Refinitiv, a global provider of financial market data and infrastructure, has announced the 2021 Top 100 most diverse and inclusive organisations globally as ranked by the Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Index.
Refinitiv’s D&I Index
Refinitiv’s D&I Index uses analytics to score companies across four main pillars: Diversity, Inclusion, People Development, and Controversies.
Only companies with scores across all four pillars are assigned an overall score. The top 100 ranked companies with the best overall D&I scores are then selected for the Index.
The index works by measuring “relative performance against multiple factors that define diverse and inclusive workplaces,” where ratings are informed by their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) data.
D&I by industry and country
The industries leading this year’s D&I Index Top 100 are banking, investment services, and insurance firms with a total of 13, followed by pharmaceuticals with nine, speciality retailers with eight, and telecommunications services, personal & household products, and services with seven respectively.
In terms of country, the United States leads the Top 100 list with 25 firms followed by the United Kingdom with nine, Australia, Italy and Germany six, Canada, France, and South Africa five.
Refinitiv’s Diversity & Inclusion report, which has also been recently released, shows that the EMEA region has the most culturally diverse boards. Regionally, Africa is making the most progress with three percentage point improvement over five years.
Reactions to the index
Debra Walton, Chief Revenue Officer, Data & Analytics, Head of Group Strategic Accounts, London Stock Exchange Group said: “Since its launch in 2016 the index has consistently outperformed major market indices, demonstrating a high degree of correlation between company’s financial performance and their leadership in diversity and inclusion.”
Sheila Peters, Chief People Officer, Gap Inc, Rank #1 said: “To be recognised as the #1 ranked company on the Refinitiv Diversity and Inclusion Index is a great honour for Gap Inc, one that has been 52 years in the making. We believe that inclusion isn’t optional, and this recognition truly reinforces the importance of Gap Inc.’s core belief – that we all deserve to belong.
“We know there’s more work to be done and we have established a path to create long-lasting systemic changes through our 2025 Equality & Belonging Commitments. With the passion and dedication of our employees, we will continue to do what’s right for our teams, customers and communities.”
Sang Lee, Head of Securities & Investments at Aite-Novarica Group said: “Financial services firms and corporates are quickly becoming wise to the benefits of ESG not only as an investment tool but as a culturally transformative tool that forges greater employee morale and production efficiencies.
“The past year has demonstrated that firms that set, disclose, and meet their ESG targets, including diversity and inclusion, are becoming some of the strongest proponents of all ESG related matters. Whereas firms that have not fully embraced these opportunities are finding themselves marred in employee and shareholder activism.”
William Trout, Director of Wealth Management at Javelin Strategy & Research, commented: “Today’s investors are far more likely to embrace ESG than their parents, from whom they stand to inherit the bulk of consumer wealth. Their motivations and triggers are also distinctive, in that social and corporate governance issues rival the environment in their calculus. Meeting their needs in an engaging and interactive manner constitutes a make-or-break opportunity for the modern wealth manager.”
To find out more about the Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Index, click here. To find out who is on the top 100 list, click here. To read about the findings of the Refinitiv Diversity and Inclusion report, read here.
