Cultural, ethnic, gender, educational and other differences all contribute to our individual thinking and experiences. These differences manifest in how we navigate the business world, including in making complex investment decisions. At Hg we have seen first-hand how a commitment to D&I creates a virtuous cycle: the more inclusive and welcoming we are to difference, the more each individual is able to add value. That, in turn, translates to a greater impact for all our stakeholders – Hg investors, our portfolio companies, employees and the communities where we work and live.
Within Hg we have an established Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group. The Steering Group is made up of a range of individuals from across Hg and its aims are to promote a culture of inclusion that clearly values diversity in all its forms, including a number of global initiatives around gender balance, flexible working, mentoring programmes, training and awareness events.
The Steering Group reports directly into the Hg Board to set the strategy and specific targets on D&I which are checked and updated each financial year. These include, for example, reaching 30% female employees by March 2021 (achieved in 2020) and 20% female at the senior executive level.
Since creating more focus and responsibility on D&I at Hg, we’ve been amazed at the value this has brought – we can pinpoint examples of deal pitches where our diversity agenda has given us a leading edge over our competitors. Examples like this make us ever more committed to this agenda.