Operational efficiency Case study
Doubling the
diversity at EY
To meet ambitious targets on race and gender EY introduced a new D&I
strategy last year. Targeted programmes have helped high potentials
progress and increased awareness within the firm, hears BEAU JACKSON
The organisation
Ernst & Young Global, commonly known as EY,
was first formed in 1989 through a merger
between accounting firms Ernst & Whinney
and Arthur Young & Co. After expanding its
services over the years the company works in
a multitude of different sectors including
financial consultancy, technology and HR. It is
headquartered in London and operates out of
more than 700 offices in 150 countries around
the globe, 20 of which are in the UK.
In 2019 it posted an annual revenue of
$36.4 billion. As one of the Big Four accounting
firms EY consistently competes to attract talent.
In 2019 it ranked at number two globally in
Universum’s Top 50 Most Attractive Employers
for Business.
The problem
EY’s self-professed purpose is ‘Building a better
working world’. Over the years this has translated
into a variety of accolades relating to the firm’s
support of employees with disabilities and
those in the LGBT community, as well as a
commitment to gender and racial diversity.
“When I think about when we first started out
our efforts in D&I many years ago we did win a
lot of awards,” says Justine Campbell, EY’s UK&I
managing partner for talent. In particular, she
adds, “my predecessor was very strong in the
market around the LGBT community”.
However, to stay at the forefront of D&I
challenges the company couldn’t just continue
on the same track.
“We certainly didn’t rest on our laurels. But
over time other organisations came up behind
us, and that’s when we felt we weren’t leading the
charge anymore,” admits Campbell.
Across UK business, legislative change has
seen the introduction of compulsory gender pay
gap reporting, and there are now increased calls
to do the same for ethnicity, something EY has
been doing since 2017.
In EY’s reporting for 2019 the gender pay gap
across the whole firm had a mean of 36.3%,
down 1.4% on 2018. The ethnicity pay gap was
reported at 37%, down 0.5% compared to 2018.
Working with businessman John Parker the
firm also helps produce the Parker Review,
which holds FTSE 350 companies accountable
for the ethnic diversity of their boards.
In its most recent Transparency Report the
BAME representation on EY’s board of directors
was at 10%, with female representation at 50% –
equating to one male director of colour, and
five women.
Attentive to the necessity for improvements to
gender and racial representation throughout the
company as a whole, Campbell shares the
company’s frustration: “We felt we weren’t
getting there fast enough.”
The method
To “accelerate the pace of change” in gender and
racial diversity at EY, the company launched a
new D&I strategy in 2019.
One of the pillars of this strategy was the
ambitious target of doubling the proportion of
BAME and female talent. By July 2025, Campbell
says, the hope is to have 20% BAME and 40%
female employees within EY UK&I.
To kickstart this goal for BAME talent the
EY wants to double its proportion of To facilitate participation of untapped talent BAME Candidates
nominate
allies from
within their
departments
EY will double its investment in effective programmes 46 HR April 2020 hrmagazine.co.uk
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