Refinitiv, one of the world’s largest providers of financial markets data and infrastructure, has announced the 2019 Top 100 most diverse and inclusive organizations globally as ranked by the Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Index.

The index ratings are informed by Refinitiv’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) data, designed to transparently and objectively measure the relative performance of more than 7,000 companies representing 70 per cent of global market cap across 400+ ESG data points, and provide clients with critical and differentiated insight.  

Industries leading this year’s D&I Index Top 100 are pharmaceutical firms with a total of 13, followed by banking, investment services & insurance with 11, telecommunications services with 9, and personal and household products & services with 7.  The US leads the Top 100 list with 25 firms followed by the UK with 10 and Australia with 9.  

The D&I Index is available on Refinitiv Eikon, as are the underlying diversity and inclusion metrics, which can be used to help financial professionals evaluate companies for long-term opportunities and risks in their investments, as well as empower diversity-lens investing strategies.

The D&I Index utilizes innovative analytics to rate and score companies across 4 main pillars: Diversity, Inclusion, People Development and Controversies. Only companies with scores across all four pillars are assigned an overall score (the average of the pillar scores). The top 100 ranked companies with the best overall scores are selected for the Index.   

“Congratulations to the 2019 D&I Index Top 100 most diverse & inclusive organizations globally. We are proud that our D&I index is being used as a guide to help firms across the globe create a workforce of diverse teams. We are equally proud that the D&I Index continues to serve as key driver for investors and analysts seeking to identify the companies that are getting this right, and helping them to make investment decisions that align with their values and the bottom line,” said Debra Walton, chief revenue officer at Refinitiv.

“The D&I Index also reflects Refinitiv’s own commitment to diversity and inclusion, data points which we track rigorously about our own company and which continue to drive our talent strategy to reach a minimum of 40 per cent female representation in senior leadership roles globally, whilst continuing to support and promote an inclusive workplace that embraces diversity of every kind.”

Larry Tabb, founder & research chairman at TABB Group, commented: “Diversity as a critical pillar of good governance is being increasingly used to manage investment selection. Those companies that have strong ESG aspects to their business tend to attract and retain employees and clients longer, which reduces turnover, costs and is very beneficial to the bottom line.”

Virginie O'Shea, research director at Aite Group, commented: “The continued industry interest in the D&I index reflects the increased investor appetite to invest in environmental, social, and governance related areas and the changes that are happening across all sectors of the capital markets. Some of the largest asset managers in the world have this year become much more active in engaging in shareholder voting on the issue of improving diversity and even the world’s oldest private banks have taken to the industry stage to discuss their investment strategies around ESG.”

Will Jan, vice president & lead analyst at Outsell, commented: “All eyes are on ESG data as the financial community becomes more vested in a sustainable future.  One critical responsibility among ESG platform providers is to help investors understand the impact of D&I: While D&I is a long-term process, not a goal, the need for near-term returns on D&I investments remains very real.  As such, metrics supporting various D&I benchmarking efforts have become more critical than ever in assessing the risk-vs-return in this market.”

“Our Diversity and Inclusion Index, now in its fourth year, recognizes the companies who are leading the way in imbedding diversity and inclusion into their business strategy and practices,” said Elena Philipova, global head of ESG at Refinitiv.

“As ESG principles become commonplace around the world, many executives and investment professionals are looking at the implementation of ESG fundamentals, D&I being part of it — not as a ‘nice to have’, but as an essential lens for investment and strategy decision-making.  Refinitiv remains fully committed to using our data assets, expertise and influence to champion the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace – including our own.” – TradeArabia News Service