Argyle's "Communicating Workforce Diversity" includes a comparison of EEO-1 data reporting requirements to the frequently used GRI and SASB disclosure frameworks on workforce gender and racial/ethnic diversity; benchmarks S&P 100 workforce diversity disclosures in publicly available information such as proxy statements, annual reports, websites, sustainability/CSR reports, and D&I reports; and provides numerous noteworthy examples of effective diversity disclosure from recently published sources.
Key benchmarking data takeaways include:
- Most companies address board gender diversity (77%) and board racial/ethnic diversity (71%) - typically in their proxy statement.
- More than 1/3 of companies address gender diversity in the executive/leadership and management (e.g., manager/ senior/director level) ranks; racial/ethnic diversity at the executive and management levels is addressed by 24% and 27% of companies, respectively.
- Disclosure of the numbers of male and female directors, executives, management, and employees is much more common than disclosure of the numbers of directors and employees within specific racial/ethnic categories. However, 63% of companies disclose race/ethnicity detail at the board level; 41% at the executive level; and nearly half at the management level.
- More than 20% of companies disclosed their consolidated EEO-1 Report or the data from that report.
- Nearly 60% and 50% of companies discuss gender and racial/ethnic diversity, respectively, across the workforce generally, e.g., hiring, retaining, promoting, pay equity.
As is the case with other trending topic disclosure resources we have recently highlighted, the diversity disclosures illustrate the extensive use of graphics, tables, color, and other design elements that enhance readability and visual appeal. See, for example, this graphic from Altria's 2019 Corporate Responsibility Progress Report:
And this pay equity/gap disclosure from Citi's 2019 Environmental, Social and Governance Report:
See our recent reports: "Proxy Disclosure: Corporate Governance" and here: "Effective Proxy Disclosure: Here's How!" and "Executive Compensation Disclosure: Practical Guidance" and numerous additional resources on our Proxy Statement page. This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!