Month: January 2022

How Investing in Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) Makes a Difference

Posted on by Sureita Hockley

I can change the world, with my own two hands

Make a better place with my own two hands

Make a kinder place, with my own two hands

– Song by Ben Harper, Diamond on the Inside. 2003

Our new issue focuses on the importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), the extent to which DEI is important for investors – and the potential risks of failing to take it into account when making investment decisions.

Doesn’t it seem like our understanding of the impact of DEI on investing should be further evolved by now? Our contributors within the SPOTLIGHT section of this digest point to a variety of ways that companies benefit from social oriented policies – and examples of some who have not.

They will discuss the impact of how a company treats its employees, its community and the fairness of how it utilizes its capital on its performance. Do DEI considerations affect every aspect of the business – supply chains, product or service strategies, logistics and human resources? Clearly, a Socially Inspired Investor will take DEI into consideration – perhaps as much as other ratios or quantitative factors. We know you will enjoy listening to our PODCAST guest, Lorraine Wilson, Chief Impact Officer and Head of ESG Methodology at Novata, who brings it all together.  

We hope you continue to benefit from the work we do here at the Socially Inspired Investor and our thought leadership. Please feel free to pass us along to others.

Welcome to 2022, everyone!

Does investing in Diversity, Equality and Inclusion make a difference and why?

Posted on by Sureita Hockley

We reached out to leading experts in the ESG investing industry to find out their responses, and this is what we found…

QUESTIONDoes investing in Diversity, Equality and Inclusion make a difference and why?

ANSWERTonderai Njowera, Senior Partner, ImpactVest Global Advisory

ANSWERYes, it makes absolute sense! It aids in social esteem building, yielding collective long-term social, environmental, and economic dividends for those less exposed to opportunity and for the entire society, the global society.

QUESTIONDoes investing in Diversity, Equality and Inclusion make a difference and why?

ANSWERRupini Deepa Rajagopalan, Head of ESG Office at Berenberg

ANSWERIt is really simple in my view, investing in areas that have positive change indirectly also creates positive returns. Why? Because companies that advocate for issues such as social justice or promote social values, just means intrinsically they are built upon a culture that promotes long-term stability and even inclusion. Which is why I believe in investing in our values and coin the term “Finance with a heart”.

QUESTIONDoes investing in Diversity, Equality and Inclusion make a difference and why?

ANSWERKlarissa Nura, Research Analyst, ImpactVest Metrics

ANSWERIn a capitalist society, the allocation is the principle tool to create an equitable world for society and the planet where race, gender, economics and climate change is carefully considered.

QUESTIONDoes investing in Diversity, Equality and Inclusion make a difference and why?

ANSWEROlivia E. Knight, Racial Justice Initiative Manager at As You Sow

ANSWERInvesting in social justice is an investment in the future; corporations exist in a symbiotic relationship with the communities they serve and this relationship must be just and equitable to be healthy. Investors serve as a company’s liaison to the community and can exert a direct influence on corporate policies by promoting social justice. An investment in social justice is an investment in the community, and a healthy thriving community is essential to sustainable corporate success.

QUESTIONDoes investing in Diversity, Equality and Inclusion make a difference and why?

ANSWER Jennifer Priest, Content Strategist at Xactly Design & Advertising Inc.

ANSWERInvesting in social justice does make a difference…certainly to the lives of the people who benefit from improved situations. But there are also ripple effects into other areas. For example, in alleviating poverty, if individuals have more economic power they have more choice, and can buy products/services that are more sustainable vs what’s cheapest. Another thing to consider are the costs of allowing negative situations to continue (often hard to quantify, I admit).

QUESTIONDoes investing in Diversity, Equality and Inclusion make a difference and why?

ANSWERHarold Overholm, CEO at Alight

ANSWERInvesting in social justice can mean many things, but being from Sweden where education is free, I believe a fundamental investment in social justice is education accessible for all. The possibilities of childrens’ futures should not be dependent on for example the financial capability of their parents. Societies benefit from having that equal opportunity for higher education where everyone can go get a PhD (like myself)