Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I;)

Through our in-depth studies and inhouse research, we’ve made a strong case for the importance of diversity in business. With our global presence, we spread our findings, team up for real-world action, and advise clients, ensuring key players have the information they need to drive change.

Companies that consistently prioritize inclusion and diversity and bravely take steps to promote a sense of belonging tend to see the most benefits. It’s time to take even bigger steps.

Teams with varied backgrounds bring more innovation—they’re better at spotting changes in what consumers want and can introduce new products and services, giving them a potential edge over competitors.

This is a crucial time for business leaders everywhere. They have to look after their employees’ and customers’ well-being, handle major changes to their operations, plan for what comes next, and think about new ways to do business for the future. By staying committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), leaders have a chance to make the most of this time. Our studies show that DE&I can notably boost a company’s performance in several key areas.

Delivering Through Diversity

Do you think your business is supportive of LGBTQ+ employees? You might feel confident because of your company’s focus on diversity and the presence of openly LGBTQ+ workers. But there’s a lot more to it. Over the years, workplaces have tried to promote diversity, but many LGBTQ+ employees still face difficulties at work. It’s not just about company rules; daily conversations and interactions play a huge part too. 

We gathered detailed data to understand the experiences of LGBTQ+ workers better. Our findings show that many LGBTQ+ employees still don’t feel comfortable revealing their identity at work. In this article, we’re sharing these insights, including personal stories from LGBTQ+ workers.

Hearing these stories is crucial to discussions about making workplaces more inclusive, no matter what type of discrimination we’re addressing. Listening to these experiences is where company leaders should start if they want fairer workplaces.

From our research, we’ve identified six essential changes to make workplaces better for LGBTQ+ workers and those with LGBTQ+ family members. We know that making these changes can be challenging, but the goal is to make every employee feel valued. Embracing this change can only make businesses better.

We’ve also made efforts to support our Black colleagues in leadership roles, and these efforts have shown results in the form of an increased leadership pipeline. Plus, we’ve broadened our internship opportunities. We’ve even set up a unique platform for recruiting and retaining Black talent at higher levels. This approach has enabled us to bring in several experienced leaders.

We’ve made sure that equity and inclusion are part of our professional training. Our next move is to include these themes in our leadership training and offer this content to our clients. We introduced training sessions against bias for everyone involved in assessments.

We also included observers in discussions to check for bias and shared resources with interviewers to help them reduce bias. Lastly, in our supplier diversity efforts, we’re aiming for stronger relationships with diverse suppliers.

We’re refining how we choose suppliers, training processes, and the way we request proposals. We’re also letting all our suppliers know, diverse or not, that we value diversity. This way, we hope to encourage a broader impact on our entire supply chain.

Meet Our DE&I Leaders