Diversity Studies

8 Investment Banks were mapped according to the parameters of the brief. Information was gathered from a variety of avenues including internal database mining and public data searching. Newton Research largely drew on their existing extensive investment banking network to harness market insight, obtain leads, referrals and recommendations in the relevant market place. Having numerous and varied sources greatly enhanced the abundance and quality of information acquired.

240 individuals were identified within the defined product & ethnic banding. Selected individuals were approached for market comment & personal perception of diversity issues. Opinions, and additional recommendations, were obtained on prominent individuals or "rising stars" within this community.

The client was extremely pleased with the degree and quality of the information obtained. The data provided an overview of competitor teams, highlighting those individuals deemed by market peers to be exceptional in their particular specialism. The information obtained identified different ethnic diversity trends between different product lines and different competitors. The report also provided this community's perceptions of various recruitment and retention strategies in the market, from a diversity and equality perspective.

The client were able to utilise this information to address perception issues about their own organisation, both externally and internally, and to formulate future policy to stay ahead of current market standards with respect to equality in the workplace. As a measure of the success of this project, the client commissioned Newton Research to conduct a similar review with respect to gender and sexual orientation within the workplace.