In 2023, women and people of color frequently still don’t have enough seats at the corporate table. And while there are some state agendas aimed at rolling back DE&I efforts, professional services firm KPMG is forging ahead with its goals of being a more equitable workplace according to its latest figures.
Zoom in. KPMG, which has more than 35,000 employees in the US, announced “Accelerate 2025” in 2020. The US initiative aims to bring on underrepresented talent across its team, according to the company’s website. KPMG believes it has ambitious goals, as it looks to double its representation of Black workers in partner and managing director roles by 2025, and have 50% of those roles come from underrepresented groups overall.
It’s one thing to set such an ambitious goal, but it’s quite another to remain accountable to tracking progress.
The latest numbers from KPMG provide a glimpse into how the company is doing. Underrepresented groups now make up 42.6% of partners and managing directors, up from 39.3% in 2020. Black professionals made up 7% of KPMG’s workforce in 2022, up from 6.1% in 2020, with a 9.3% goal by 2025. Finally, the number of Latinx employees at KPMG reached 8.1%, up from 7.1% in 2020, but still a ways from the 10.7% goal.
Elena Richards, chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer at KPMG, told HR Brew that this transparency is key because it builds trust internally and with the community.
Every stakeholder and employee is aware of the initiative. “We know where we’re trying to go as an organization,” she explained. “We absolutely know that there’s more to be done, but we’re not done, and we have a journey and bold goals that assist us in making sure that we’re moving towards the right direction.”
The company is also investing in shaping future executives by focusing on attracting young talent that can build the next iteration of the company. “Getting here is about all the things that we’re doing to expand the aperture and bring more talent into the organization at all levels,” she said. As part of these efforts, 48.5% of new hires came from underrepresented racial groups in 2022, and 45.7% of new hires were women. Richards explained that KPMG is finding new ways to source emerging talent, including hosting a recent track and field event at an HBCU, which served to introduce their “brand” to both the college and the high school students in attendance.
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Richards stressed that it’s not just about quantitative measures, but long-term qualitative metrics that showcase how the company is guiding employees from underrepresented groups. KPMG is “making sure that we’re helping some of them through the organization. Retention is a very big part of that. And then ultimately, how do we get people to see themselves as leaders when we think about succession planning.”
Big picture. The DE&I sector has experienced some unrest in recent months. Some companies are eliminating diversity roles as a cost-cutting measure. Meanwhile, the concept of DE&I has been the target of some negative political campaigns. In recent months, governors in Florida, Texas, and Missouri have directed colleges to stop diversity training and hiring efforts, and corporate diversity efforts have been accused of being “woke.”
But Richards said that diversity is a core part of growth for businesses. In response to efforts against DE&I programs, she said there’s “an unhealthy tension that exists today around whether or not diversity, equity, and inclusion is important. And I would say that it absolutely is.”
Richards said that progress towards diversity in the workplace is “an opportunity for us to actually look like and be what America is today. And that is way more diverse than what we experience.”—KP