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Just one year into her role as Wall Street's first ever female CEO, Jane Fraser’s appointment to the only banking board with more women than men has been warm, with markets deeming her at least as capable a leader and inspiration as the men that came before her. But with around 40% of women still seeing no viable path to Executive (Finsia, 2021), finding new women to replace them from lower ranks remains a challenge.
In the same year but with less fanfare, CITI achieved yet another first: Wall Street's only major institution to agree to race audits in order to fully understand its contributions to inequity, joining the likes of Facebook, Starbucks and AirBnB.
But this time those speaking up against management efforts to block precisely such disclosures were shareholders, not staff. CITIs transformation in DEI is clearly advancing, now leading the pack in terms of DEI data quality and transparency through this commitment to publishing independent annual third-party discrimination reports, as other banks look increasingly out of touch in continuing claims such data is overkill given the vastness of their efforts. But while CITI has salvaged a positive spin on an even more positive policy, it missed out on much of the glory its first place deserved because it embarked on this journey often less than willingly.
The lessons here on data are loud and clear:
1. When it comes to DEI - as with all things in this Information Age- transparency and openness are key to maintaining the confidence and trust of staff, customers, investors and regulators.
2. DEI isn’t some fad that people will slowly forget about, and resistance to change isn’t an adequate excuse for inaction. Inaction that will always come back to bite.
3. Everyone’s data is going to be terrible, but the discussion is shifting from hiding the problem to acknowledging the problem in order to find ways to resolve it. It’s those taking this new approach who are faring better in the court of public opinion.
4. It’s always best to do the right thing, rather than prioritise words over actions as is so often the case today. Billboards do not bring about meaningful change. They need to be backed up with effective policies, practices and behaviours. But what do those really look like? Never fear because that's...
Where we can help
Deilight Consulting has partnered with multi-award winners Global Equality Collective – the world’s first DE&I app - to provide our clients with a fully paperless, immersive, confidential, deep data solution for staff engagement/satisfaction surveys and DE&I demographic data collection. It features an intuitive dashboard, full view/compare reports, GEC seal, comprehensive resource library and detailed bespoke action plan advice/recommendations. Under our partnership contract, we provide this to you at cost (i.e. no agency / referral fees) as part of our one-stop-shop commitment as a fully integrated, full service DE&I partner.
Where we add value is by helping you socialize, rollout and maximise uptake for the service, plus analyse and roadmap recommendations based on your survey results. We can even stick around and support / champion you as you implement any changes that come out of it. Everything is centralized under a single Deilight contract with full confidentiality assured.
Today, there isn’t a single black Chairman, CEO or CFO in any of the UK’s largest FTSE100 companies. Despite keen and determined efforts of many, ethnicity representation and inclusion are now firmly in reverse - a tragic waste of the lost potential of a generation for humankind. To those brave firms committed to keeping their promises, we’re here to help you change that.
Get in touch today, because it’s commercial, not just correct.
