(Friday 6th June) Today, a group of 19 investors worth £498 billion in assets under management are calling on companies to reaffirm their commitments to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in their workplaces. This comes days ahead of the deadline for a UK government consultation on ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting.
Investors have signed on to a statement urging businesses to restate their commitment to removing barriers for underrepresented groups, in response to recent political and legal challenges to DEI - particularly in the US, but also from a vocal minority in the UK. Signatories include Rathbones Investment Management, Sarasin & Partners and Scottish Widows, and NEST, the UK’s largest workplace pension scheme.
Kohinoor Choudhury, Campaigns Manager at ShareAction said: “This year we’ve seen some companies rebrand or roll back their inclusion initiatives, whilst others have gone quiet or suspended these activities altogether.
“Today investors are calling on businesses to make clear that they will continue to ensure all their staff feel supported and included at work, and that talent is recognised regardless of background.
“Belonging is not a luxury, and levelling the playing field is a good thing for business and society. Shareholders taking a responsible investment approach want to see that the companies they invest in remain committed to this goal.”
The statement highlights the growing business case for DEI, with studies showing that businesses that value and support DEI outperform their less diverse peers, with benefits including increased innovation, reduced turnover and more motivated workforces.
In April, the UK’s leading authority on employment law, the Employment Lawyers Association, stated that British companies could even open themselves up to discrimination claims if they follow their US counterparts in dismantling policies designed to enable DEI.
Many of the investors that have signed on to the statement form part of ShareAction’s Good Work coalition. Over a number of years, investors in this coalition have been attending the annual general meetings of companies and asking boards about their position on ethnicity pay gap reporting, and have recently responded to the Government consultation on making such reporting mandatory.
ENDS
Notes to editors
The statement can be read in full here: https://shareaction.org/polici...
The full list of investors signed on to the statement is as follows Aequo, Barrow Cadbury Trust, Castlefield Investment Partners, Cripplegate Foundation, Friends Provident Foundation, Greenbank Investments, Investor Advocates for Social Justice, Jesuits in Britain, KLP Kapitalforvaltning, London CIV, NEI Investments, NEST, Rathbones Group, Sarasin & Partners, Scottish Widows, Social Governance Solutions, Strathclyde Pension Fund, Trillium Asset Management, and Trust for London.
The Government is currently exploring how to implement mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for large employers in the UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/equality-race-and-disability-bill-mandatory-ethnicity-and-disability-pay-gap-reporting
ShareAction is an NGO working to shape a world where the financial system serves our planet and its people. We mobilise global investors to use their influence to drive up labour standards, tackle climate change, protect the natural world, and improve people’s health. We push policymakers to ensure the financial system is working in the best interests of society. We work with people to create a movement for change. Visit shareaction.org or follow us @ShareAction to find out more.
