A group of leading investors including Rathbones Investment Management, Sarasin & Partners, Scottish Widows and NEST, are calling on companies to recommit to diversity and inclusion.
The 19 investment firms, which have a combined £498bn in assets under management, have signed a statement coordinated by ShareAction urging businesses 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.
ShareAction’s statement calls on companies to remove 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.
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Kohinoor Choudhury, campaigns manager at ShareAction, said: “This year we’ve seen some companies rebrand or roll back their inclusion initiatives, while 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.”
ShareAction said 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.
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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 who 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.
This story was written by our sister title, Portfolio Adviser
