New Push to Reframe DEI in London Shifts Away from Diversity

A new study aims to reframe the global debate surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion in the City of London by focusing less on demographics and more on hiring people with diverse experiences.

The report, published on Monday by the Diversity Project — which focuses on inclusion in the UK’s investment and savings industry — shows that having a wider variety of perspectives, backgrounds and skills can boost performances of investment teams.

The research comes as companies around the world re-examine their DEI efforts amid a crackdown by President Donald Trump. Many companies that work with the US federal government have backtracked on initiatives, wary of financial consequences of carrying on, but businesses in Europe have largely maintained measures amid international pressure.

The study combined first-hand insights with a review of academic literature and found that “cognitive diversity,” which stems from diverse educational and professional backgrounds, as well as demographic characteristics such as age, gender and race, can create substantial value in investment settings if managed effectively.

“It’s intuitive really that if you just hire from one type of group, or one type of person, you can’t produce the optimal team and we saw that obviously in the global financial crisis,” Helena Morrissey, who chairs the Diversity Project, told Bloomberg Radio. “This is actually saying that diversity drives meritocracy.”

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