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Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: Canadian institutional investors overseeing more than $2.3-trillion in combined assets have signed a statement that acknowledges the existence of systemic racism in Canada and have pledged to promote diversity and inclusion in their portfolios and organizations.
The Canadian Investor Statement on Diversity & Inclusion has been signed by Canadian pension plans and money managers including the C$330 billion ($249.8 billion) Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, Montreal.
"We all have a responsibility to ensure that the persistent inequities in business and our society are eliminated," the joint statement of the initiative coordinated by the Responsible Investment Association (RIA).
"As institutional investors, we can contribute to addressing these inequities in Canada by taking intentional steps to promote diversity and inclusion across our portfolios and within our organizations," it added.
Signatories to the statement, which include some of the largest institutional investors in the country, acknowledge the existence of systemic racism and its impacts on Black and Indigenous communities and People of Colour, while further acknowledging the existence of inequities and discrimination based on other factors including, but not limited to, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, culture and socio-economic status.
The institutional investors further said in the statement they will make efforts to improve diversity and inclusion within their organizations, commit to reporting on those efforts, and review and update their approaches as time goes on. The investors also pledge to engage with the companies in which they invest to convey their expectations of better disclosure and performance regarding diversity and inclusion.
"Acknowledging the existence of systemic racism is a recognition that we have a lot of work to do to level the playing field in business and society," said Dustyn Lanz, CEO of the RIA. "These investors are stepping up to do the work because it's the right thing to do and because there's a strong business case for doing so," said Lanz, pointing to a McKinsey study which found that more diverse companies tend to be more profitable.
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