Diversity, equity, and inclusion
Our differences make us stronger
At Vanguard, we aspire to create an inclusive and equitable work environment in which our crew can leverage all their skills and thrive. A thriving crew drives our mission to provide all investors with the best chance of investment success.
Our goals and commitment to progress
Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is longstanding. In recent years, we have strengthened our efforts through greater investment in our DEI organization, more rigor in our aspirational outcomes, and a focus on enterprise accountability for DEI outcomes.
Not only are we focused on improving DEI in our workplace, but we are also committed to integrating it into the ways we engage the world around us. We promote equity in childcare and early education, activate it in our supply chain, and support social justice through our corporate giving programs. We also advocate for greater diversity in boardrooms and the broader business community worldwide.
Creating an environment where crew can thrive
We are committed to an inclusive and equitable workplace that promotes and values diversity. We need diverse teams to seize opportunities and solve problems—today’s and tomorrow’s. Our differences strengthen our teams to make better decisions, unleash innovation and creativity, and produce better results for our clients. That's why we are striving to build a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace at every level of the organization.
Vanguard has set goals to increase the representation of women and people of color overall—and for every level of leadership to reflect the growing gender and racial diversity of our crew. We also commit to increasing overall measures of inclusion for our crew, and we will continue to focus our efforts on the attraction, advancement, and retention of underrepresented talent.
The elements of our DEI approach work together, complementing one another to help drive progress toward our workplace goals.
The elements of our DEI approach work together, complementing one another to help drive progress toward our workplace goals.
Although we are not yet where we want to be, considerable progress has been made on our DEI journey, and we hold ourselves accountable for more. We are particularly encouraged by the strides we’ve made in the advancement of women. As of year-end 2020, they held 44% of our leadership positions. Our representation of people of color continues to grow, but we need to do more to improve it and the representation of women globally.
Looking beyond the numbers
Having an inclusive culture means all people know that they are valued, included, and feel like they belong. In addition to gender and race/ethnicity information, we offer our crew the option to share their sexual orientation and gender identity, so that we can better understand our population across a variety of diversity dimensions. In addition, we are committed to inclusion through accessibility. Our Accessibility Office supports opportunities to create a more inclusive environment for our crew with disabilities and seeks to ensure that Vanguard information and functionality are accessible to clients and crew regardless of visual, auditory, motor, color-perception, or cognitive abilities.
Holding ourselves accountable for progress
Our DEI efforts are priorities for Vanguard’s board of directors and senior leadership team. Our CEO and managing directors serve as our DEI Executive Council. This team drives the vision, goals, and accountability throughout Vanguard and tracks our progress. In addition, our chief diversity officer leads a team that executes the firm’s global strategic plan and evolves and implements best practices.
Being a truly inclusive organization requires everyone to be accountable. Leaders and crew alike are expected to cultivate difference—it’s one of the competencies that make up our five-part performance standard. In addition, progress toward our aspirations influences compensation.
Fostering a culture of inclusion
Vanguard’s Crew Resource Groups (CRGs) help support our efforts to attract, onboard, engage, and retain a diverse base of talent globally. The CRGs work alongside our HR organization to provide leadership development and acumen-building, serve as ambassadors to prospective talent, host cultural and heritage learning opportunities, facilitate dialogs on current events, and provide community service opportunities to members. Nearly half our crew belong to one of the following CRGs:
WILS
Women’s Initiative for Leadership Success
BOLD
Black Organization for Leadership & Dialogue
LEAP
Leadership and Engagement for Asian Professionals
HOLA
Hispanic/Latinx Organization for Leadership Advancement
OPEN
Out Professional Engagement Network
VetsConnect
Building a stronger and more diverse supply chain
We strive to ensure that diverse suppliers have an equal opportunity to earn our business and believe that diverse supply chains strengthen the global business community. Including diverse businesses in our sourcing practices also allows us to cast a wider net for quality resources and promotes economic expansion in under-represented communities. Our mission is to identify and engage capable, diverse suppliers that can provide cost-competitive, high-quality goods and services.
Advocating for boardroom and workforce diversity
Vanguard advocates for greater diversity in the companies in which our funds invest. Through our investment stewardship program, we take a fiduciary approach to assessing boardroom and workforce diversity. Diverse groups make better decisions, and better decisions can lead to better results for shareholders over the long term.
Vanguard has long advocated for diversity of experience, personal background, and expertise in the boardroom. We also call for greater diversity by gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, and age. We encourage boards to publish their perspectives on diversity, to disclose board diversity measures, and to cultivate diverse pools of candidates for open director seats.
In addition, we believe that companies that embrace DEI as part of their workforce talent strategy can drive better business results over the long term and limit exposure to material risks. We encourage companies to strengthen oversight of diversity-related strategy and risks and to disclose diversity measures beyond the boardroom.
Giving back to make a difference
We are passionate about our efforts to drive meaningful and systemic social change in our communities. Working for the greater good is ingrained in our culture, and our crew demonstrate their commitment by donating their time, talent, and treasure through a wide variety of activities. Vanguard aspires to reduce social disparities through partnerships with organizations that support healthy and resilient communities and families around the world. Our community stewardship work comprises our signature initiative, Vanguard Strong Start for KidsTM, along with other corporate- and crew-led philanthropic and volunteer programs.
The Vanguard Foundation is committed to enduring philanthropic support to social justice and equity initiatives.
For details about Vanguard’s approach to DEI and our progress, download Diversity, equity, and inclusion at Vanguard.
"DEI is not simply an HR project. It’s an enduring organizational imperative and is the responsibility of all crew members."
Crystal Hardie Langston
Vanguard Chief Diversity Officer
