As part of our mission to accelerate D&I in the asset management industry, Nicsa, in collaboration with the Diversity Project North America Benchmarking Committee, partnered with CareerAgility to conduct a Pulse Survey of Nicsa members and those in the broader industry on their beliefs around D&I and how they rate their own firm’s progress early this year.

A few words about the Survey:

The goal of the survey is to provide a baseline from which to measure industry progress. While the data collected was prior to events leading to the vast social unrest in the country and around the world, the insights are important and noteworthy.

A few takeaways:

• Belief in importance of D&I is rated higher than observed practices.
• Lowest scores for questions regarding actual work environment, career development, and career advancement opportunities were given by Black, LGBT-identifying and female respondents.
• Senior management is generally perceived as a positive force for change, but the challenge is making sure that engagement and execution at all levels are included in goals and targets.
• Recruitment and retention efforts are deficient, receiving some of the lowest scores.
• Levels of discussion have increased but accountability and a concrete plan of action were perceived as lacking.