July 26, 2022
Takeaways from Signify's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Report
Company shares insights into employee gender, ethnicity and pay gap corrections.
Global lighting leader, Signify, has published its first-ever Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) report. The report explains the company's approach to DE&I, commitments, and progress.
Publishing a DE&I report is an important step for a company to demonstrate that it is "walking the talk" when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion. There are many companies that do not publish and distribute DE&I reports either internally or publicly. The data presented by Signify does not paint a picture of perfection in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion, yet it does demonstrate solid measurable progress in some key areas. Furthermore, DE&I data can be a challenging to capture across a global workforce with different laws and norms in each locale.
It should also be noted that while data is very helpful in measuring and evaluating progress in certain areas, it isn't the sole way to judge a DE&I-friendly company culture. Those factors, often intangible, come down to global/local leadership, tolerance/intolerance of certain behaviors, fostering healthy work environments, listening to employees and taking appropriate actions that contribute to DE&I continuous improvement.
One result of Signify’s DE&I actions is that 31 instances of gender pay inequity were discovered and subsequently corrected. It's likely that some critics would speculate that 31 employee pay raises represents a minuscule portion of the entire Signify 36,000+ full-time employee population and that there are likely more instances of pay inequality. The report explains the methodology and evaluation process, but doesn’t claim perfection. Signify’s publishing of the data may open itself up to criticism to those who want to pick it apart, but at the same time, they present the data to demonstrate a higher-than-usual level of transparency and to show measurable progress. Below are more takeaways:
Gender:
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Globally, Signify employees are 60% male and 40% female.
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New hires in 2021 reduced the gap with 51.5% of them being women.
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The percentage of women in leadership roles is reported in the company's recent annual reports and has been inching up each year. At the end of 2021, 25% of management roles were held by women. The target is 34% by the end of 2025.
More gender info: Report Page 10 »
Gender Pay Equality:
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Signify explains that it utilizes the widely used and accepted Korn Ferry Hay Group grading methodology to create compensation ranges for various positions. In doing so, the company divides its staff into 5,102 groups that embody the various country locations, pay grades, functions, job family groups, and compensation profiles based on local pay range.
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"The results showed that after making 31 pay adjustments, representing approximately 0.1% of the employee population, the pay of men and women doing the same or substantially similar work is equitable."
Ethnicity:
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Signify’s DE&I report includes an ethnic breakdown of all US-based employees. 6.3% of employees did not disclose their ethnic identity.
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When comparing Signify U.S. data to U.S. Census population estimates, it shows single-digit percentage variances.
Religion and LGBTQ+:
Signify's DE&I report mentions religion and LGBTQ+ – in the context of promoting DE&I initiatives for employees of various faiths or sexual orientation – but there is no data presented for corresponding classifications or subgroups. Capturing gender, age and ethnic data seems to be a common practice for large employers. Religion, sexual orientation or identity data points are not normally captured by many companies and if they attempted to do so, there may be pushback on the notion.
Key Performance Indicators:
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To help bolster its commitment to sustainability, Signify has been tying 20% of the CEO’s variable compensation to achieving sustainability goals.
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Signify’s report indicates that DE&I initiatives are a part of the Signify’s key performance indicators (KPIs). In large corporations, it is common for KPIs to be major areas of discussion during performance/salary review time for management personnel.
