Research shows a consistently positive relationship between inclusion and financial performance. One recent study found that 20 of the most inclusive companies had an average annual stock return of 10% over five years, compared to 4.2% for the 20 least diverse companies.
Committed to Inclusion in STEM
This month's Member Spotlight is an excerpt from the State of Corporate Citizenship 2020 report.
Corporate leaders who prioritize innovation, employee engagement, and recruiting and retention of employees understand the importance of developing an inclusive culture that welcomes people from diverse backgrounds.
Nearly half of executive respondents in the State of Corporate Citizenship 2020 report ranked inclusion among the top five corporate citizenship objectives contributing to business success. Investments in inclusion are also likely to pay off over time. The report’s findings also conclude that the longer a company is committed to inclusion, the more likely executives are to report success in reducing employee turnover.
Arconic, which specializes in lightweight metals engineering and manufacturing, understands the role of inclusion in attracting, developing, and retaining talent. Just as the company strives to transform the ways that people fly, drive, build, and power, it turns that innovative energy inward to create a culture that embraces diversity, drives inclusion, and empowers and engages its employees. Arconic takes its commitment to inclusion seriously. In 2019, the company earned a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index, reflecting that its corporate policies, benefits, and practices promote inclusion and a public commitment to LGBTQ+ equality.
Having initiated six employee resource groups (ERGs) that inform those company policies around inclusion and diversity and provide employees with opportunities for learning, development, networking, and collaborative working, Arconic takes feedback from these groups to inform its people policies and practices.
“Diverse employees have a unique challenge in corporate America, something that you may not experience if you’re not a diverse employee,” said Jason Miles, maintenance and reliability manager and member of the Arconic African Heritage Network ERG. “Arconic is ahead of its time to provide an atmosphere for people to learn, develop themselves, and grow.”
In addition to its ERGs, Arconic ensures that opportunities for mentorship exist throughout the organization—for more seasoned employees to mentor those newer to the workforce, veteran employees to support incoming veterans, and women to mentor other women. As a way to advance its ability to thoughtfully support all of its employees, Arconic has partnered with national associations such as the American Association of People with Disabilities, Women in Manufacturing®, and the Manufacturing Institute, the latter of which celebrates women engaged in science, technology, engineering, and production roles through its annual “STEP Ahead” awards.
Arconic is committed to elevating its women employees and is doing its part to increase transparency around pay as a measure toward reducing the gender pay gap. In 2018, Arconic UK released its second “Gender Pay Gap Report” revealing that the company narrowed the hourly wage gap between men and women at its locations in the U.K. by 2.4 percentage points. The company also reinforced its determination to increase the number of women and minority employees at all levels of the organization.
This commitment to engineering progress is embedded in the culture of Arconic and the strategic mission of the Arconic Foundation, whose areas of focus are to promote science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), workforce development, and access and diversity.
“At Arconic and Arconic Foundation, we value our people as much for who they are as for what they do,” said Suzanne van de Raadt, former vice president, communications and program development at Arconic. “Diversity is a key sustainable advantage that drives innovation and helps advance industries.”
Arconic’s commitment to a disciplined process of cultivating a workforce that is diverse and a culture that is inclusive is sure to make it a leader in the industry.
This monthy's Member Spotlight is an excerpt from the State of Corporate Citizenship 2020 report.
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