UK asset managers are being asked to provide data on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) to monitor the industry’s progress in promoting inclusive workplaces and attracting and retaining a diverse workforce. The Investment Association and the Thinking Ahead Institute will survey the association’s 250 members to collect data on employee gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socio-economic background and neurodiversity. To understand what firms are doing to boost EDI within their workforces, the survey will ask about the type of diversity data currently being gathered by the industry and how often it is being collected. It also aims to establish how firms are advancing EDI within their organisation and the wider industry. The first set of results will be published later this year. Marisa Hall, Head of the Thinking Ahead Institute, said the initiative would allow asset managers to benchmark their progress and to better focus resources on improving EDI. “In time, this should result in a more diverse pool of talent in the UK industry, and beyond, with the corresponding improvement in investment outcomes.” An Asset Manager Diversity and Inclusion Questionnaire is already used by signatories of the Asset Owner Diversity Charter, responsible for more than £1 trillion AUM, to inform engagement on improving diversity and inclusion among asset managers.
