Are you as proud of your company as I am?

What makes you most proud of the company you work for?

You might be proud of a dozen things about your company, but one of them will always spring to mind first. For me, it’s the priority my company makes of diversity and inclusion. ?

Accenture’s commitment comes straight from the top — and diversity and inclusion is embedded in everything we do. Our Chair and CEO Julie Sweet, along with our Board, set ambitious diversity goals for the company — and make them public so we’re held accountable for achieving them. (I’m proud to say we’re making progress toward them.)

And inclusion is a priority in its own right. Around the world, we invest in programs and policies to ensure our people feel connected, with a strong sense of trust and belonging. It’s a company-wide focus on inclusion, where everyone can thrive, contribute and participate fully.

So it’s most gratifying to see our efforts recognized again on Refinitiv’s Global Diversity & Inclusion Index. This is the fourth time, and twice consecutively, that we’ve ranked number one in the past six years.

In case you’re not familiar with this ranking, Refinitiv’s Global Diversity & Inclusion Index ranks over 15,000 companies globally and identifies the top 100 publicly traded companies with the most diverse and inclusive workplaces, as measured by 24 metrics across 4 key pillars. All scores are derived using Refinitiv’s ESG database, which contains information on over 630 metrics.

I think the reason we stood out this year is the progress we’ve made related to key pillars of the ranking, including:

• Diversity: We’re making real progress toward our goals. Our workforce is now 47% women worldwide. In the US, our workforce is more than 12% African American and Black and 11% Hispanic American and Latinx. And our Board is 50% women and 50% racially and ethnically diverse.
• Inclusion: This year we introduced a way for our people to make an even bigger impact — by becoming Allies in Action. This global experience brings our people together to learn what it means to be an ally, practice inclusive behaviors and be role models for others. As of June, we have a network of more than 140,000 Allies in Action across many ally communities.
• Talent development: We invest in our people’s growth — to the tune of $1 billion annually. Our continually updated learning and development opportunities help our people maintain marketable skills and help us bring the most up-to-date solutions to our clients. In addition, our inclusion and diversity leadership development programs are designed to advance the professional development of our people across underrepresented communities and strengthen our pipeline for advancement and representation.

Refinitiv has found that companies that focus on diversity and inclusion actually perform better in the marketplace. So, investors find the Refinitiv analysis valuable.

Accenture believes that’s because the more diverse the perspectives, the more innovative the ideas — and solutions. And the more inclusive the culture is, the freer everyone feels to contribute their ideas.

Who knows? It might be that companies that care about diversity and inclusion are conscientious about everything else as well. And that’s why they succeed.

All reasons to be proud.