Inclusion leads to better decisions and outcomes

Inclusion leads to better decisions and outcomes

Diversity & inclusion

We are committed to a culture of diversity and inclusion where all employees succeed based on merit and every employee fully contributes to our clients’ success.

Progress in 2023

37%

of global 2023 employees were women

32%

of U.S. employees were people of color

42%

of global 2023 hires were women

30%

of U.S 2023 hires were were people of color

OUR APPROACH

Respecting each person’s background and life experiences results in our ability to make better investment decisions and achieve stronger outcomes.

We achieve excellence by recruiting and retaining the world’s best talent from the widest pool possible and then by welcoming each person’s background and life experiences. An inclusive and diverse workforce drives better investment decisions, more robust collaboration and unique points of view that lead to achieving stronger outcomes for our clients. Our Diversity & Inclusion Strategy was developed as an extension of our corporate values and consists of four pillars.

Education

We instill a respect and appreciation for diversity by demonstrating why inclusion matters, informing all associates of our expectations and promoting cultural competency.

See our progress

Unconscious bias education, discussion forums and training are critical to these efforts. Just as important, we celebrate diversity, not only during heritage months or notable events, but every day of the year.

Leadership

We hold our leaders accountable for fostering an inclusive workplace by measuring their performance against tangible expectations for building an inclusive firm.

See our progress

Among our key new initiatives: Our D&I dashboard measures our progress. All performance reviews of our teams include inclusion as an objective. And our Executive Committee now sponsors several employee resource groups to provide peer-to-peer support and foster candid discussions about the additional progress we need to make.

Recruitment

We recruit our teams from the widest pool possible and hold our recruiters and hiring managers accountable for building diverse teams.

See our progress

Increasing the diversity of our teams includes partnering with leading firms and networking groups to support the recruitment of diverse candidates and summer associates. We also recognize that our firm, as well as our industry more widely, needs to address the underrepresentation of women and people of color, especially in leadership positions. We have made progress, but more work needs to be done.

Engagement

We rely on strong and empowered employee resource groups to accelerate our many diversity and inclusion efforts.

See our progress

Our Diversity Alliance and Women’s Exchange have built internal networks for associates to come together, support diverse talent and hold leaders accountable. We also engage with employees to ensure we have supplier diversity through minority-owned brokerage firms.

OUR OUTREACH

We actively partner with organizations to improve our communities.

Cohen & Steers works with Cristo Rey in mentoring students from low-income families to build relationships and create opportunities.
We partner with Girls Who Invest to help create the next generation of women in portfolio management.

We sponsor the National Association of Securities Professionals’ to encourage economic empowerment for people of color and women on Wall Street.

Cohen & Steers sponsors the Women in Institutional Investments Network (WIIIN) to help women navigate and advance in the institutional investment industry.

 

OUR EMPLOYEE RESOURCE GROUPS

Our employees shape the firm’s culture.

The firm’s Diversity Alliance promotes cultural awareness and inclusion by creating a dedicated forum in which employees are encouraged to share diverse perspectives, experiences and dialogue.

The Women’s Exchange provides an inclusive forum for women to share ideas, advocate for one another and encourage personal, career and leadership development.

The Culture Committee takes a comprehensive and strategic approach to promote a company ethos that instills a sense of ownership, mutual respect and common purpose.

The Volunteer Team leads our efforts to give back to the communities in which we work and live.

The Cohen & Steers Green Team promotes environmental mindfulness through education and collaboration. Its goal is to deepen the integration of sustainability into our culture.