FT-Statista Diversity Leaders ranking and full methodology

Every year since 2019, we have sought the views of more than 100,000 employees across the continent to create the FT-Statista ranking of companies that may be considered Europe’s Diversity Leaders.

This year, we have added three objective indicators to this analysis — to bring the results even closer to the reality experienced by employees, and make our ranking even more definitive. Now, the employee surveys account for 70 per cent of a company’s final score, and these new indicators account for 30 per cent:

• the share of women in management positions (eg executive committees, boards of directors, supervisory boards),

• the communications made in favour of diversity (eg diversity policy, diversity page on corporate website, social media, actions organised to promote diversity),

• the diversity score calculated by data provider Denominator, on a scale from zero to 100.

During the survey, employee were given the chance to evaluate their own employer’s diversity and inclusion practices and to give their perception of those adopted by other prominent employers in their respective industries. Government bodies and education establishments were excluded.

A call to take part in the surveys and evaluate companies was first published on ft.com in May 2023.

The employee surveys were conducted using online access panels, consisting of representative samples of the workforce in each of the 16 countries covered in the ranking (even if their employers are headquartered elsewhere).

Without being told the purpose of the exercise, participants were asked which company or institution they worked for. Survey participants were then asked to what extent they thought their employer promoted diversity on a scale from zero to 10. Employees were also asked to give their opinion on a series of statements surrounding age, gender, ethnicity, disability, and sexual orientation. The rate of agreement or disagreement regarding the statements was captured using a five-point Likert scale. The highest-scoring factors for each company are shown in the Diversity Leaders ranking table.

The surveys took an average of six to nine minutes to complete in field research conducted in the summer of 2023.

To reflect the opinions of under-represented groups, the evaluations of women, the elderly, and the ethnically diverse were weighted significantly higher than others’ views. The average number of evaluations for each company in the ranking was 202.

After this survey phase, Statista researched the share of women in management positions for each company, and carried out an assessment of how companies communicate their policies on diversity in the workplace. A third indicator was then taken from the external company, Denominator, a leading provider of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) data. For each company, Denominator aggregated publicly available data sources (filings, reports, company websites, official registers, web searches, news, and proprietary data submissions) and research data. Then, using macro level data, Denominator calibrated the companies’ performances and determined objective, fact-based DEI performance scores. For example, the Race/Ethnicity score is calibrated to the Race/Ethnicity distribution for countries of operation. A company with 100 per cent Caucasian leadership in the US would receive a lower score than a company with 100 per cent Caucasian leadership in Denmark, due to differences in the composition of the population in the two countries. If a company operates in multiple countries this is factored into the model.

To avoid any perceived conflict of interest, the Financial Times and Statista were excluded from the list of companies eligible to be ranked.

The 850 companies receiving the highest total scores made the final ranking of Diversity Leaders. A further due diligence process was then carried out to remove or demote companies involved in cases, investigations, or reports of workplace discrimination in Europe.

Statista R

Statista R is a world leader in the creation of company, brand, and product rankings and top lists, based on comprehensive market research and data analysis: Statista R recognises the best. With a team of over 100 expert analysts and in co-operation with more than 40 high profile media brands across all continents, Statista R creates transparency for consumers and business decision makers and helps companies build trust and recognition across a plethora of industries and product categories. Visit r.statista.com for further information about Statista R and our rankings.

Statista R is a division of Statista. The leading data and business intelligence portal provides an extensive collection of statistics, reports, and insights on more than 80,000 topics from 22,500 sources in 170 industries. Find out more at statista.com.

Denominator

Denominator is a leading data provider for specific fact-based data variables and ratings on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion across private and public companies, industries, and countries. 

Denominator covers more than 3mn companies across the world. It applies a holistic approach to DEI and measures on 15 DEI dimensions such as gender, race/ethnicity, age, sexuality, disability, education, religion etc on executive, board and company level. The data and analytical insights drive the most comprehensive DEI scoring & rating models for cross border investment or supply chain portfolio analysis.

For more information, please visit www.denominator.one.