Diversity & Inclusion: What role can Executive Search play? Diversity Inclusion Survey Report | Page 3

Diversity & Inclusion in
Executive Search
What role can Executive Search play?
With Diversity & Inclusion a key agenda item on the board of businesses, Executive Search firms need
to address their role in promoting a fully inclusive board. In March 2019, in conjunction with MIX
Diversity Developers, Invenias undertook the largest global survey of executive search professionals
and their approach to Diversity & Inclusion. This survey is part of our ongoing commitment to
providing best practice guidance and support for our customers and the wider market around key
agenda items likely to impact their business.
Richard Harrison
Richard Harrison, Chief Product & Technology Officer, Invenias
At MIX we have worked with boards of directors from around the globe who believe that greater work-force
diversity is both ethically and economically worth pursuing. Despite their different industries, locations, ownership
structures and products, they are all concerned about representation on their boards and what that representation
(or lack thereof) tells external stakeholders, customers, and potential employees.
This survey highlighted some of the challenges that Executive Search is facing: from the prevalence of
unconscious bias, to the perceived lack of diverse candidates, to the challenge of helping clients to
see beyond traditional recruitment choices and look instead to the benefits that diverse talent can
bring. This work also showcases some exciting new innovations in recruitment, with Invenias
customers right at the forefront of the move to improve inclusion at the highest levels of
business.
I believe that Executive Search firms have a unique opportunity to shape the boardroom of the
present and the future, and to unlock the power of diversity.
Hayley Barnard
Hayley Barnard, Managing Director, MIX Diversity Developers