Management Insight
Actions speak louder than words in diversity & inclusion
Brian Lamb
APR 2021
The social and political disruption of 2020 ignited a dialogue around pervasive racial and gender-based inequities and their spanning history in the United States and around the world. This discussion was long overdue, but it’s time we do more than just talk. We must act.
At EquiLend, our diversity has always been a personal point of pride. At last count, our employees spoke 29 different languages and hailed from 6 continents. Our global, multicultural staff members are part of what makes our organization the industry leader that it is. We’re proud of what we’ve built together. But we know there is more work to be done. We are committed to advancing our progress in diversity and inclusion and pushing ourselves to constantly do better.
Diversity has always been core to our culture
Diversity has been an essential part of EquiLend’s culture since our inception. It is part of our fabric, and we get so much from it!
For many years, EquiLend has hosted a company-wide potluck where employees each bring a traditional dish from their cultural background. From samosas to coquito and pilaf to barbecue, the yearly occasion is always a special moment to share a part of our heritage with one another. It also serves as a reminder of our breadth across the world.
It’s these little things – these personal touchpoints – that prepare the organization for the larger efforts. You can’t slap on a diversity & inclusion initiative and just expect it to work. You actually have to make the workplace inclusive and welcoming for people of all backgrounds, of all identities, for a program to be meaningful and successful. In other words, it has to be embedded within the DNA of a company, as it always has been at EquiLend.
What we’ve heard from our team
There is a key thing we have learned from the ongoing dialogue around diversity and inclusion: how crucial it is for leaders to take a step back and listen. EquiLend’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee conducted a global staff survey recently to help us do just that.
We asked our employees how they felt EquiLend embraces diversity and inclusion with respect to various areas.
- 96% responded well or very well, with respect to race and ethnicity
- 93% responded well or very well, with respect to gender
- 96% responded well or very well, with respect to sexual orientation
- 91% responded well or very well, with respect to people with disabilities
- 96% responded well or very well, with respect to age
These are good numbers, but there is still room to grow and do even better! We are implementing new processes and initiatives that keep us accountable to our core values, and diversity and inclusion is at the top of that list. Among these initiatives:
- This pandemic has unquestionably placed unique hardships on women, in particular working mothers. This month, we launched an affinity group for working parents to ensure EquiLend parents feel supported and connected during this challenging time, and after.
- We are working closely with LGBT Great—which has featured several EquiLend staff as LGBT and ally role models—to educate our staff on the trans and nonbinary community this year.
- We are partnering with NPower and UpReach to broaden the talent pool in NY and London.
The company and our staff are also active with a variety of industry groups such as the Women in Securities Finance, LGBT Great and the SIFMA Diversity & Inclusion Council, to name a few. These groups have been incredible resources, not just as we encourage inclusiveness within our firm, but to learn from our industry peers.
I am so proud of all EquiLend has accomplished as a firm over the past 20 years. Yet what makes me perhaps the proudest is the fact that 150+ people around the globe have found a home with Team EquiLend. I look forward to all we can do together going forward.
Who We Are
EquiLend is a global financial technology, data and analytics firm offering Trading, Post-Trade, Data & Analytics, RegTech and Securities Finance Platform Solutions for the securities finance industry. EquiLend has offices in New York, New Jersey, Boston, Toronto, London, Dublin, India, Hong Kong and Tokyo and is regulated in jurisdictions around the globe.
