ING included in new Bloomberg Financial Services Gender-Equality Index

The index, announced in London today (23 January), measures gender statistics, employee policies, gender-conscious product offerings as well as community support and engagement.

Those included in this year's index scored at or above 60 points, a global threshold established by Bloomberg to reflect disclosure and the achievement or adoption of best-in-class statistics and policies.

ING’s chief HR officer Hein Knaapen said investors look at the Bloomberg index to judge how seriously companies deal with diversity.

Tweet this

Hein said while the results were pleasing, there is still plenty to do when it comes to diversity.

“This year we’re really going to look at gender diversity particularly in leadership. We need to step up there. What we also know is that creating a climate of inclusiveness helps as well.”

Hein said he was particularly pleased with the progress made in building equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees citing ING’s improved ranking in a Workplace Pride Benchmark. In 2016, the Bank was ranked eighth from 30 companies.

“This tells us about our inclusiveness, which will in the end show how diverse we are at the various levels of the Bank,” he said.

Bloomberg’s Peter Grauer said companies included in the index are setting new standards.

“Their commitments to building diverse and inclusive work environments are setting new standards around the globe and raising awareness around the challenges all of our organisations face," he said.

Both the survey and the BFGEI are voluntary and have no associated costs. The index is not ranked.

ING was also included in last year’s first index.