Australia tops Asia-Pacific corporate inclusivity ranking

An innovative study has been conducted examining employee inclusion of almost 150 companies across nine Asia-Pacific nations. Based on the countries and companies studied, Australia was judged to be the region’s best performer.

Telstra, which received a company score of 92%, was hailed as the top-ranking organisation in the region, while Australian companies BHP Group, ANZ Bank, Fortescue Metals and Woolworths Group were also highlighted within the national Top 5, recognising their outstanding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts.

The study, conducted by Equality Group supported by Equilibrium, a FiscalNote company, looked at leading organisations in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. Businesses were analysed across an array of industries, including finance, mining, technology, communications, and manufacturing.

Information gleaned from publicly available materials — such as an organisation’s website, social media profiles, HR policies, and ESG reports — was used to rank DEI performance using Equality Group’s Inclusive Index. (A short three-minute video explaining the methodology can be viewed here.)

Equality Group’s head of research, Dr. Keon West, said the difference between the best-performing country examined, Australia, and the worst, Indonesia, was remarkable. “Companies in Australia scored on average 76% while companies in Indonesia scored on average 24%. Furthermore, the lowest-scoring Australian company still got a higher score (62%) than the highest-scoring Indonesian company (57%). These country-level differences really seem to be meaningful,” Dr. West noted.

Dr. West said Australian companies tended to score highly for two key reasons. “They often had leadership teams which were genderdiverse, and their websites clearly outlined the recruitment strategies that were in place to ensure hiring of diverse candidates, particularly people from indigenous backgrounds,” he explained.

Alex Badenoch, Telstra Group Executive for Transformation, Communications and People, said: “At Telstra, we’ve had flexible working policies for the better part of a decade, giving our people greater work-life balance and choice. This flexibility, combined with our inclusive workplace practices, makes Telstra a leader in diversity, equity and inclusion. Our people tell us they’re proud to work for Telstra and we’re pleased that is reflected in the outcomes of this innovative study.”

“This is the first comprehensive study of DEI in Asia,” said Frank Meehan, CEO and co-founder of Equilibrium. Corporate leaders and government policymakers can learn a great deal from the study’s findings, Mr. Meehan believes. “We have uncovered some fascinating results about how nuanced different countries across the region are with regards to DEI, which particular companies are at the forefront in APAC, and which sectors they come from,” Mr. Meehan said.

Equality Group CEO Hephzi Pemberton detailed some of the lessons that could be learnt from the study. “Too often DEI topics are limited to the HR departments of companies, rather than the strategic growth and innovation domains where they also belong. The C-Suite and boards who take personal ownership of DEI are the ones who see real and tangible progress made. Business leaders need to realise the critical role they play in setting the DEI agenda for their organisation. They set the tone from the top for others to follow,” she said.

Ms Pemberton continued: “There are proven upsides to adopting a DEI lens at the top of an organisation, including greater resilience, retention and innovation amongst your teams, and new products, customers, markets and stakeholders to be engaged with externally.”

The Equality Group and Equilibrium “Top APAC Companies Leading The Way In Inclusivity 2022 Research Study” was released Feb 21st 2022. For more information contact: Frank Meehan frank@eqm.ai

About Equality Group

Equality Group are a leading Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Consultancy who specialise in working within the investment and technology industries. They are a data driven firm with a scientific and research-based approach to their three services of Strategic Consultancy, Inclusion Education and Executive Search. They’re work includes CEO diversity studies across the FTSE, DEI studies across the Private Equity/Venture Capital sector, and more.

https://www.equality.group/

About Equilibrium, a FiscalNote company

Create, control, and communicate your ESG360TM story through Equilibrium, a holistic, sustainability data management solution. Go beyond a spreadsheet-based, checkbox approach to take charge of your ESG performance through cutting-edge AI technology, insights, and strategic advisory to drive decisions. Enhance stakeholder relations by measuring, benchmarking, and reporting your success across areas such as carbon accounting, DEI commitments, and regulatory compliance.

https://www.eqm.ai/