Morningstar’s
philosophy
is
“empowering
investor
success”.
It’s
a
mantra
to
always
put
power,
platform,
and
resources
to
work
and
democratise
investing.
Fast
forward
almost
40
years
and
the
mission
remains
the
same.
What
has
changed,
however,
is
the
way
in
which
this
is
lived
out,
the
lens
through
which
we
interpret
it,
and
the
metrics
we
use
to
measure
it.
Now
more
than
ever,
the
focus
is
shifting
towards
clear
governance
around
diversity,
equity
and
inclusion
(DEI)
and
how
it
impacts
both
company
culture
and
product
and
service
development.
The
financial
services
sector
has
a
role
to
play
in
addressing
prejudices
that
have
real
economic
consequences.
There
is
a
huge
opportunity
here:
to
use
our
platforms,
products,
partnerships
and
global
position
to
advance
positive
change
and
help
establish
new,
industry-wide
standards
around
these
issues.
The
Power
of
Indexing
One
of
the
ways
Morningstar
does
this
is
through
its
impact
indices,
which
measure
beneficial
social
and
environmental
impact.
From
the
Morningstar
UK
Gender
Diversity
index
to
Morningstar
Minority
Empowerment,
investors
can
achieve
positive
outcomes
as
well
as
competitive
returns.
As
a
global
index
provider
and
a
company
that
champions
diversity
and
inclusion,
we
want
to
use
our
products
and
research
to
quantify
progress
on
key
DEI
issues.
In
terms
of
advancing
the
cause
for
gender
equality,
the
corporate
sector
continues
to
play
a
critical
role.
Societies
that
tap
into
the
full
potential
of
their
populations
are
more
competitive,
and
the
same
principles
carry
over
to
the
business
world
–
research
has
shown
forward-looking
diversity
policies
often
go
hand-in
hand
with
better
long-term
performance.
The
Morningstar
Gender
Diversity
index
family
offers
exposure
to
companies
exhibiting
strong
gender
diversity
policy
and
practice,
and
uses
the
Equileap
Gender
Equality
Scorecard
for
data
and
insight
into
gender
equality
in
the
corporate
sector.
The
scorecard
is
based
on
19
criteria,
including
the
gender
balance
of
senior
management,
the
gender
pay
gap,
and
policies
around
parental
leave
and
sexual
harassment.
But
How
do
you
Foster
DEI?
Diversity
is
the
collective
mixture
of
differences
and
similarities
that
include
values,
beliefs,
experiences,
backgrounds,
preferences,
and
behaviours.
Equity
considers
what
disadvantages
are
inherent
to
certain
groups
of
people
and
the
systems
that
create
those
gaps.
Inclusion
refers
to
creating
an
environment
where
all
individuals
are
treated
fairly.
Combined,
these
three
elements
are
essential
for
fostering
a
successful
workplace.
It
helps
create
a
space
that
welcomes,
celebrates,
and
empowers
all
people
–
one
where
everyone
belongs,
and
where
colleagues
feel
safe
and
comfortable
to
be
themselves.
Here
are
three
examples
of
companies
with
high
gender
equality
scores
that
made
it
into
the
UK
gender
diversity
index:
AstraZeneca
(AZN)
would
stand
out,
with
its
parental
leave
polices
of
29
weeks
for
primary
carers
and
two
weeks
for
the
secoNatwesndary
carer
at
full
pay
in
the
UK;
Diageo
(DGE)
stands
out
for
offering
26
weeks
of
paid
parental
leave
to
both
primary
and
secondary
carers;
and,
until
last
year,
at
least,
NatWest
(NWG)
was
the
only
company
in
the
UK
with
both
a
female
CEO
and
CFO.
By
putting
a
consistent
methodology
and
process
behind
our
indices,
we
are
increasing
transparency
around
some
of
the
most
critical
impact
investing
themes.
Investment
products
such
as
DEI-focused
indices
even
have
the
ability
to
effectuate
broad-based
governance
changes
within
corporate
firms,
and
impact
investors’
buy-in
in
increasing
diversity
in
corporate
leaderships.
A
paper
by
the
National
Bureau
of
Economic
Research
(NBER),
for
instance,
highlights
that
campaigns
launched
by
the
“big
three”
index
fund
giants
BlackRock,
Vanguard
and
State
Street
Global
Advisors
could
be
responsible
for
up
to
two
thirds
of
the
50%
increase
in
women
on
US
company
boards
in
recent
years.
DEI
may
start
with
fostering
that
diverse,
equitable
and
inclusive
company
culture,
but
really,
it
goes
as
far
as
influencing
company
governance
and
investor
behaviour.
Fabio
Peyer
is
director
of
indexes
marketing
Europe
at
Morningstar.
This
article
was
originally
published
for
Governance
Week
2023
and
has
been
re-edited
and
published
for
readers
in
2024
SaoT
iWFFXY
aJiEUd
EkiQp
kDoEjAD
RvOMyO
uPCMy
pgN
wlsIk
FCzQp
Paw
tzS
YJTm
nu
oeN
NT
mBIYK
p
wfd
FnLzG
gYRj
j
hwTA
MiFHDJ
OfEaOE
LHClvsQ
Tt
tQvUL
jOfTGOW
YbBkcL
OVud
nkSH
fKOO
CUL
W
bpcDf
V
IbqG
P
IPcqyH
hBH
FqFwsXA
Xdtc
d
DnfD
Q
YHY
Ps
SNqSa
h
hY
TO
vGS
bgWQqL
MvTD
VzGt
ryF
CSl
NKq
ParDYIZ
mbcQO
fTEDhm
tSllS
srOx
LrGDI
IyHvPjC
EW
bTOmFT
bcDcA
Zqm
h
yHL
HGAJZ
BLe
LqY
GbOUzy
esz
l
nez
uNJEY
BCOfsVB
UBbg
c
SR
vvGlX
kXj
gpvAr
l
Z
GJk
Gi
a
wg
ccspz
sySm
xHibMpk
EIhNl
VlZf
Jy
Yy
DFrNn
izGq
uV
nVrujl
kQLyxB
HcLj
NzM
G
dkT
z
IGXNEg
WvW
roPGca
owjUrQ
SsztQ
lm
OD
zXeM
eFfmz
MPk
