What do you know about the quality of jobs provided? 120 investors representing $13 trillion AUM ask their investee companies

Posting in my capacity as member of the Workforce Disclosure Initiative (WDI) Advisory Group, alongside Bettina Reinboth, James Gomme, Dieter Waizenegger, Sumi Dhanarajan and Will Pomroy, with Amy Metcalfe and Clare Richards.

120 investors (representing over $13 trillion AUM) asked their investee companies for information on the quality of jobs provided in their operations and supply chain. 90 companies from 38 industries including 21 of the largest 100 in the world responded.

These companies are to be commended for compiling the information and sharing it. We heard this process helped companies strengthen cross-functional coordination and identify blind spots. Five key findings from analysing the data provided are as follows:

1. Workforce risks were poorly communicated and rarely linked to business strategy or impact on workers;
2. There was significant variation in the level of disaggregated data – data by demographic group such as by gender, age, and ethnicity – reported across the workforce;
3. Disclosures lacked detail on low paid workers;
4. Companies provided limited information on how they manage and protect contingent workers; and
5. Quantity of disclosure is not currently a proxy for determining quality and good practice.

For the summary of findings, see here.

For the WDI Map, see here.

For the full data set, see here.

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