European companies dominate an index for being the most-diverse, while only two US firms, Gap and Bristol-Myers Squibb, make the top 10 of the most diverse and inclusive companies in the world.

Most diverse

According to the Thomson Reuters’ diversity and inclusion (D&I) Index, Accenture, Novartis and Medtronic are the most diverse companies. Thomson Reuters says investors are increasingly looking at how companies perform on D&I metrics as a screen for potential long-term performance. The D&I Index was launched in 2016 to track companies with the most diverse and inclusive workplaces. The index considers 24 metrics across four categories: diversity, inclusion, people development and news controversies. It is then calculated based on each metric’s importance in the market and how each company compares to its peers.

Societal benefits

Elena Philipova, global head of ESG at Thomson Reuters’ financial and risk division, says ‘the industry is beginning to recognize the societal and business benefit of investing in diverse and inclusive companies and we are working closely with various investment firms that are looking to develop investable products based on our D&I index.’  Based on the D&I Index, a company’s ability to consistently perform to a high standard on diversity and inclusion is a challenge: 52 of the companies earning a top 100 spot are included for the first time, while just 17 companies remain ranked on the index for two consecutive years. Earlier this year, Bloomberg also expanded its Gender-Equality Index to make it industry-neutral, having focused on the financial services sector for the first couple of years of its existence.