[EP. 4/6] Diversity & Inclusion: More Than Just Metrics and Gender

ESG agendas have shot to the fore in the last couple of years and we have seen investors increasingly integrating ESG into their investment decisions. But where does diversity and inclusion sit within the realm of ESG? And why is this such an important topic? The pandemic has highlighted societal injustice and inequality, and how it has had adverse effects on the progression of workplace diversity. For example, more women have been made redundant, taken pay cuts, or been placed on furlough than men, mainly due to the sectors in which they more commonly work. Women and ethnic minorities are still disproportionally represented. The diversity needle is being shifted backwards but at M&G we are looking at how we can reverse this shift. Diversity and inclusion is a focus for M&G both in terms of the way in which we operate as a company but also the companies in which we choose to invest in. It is vital that diversity is embedded into the products, solutions or services that a company provides and not just the workplace they employ. We recognise that there is a need for not only better data but better data quality. What are companies really doing ‘underneath the bonnet’ to really tackle this issue? How are they developing their pipeline talent? We need to look across the whole diversity and inclusion spectrum and, whilst important, not just focus on gender. In this episode we will discuss: - How we invest in diverse and inclusive companies and the compelling investment opportunities as a result - The sectoral and geographical issues that are still prevalent around diversity and inclusion - How these societal issues are entwined with both the environmental and governance elements of ESG - Some of the Diversity &Inclusion initiatives that M&G are participating in at a corporate level The value of the fund's assets will go down as well as up. This will cause the value of your investment to fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you originally invested.