Why do you need to use metrics to track diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives?
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no title3 years ago
No matter what, things happen when there's a forcing function, whether you do it or somebody else does it. The forcing function right now is investment. But first, the company has to make a choice. BlackRock made a choice and that's going to drive an outcome. Everybody in the world took note and they're going to do something about it, which will lead to change. But if you don't measure, there's no way to know the baseline from which you’re starting, so how will you know if you're making any progress? It’s pretty straightforward — we need to have those baselines.
Diversity issues are such a mirror to what we're struggling with in terms of environmental and sustainability concerns, in many different ways — generically speaking, measures are critical. But what do we do for DEI when there are now local and state governments that are fighting against anything that does measure? They would push you out because you want to measure something.
Companies like BlackRock made the decision to focus their investments on environmental sustainability and I think that's a great approach. What about something along the lines of the Better Business Bureau, but for DEI? There are dozens of other examples that might mirror something like the Better Business Bureau, so why can't we engage with them to put metrics on companies that go beyond what shows up on a 10-K report? And as for 10-Ks, if BlackRock is going to be ESG investment-oriented, then why don't we add measures during the 10-K report that show what an organization is doing relative to both sustainability and equity?