Update on our DEI Strategy

At BlackRock, we believe that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are critical to developing world-class talent and delivering for our clients in a rapidly changing world.

In March 2021, we launched an ambitious global DEI strategy and set in motion a series of commitments to drive forward progress across three pillars:

1. Our talent and culture across the globe where we focus on attracting, hiring, developing and retaining a diverse talent pipeline, and cultivating an inclusive and equitable work environment
2. Our activities to support our clients which focus on expanding investment choices and business partnership opportunities related to DEI, where consistent with our fiduciary duty 
3. Our impact on underserved communities which focuses on philanthropic efforts to contribute to and invest in the long-term success of these communities

Beyond articulating our ambitions, we committed to regularly assess our progress to determine where to deepen and expand our focus.

Accountability starts with transparency – a desire to learn and grow. We are publishing two reports today detailing where we are and how we can continue to improve.

The 2022 Global DEI Annual Report: "Our Path Forward"

Our 2022 Global DEI Annual Report provides a comprehensive review of what we have accomplished to advance our DEI strategy and where we need to further focus to realize our commitments. Last year, we made strides across all three pillars to strengthen how we support our people and foster greater inclusion, as well as how we engage interested clients and have a positive impact in our communities.

Highlights from the 2022 Global DEI Annual Report include:

  1. Achieved steady movement towards greater gender, ethnic, and racial representation across the firm and have met some of our representation goals ahead of schedule. There’s more work to be done, especially in relation to advancement and retention — a challenge we are focused on addressing.
     
  2. Launched the “Count Me In” campaign to broaden our understanding of the diversity within the firm. The campaign reached 93% of our global workforce, inviting employees to voluntarily share their gender identity, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, disability and military/veteran status, socioeconomic background, and local cultural identity.
     
  3. Introduced Model Portfolios for Women to provide bespoke investment solutions for women to help them reach their financial goals and build a path towards a more prosperous future.
     
  4. Completed a $10M philanthropic commitment — supporting organizations on the frontlines of advancing racial equity in the U.S. and UK.

While we should be proud of our efforts and continued commitment, this report also serves as a reminder that there is more work to do so that we continue to deliver on our goals.

An independent assessment of our progress on racial equity

To provide an independent assessment of progress on our strategy, last year, we commissioned the law firm Covington & Burling and Working IDEAL, a DEI consulting firm, to conduct a third-party review of our DEI strategy, particularly as it relates to racial equity in the U.S.

We are pleased to publish the assessment today and thank Covington and Working IDEAL for their work.

Some highlights of the report include:

  1. BlackRock has an ambitious DEI strategy, reflecting our senior leaders’ strong commitment to DEI. We have also taken steps to hold ourselves accountable for meeting the goals of the strategy.
     
  2. BlackRock has met or exceeded its goals of increasing overall Latinx and Black representation in the U.S. by 30%, well before the target date of 2024. The firm has also focused on recruiting senior-level Black and Latinx leaders but has faced challenges in improving representation at those senior levels.
     
  3. Critically, BlackRock has put into place several structural mechanisms, including embedding a focus on DEI and representation of underrepresented talent as part of each businesses’ quarterly business review.
     
  4. Responding to client demand, BlackRock has made progress in developing products (such as the BlackRock Impact Opportunities (“BIO”) Fund) that consider the potential impacts of underlying investments, particularly those that accelerate economic outcomes for underserved communities.
     
  5. BlackRock is enhancing its external business relationship programs with diverse external brokers and diverse third-party managers and is making progress toward the development of its diverse supplier program. The Diverse Broker Program is our most advanced program, and in 2022, BlackRock traded billions of dollars of notional value with its diverse broker partners.

The assessment also identified areas for improvement to build on our momentum. This includes strengthening our talent strategy, particularly for Black and Latinx professionals in more senior roles; offering more choices to interested clients who want to advance racial equity through their investments; and deepening our social impact and philanthropic work to support underserved communities. 

Looking forward, we still have more work to do and remain committed to learning, adapting, and making progress toward our goals.