, we’re giving investors a new way to gauge which companies are making progress and which need to work harder.
Why is this important? Because a diverse workforce is crucial to ensure that a wide range of knowledge, experience, and innovation is brought to every level of the enterprise, for the benefit of all stakeholders.
Maintaining a focus on diversity is more difficult than ever during the pandemic, which has forced companies to adapt to new ways of hiring, holding meetings, and interacting with customers.
But instead of seeing the crisis as a roadblock, we should view it as an opportunity to think creatively about diversity, and how it might actually benefit from the new workplace paradigm, much as we have found new ways to tackle priorities such as financial strength, environmental risks, and worker health.
As Refinitiv CEO David Craig said in a recent equity panel hosted by FORTUNE magazine, while ESG investing has grown increasingly popular in the past few years, the “S” – the social element – sometimes takes a back seat to the environmental and corporate governance elements.
Companies have been making improvements when it comes to gender, and are bringing a greater number of women into executive positions and making boards more gender-diverse.
But there is still work to be done when it comes to ethnicity. Fortunately, what can be measured can be managed—data can help spur fresh thinking and creative solutions.
Companies frequently make commitments to change workplace demographics, but it’s hard for anybody outside the executive suite to gauge whether these initiatives are succeeding, because few organisations publicly disclose these metrics.
Releasing such measurements would go a long way towards helping businesses set benchmarks, and would encourage high-performing companies to reach higher and those lagging to step up.
For that reason, Refinitiv has teamed up with FORTUNE to launch Measure Up, an initiative to encourage companies, from major global conglomerates to Silicon Valley startups, to self-report their racial and ethnic diversity data.
Measure Up will give executives access to data-driven insights about where they’re at and how they can improve.
To bolster the effort, FORTUNE will add a diversity and inclusion filter in its annual FORTUNE 500 list, and will launch a new list in 2021, the Most Progressive Companies in Racial Inclusion.
Refinitiv and FORTUNE will support this call-to-action by starting data-driven conversations on key topics such as inclusive leadership, corporate anti-racism, and the racial wealth gap.
Measure Up will help corporate senior leaders set transparent goals around inclusion, share tactics and strategies, and work collectively to deliver measurable returns to a broad set of stakeholders.
Greater visibility and openness through reliable data can have an immediate and tangible effect on diversity and inclusion in the workplace. For example, people considering whether to apply for a job at a company may think twice about coming on board if they don’t see others like them in the top echelons.
That’s why companies need to tackle diversity and inclusion with the same drive and focus they apply to other areas – they must see it as a business issue, and treat it accordingly. Only then will greater progress be made.
We hope you’ll join this important conversation and share your insights into how to foster greater transparency into diversity and inclusion.
There’s no better time to start than during Black History Month.
Please contribute your minority group data via our ESG Data Contributor tool. To support better trend analysis, we ask for 3 years of data to be submitted and whilst not mandatory, it will give your company the best chance of obtaining an accurate assessment of minority group efforts, commitments and performance.
By contributing your ESG data you can gain a competitive advantage by ensuring the investment world has access to the most timely ESG data on your company.
