Egon Zehnder Forms Partnership with Out Leadership
November 20, 2020 – Despite the well-documented benefits of diversity, many companies are still struggling to meaningfully change the makeup of their workforce. Egon Zehnder, the fourth largest search firm globally as ranked by Hunt Scanlon Media, and Out Leadership, a global platform for CEOs and multinational companies to advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusion and equality, recently formed an alliance aimed at promoting LGBTQ+ representation at senior levels of business.
“At Egon Zehnder, we understand that diversity of background and thought is an imperative for business success,” said Jill Ader, chair, Egon Zehnder. “We are thrilled to partner with Out Leadership on our joint commitment to ensure that the LGBTQ+ community is represented at the top levels of business and elsewhere in society.”
Egon Zehnder will be the newest member of Out Leadership’s coalition, which includes such companies as P&G, Publicis Sapient, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Mastercard, National Australia Bank, Nomura, KPMG, Citi, Coca Cola, Dow Chemical and LVMH. The two firms will work together on advisory and executive search services, thought leadership and events, with the goal of building a more robust pipeline for senior leadership positions and board appointments.
2020 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Recruiting Report:
Building a Balanced and Diverse Workforce
Hunt Scanlon Media’s latest market intelligence recruiting report – this time focused on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion – will be available later this fall! The nation’s top executive recruiters are resetting expectations and looking for new ways forward to build balanced and diverse workforce teams for their clients.
According to executive recruiters, DE&I should not just be a priority, but an integrated part of every company’s leadership goals. Some companies have even tied DE&I metrics to executive compensation. But it’s more than that.
Part of building strong, diverse hiring teams means asking yourself: “Who is my company culture going to attract – and how will it engage people who are here?” This question can be very difficult to answer if you assume everyone feels welcome already just because you do. Fostering diversity, equity and inclusion within organizations is more than just the right ethical decision. “It is one of the best business decisions a company can make,” said Keri Gavin, a partner with Hanold Associates and leader of the search firm’s Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion practice. Hanold Associates is a proud sponsor of this year’s report. This report will help organizations prioritize DE&I as a business imperative that drives greater competitiveness, innovation and business results. Get it now!
Egon Zehnder will become a member of Out Leadership’s business network and will be the exclusive search firm partner/sponsor of Quorum, Out Leadership’s brand covering all events and thought leadership initiatives related to promoting LGBT representation on corporate boards.
Push for Broader Diversity
“The push for broader diversity on boards globally has too often excluded LGBTQ leaders, both in policy, placement and practice,” said Todd Sears, founder and CEO of Out Leadership. “Out Leadership and our Quorum initiative have been striving since 2010 to increase LGBTQ inclusivity–especially at the board level where the greatest impact often is made. We’re proud to have Egon Zehnder as our newest partner and the first of the major leadership advisory firms to recognize the importance of LGBTQ diversity both in the U.S. and around the world,” he said.
Related: Workplace Diversity Through Recruitment
The first joint effort between the two firms will involve the co-promotion of Egon Zehnder’s Global Board Diversity Tracker, which will be released Dec. 8 and for the first time will involve analysis beyond gender, including research provided by Out Leadership. Ultimately the two organizations will develop proprietary research, events and other joint projects.
New Ways to Move the Needle on Diversity Hiring
As executive search professionals, Mercedes Chatfield-Taylor and Gina Barge of Caldwell have taken note of a lack of diversity at large technology companies. A new report they have co-authored examines why there are limited opportunities on senior leadership teams for people of color and women, and what can be done to change the trajectory.
The recruiters say that the leadership rosters of large technology companies are a homogeneous display of white male faces and telegraphs the obvious – corporate America still has a diversity issue. “What’s true for large companies is amplified for venture-backed start-ups,” said Ms. Chatfield-Taylor. “Anecdotally, I’ve heard from clients that their past recruiters discourage using diversity as a criterion for hiring because it takes too long and it’s too hard to find qualified candidates.” In September, Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf made headlines while attributing the bank’s lack of diversity to a dearth of “qualified minority talent.”
Comprising 85 global member firms and dedicated to cross-industry collaboration, Out Leadership is a certified B corporation. Out Leadership convenes CEOs, business leaders and allies at exclusive invitation only events across four continents.
Out Leadership also operates three talent initiatives: Quorum, which aims to increase LGBTQ+ representation on corporate boards; OutNEXT, the first global talent development program for emerging LGBTQ+ leaders; and OutWOMEN, connecting senior level LGBTQ+ women in business.
Egon Zehnder’s diversity and inclusion practice works with clients across industries and regions to build diverse leadership teams in inclusive cultures by addressing recruitment, integration, and development practices for diverse talent. The firm believes inclusive organizations with diverse leadership at the top get more out of their talent and therefore deliver better performance.
Related: To Improve Diversity, Recruiting Sector Must Set a New Course
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
