A key Agenda item for Boards continues to be Diversity and Inclusion. Fidelio does not see this changing in 2022; rather we see the focus intensifying. In the UK for example the Hampton-Alexander Review will embark on the next phase on increasing gender balance in leadership roles and the Parker Review will also report on ethnic diversity in the Boardroom.
The diversity discussion is by no means confined to FTSE Boards. In most jurisdictions, diversity is on the radar screen of both investors and regulators and in privately held companies, lack of diversity is becoming an impediment to business development and is seen to limit access to capital.
Looking ahead we see diversity continuing to be a key consideration for Board composition, partly because of shareholder and stakeholder scrutiny, but also very much reflecting the conviction that cognitive diversity underpins good decision-making. As Boards oversee culture and engage with employees, they are increasingly focussed on inclusion given the evident benefits in terms of well-being, morale and performance.
During 2021 Fidelio supported clients to embed diversity. Much of our work was international and involved thinking what does inclusion and diversity look like in a specific, local context. We also confronted the complexity of intersectionality across different elements of diversity including but not limited to: gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability and socio-economic background.
Diversity was also a priority in terms of Fidelio’s advocacy and thought leadership and we set out recent examples below:
If Fidelio can support your Board and leadership team in promoting and developing Diversity & Inclusion, please get in touch.
