Over the past several years, there has been an increased focus on the importance of diversity and inclusion at all levels – but especially in the C-suite and Boardroom.
Progress is often hard to measure given differing disclosure requirements of both public and private companies. But like all issues that fall under the ESG spectrum: just because you aren’t measured on it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be doing it, and effectively holding your own business to account over the way that it evolves to become a ‘better’ company.
There is the practical consideration that every good private company may find itself becoming a public company, so greater rigour and metrics are a good thing to instil. But there are many broader considerations that shape business value and reputation in the eyes of other stakeholders, chiefly employees, potential hires and business partners.
Then there is the practical consideration. For example, start-ups and other fast-growing private companies may be more likely to attract capital as investors place an increasing importance on diversity and inclusion in their investment calculus.
Businesses pursuing relevant ESG goals – so pretty much all of them – will always want to quantify how diverse the organisation is, particularly at boardroom level, and they will want to see measured progress towards applicable targets. But there’s also likely value to be gained from simply sharing information that doesn’t centre on statistics – the employee perspectives, practices and challenges of change that can all contribute to engaging storytelling.