SERAMOUNT REVEALS INCLUSION INDEX

INDEX RECOGNIZES 78 ORGANIZATIONS FOR CREATING AN INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE

New York, NY, August 11, 2021—Seramount (formerly Working Mother Media) unveiled its fifth annual Inclusion Index today. The Inclusion Index helps organizations understand trends and gaps in demographic representation, creates a road map to drive internal change, and identifies diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) solutions to close the gaps. Organizations provided data and were measured in three key areas: best practices in the recruitment, retention, and advancement of people from historically underrepresented groups—women, racial/ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ people; inclusive corporate culture, including leadership accountability; and demographic diversity for women and racial/ethnic minorities. This year, questions on how organizations are addressing racism were included in the survey.

“The need to address inclusion in the workplace continues to be a priority for corporate America,” says Katie Oertli Mooney, Vice President of Diversity Best Practices at Seramount. “Progress has been made, but we must remain steadfast in our efforts. We are proud to recognize our Inclusion Index companies for their dedication and for putting in the necessary work to effect real, sustainable change.”

This year, 193 organizations applied to participate in Seramount’s 2021 Inclusion Index (formerly known as the Diversity Best Practices Inclusion Index). Seven of those listed on the 2021 Inclusion Index are recognized for superior achievement as Pinnacle Inclusion Index companies, which is defined as those receiving an 80 percent or higher score. Twenty-seven of those listed on the 2021 Inclusion Index received a 70 percent or higher score, qualifying for a Leading Inclusion Index company. Forty-four organizations earned a 60 percent or higher score and a place on the Index. Completed applications were collected online from December 2020 through March 2021. Results reveal opportunities for all organizations to target their diversity and inclusion efforts for greater effectiveness.

Key findings from the 2021 Seramount Inclusion Index are:

●  Recruitment, retention and advancement: Eighty-one percent of index companies require diverse interview slates (compared with 45 percent of companies on the 2020 index), and 66 percent require diverse panels of interviewers. Ninety-two percent provide training for recruiters in cultural competency in interviewing. Seventy-five percent of index companies consider gender, race and ethnicity in succession planning (compared with 59 percent of the 2020 Index companies). 

●  Inclusive corporate culture: Ninety-five percent of companies conduct pay-equity audits (of those, 84 percent audit for both gender and race/ethnicity), and 88 percent set representation percentage goals (compared with 65 percent of the 2020 Index companies). Ninety-four percent hold managers accountable for DEI during performance reviews. Fifty-seven percent of Inclusion Index companies compensate managers for DEI results (compared with 42 percent of 2020 index companies). In the year since the murder of George Floyd, many companies across corporate America have pledged to address racism within their organization: Seventy-three percent of Index companies have conducted anti-racism training, 99 percent have had organized discussions on racism (and of those 99 percent, 97 percent involved senior leaders), and 86 percent held employee focus groups.

ABOUT SERAMOUNT
Seramount is a strategic professional-services firm dedicated to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. Over four decades, partnering with some of the most iconic companies in the world, we’ve built a deep, data-driven understanding of the employee experience, which lays the groundwork for everything we do. Our comprehensive DEI toolkit includes actionable research and insights, membership, strategic guidance and consulting, and inspiring events, meeting each client’s needs no matter where they are on their journey, and guiding them along an ever-changing landscape. Seramount has empowered more than 450 organizations to realize the business benefits of diversity, equity and inclusion. Learn more at seramount.com.