Top eight APAC companies leading the way in diversity and inclusion

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Read on for a ranking of the top 10 diverse & inclusive companies across Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Hong Kong, and more, with companies across sectors making the list.

Equality Group, supported by Equilibrium, recently conducted a study of up to 150 leading companies making progress in the DEI space across nine APAC nations. 

Per the study, the top eight APAC companies in the inclusivity index overall were as follows: 

#1 Telstra, Australia — 92%
#2 Sony, Japan — 76%
#3 Infosys, India — 76%
#4 CLP Group, Hong Kong — 87%
#5 DBS Group Holdings, Singapore — 84%
#6 Kia, Korea — 77%
#7 TSMC, Taiwan — 70%
#8 Indorama Ventures, Thailand — 69%

Rankings in the inclusivity index took into account the following six categories:

1. Explicit EDI support — explicit equality, diversity, and inclusion commitments presented on the website. 
2. Inclusive team — clear acknowledgment and value given to the entire team, with a wide range of employees represented.
3. Working conditions — visible transparent and inclusive practices and policies.
4. Actions & data — specific data and strategies in place to boost diversity in both overall recruitment and leadership.
5. Leadership — diversity of leadership team and the proactive support of inclusion and social sustainability.
6. Additional public information — media articles, external DEI resources the company has created, supporting research, and representative images on social media, and B Corp registration.

For more detailed results, the study also took a look at the top 10 companies per country/territory and noted several key findings for selected markets, as follows:

Singapore

High-scoring organisations in Singapore spanned a wide range of industries - from financial services to telecommunications, and to real estate.

1. DBS Group Holdings
2. Capitaland
3. Flex
4. Singtel
5. UOB
6. Wilmar
7. OCBC Bank
8. Singapore Exchange
9. Genting Singapore
10. Ascendas Reit

Key takeaway from the findings:

Get some press: These companies worked with marketing and PR teams to spotlight DEI efforts. Having a recent press statement outlining support for diversity, equity, and inclusion and having gender diversity portrayed across an organisation’s social media platforms are top-scoring practices.

Thailand

Companies in Thailand promoted inclusivity through support for flexible work arrangements and parental leave policies.

1. Indorama Ventures
2. Thai Beverage
3. Charoen Pokphand Foods
4. CP All
5. Siam Cement
6. PTT
7. Siam Commercial Bank
8. Central Pattana
9. Airports of Thailand
10. Bangkok Airways

Indonesia

Unilever Indonesia stood out as a high-scoring company in the country. Particularly, its website imagery highlights gender as well as ethnic and religious diversity.

1. Unilever Indonesia
2. Indofood
3. Bank Rakyat Indonesia
4. Telkom Indonesia
5. Sampoerna
6. Bank Negara Indonesia
7. Bank Mandiri
8. Chandra Asri Petrochemical
9. United Tractors
10. Bank Central Asia

India

Some of the top companies leading inclusivity in India operate within the technology sector.

1. InfoSys
2. Tata Consultancy Services
3. Hindustan Unilever Ltd
4. Reliance Industries
5. Bharti Airtel
6. ICIC Bank
7. HDFC Bank
8. State Bank of India
9. Bajaj Finance
10. Housing Development Finance Corporation

Key takeaway from the findings:

Feature diversity commitments: High-scoring companies in India explicitly spell out diversity statements on their public-facing materials, which acknowledge multiple minority groups and focus on opportunities for candidates with disabilities.

Leverage ESG reports: There was also visible gender diversity across Indian companies’ websites and social media channels. Many had produced additional materials, such as ESG Reports, that specifically addressed diversity and inclusion topics.

Hong Kong

The top inclusive companies were in sectors such as finance and energy.

1. CLP Group
2. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing
3. Hang Seng Bank
4. MTR Corporation
5. CK Hutchison Holdings
6. Hong Kong and China Gas
7. AIA
8. Techtronic Industries
9. China Overseas Land and Investment
10. Geely

Key takeaway from the findings:

Spotlight your leadership team: Similar to companies in Japan, Hong Kong-based companies tend to report on the demographics of their workforce. There was also a degree of transparency around the demographics of members of the leadership teams.

Taiwan

In Taiwan, companies in the electronics and finance industries tended to have the highest scores.

1. TSMC
2. Fubon Financial
3. United Microelectronics
4. Cathay Financial Holdings
5. Delta Electronics
6. CTBC Financial Holdings
7. Media Tek
8. Chunghwa Telecom
9. China Steel
10. MFHC

Australia

The leadership teams in these companies had considerable gender diversity, with clearly outlined recruitment strategies on their website to attract underrepresented talent, particularly from indigenous backgrounds. The study noted BHP Group’s website as a good example, with a section dedicated to recruiting and working alongside indigenous people.

1. Telstra
2. BHP Group
3. ANZ Bank
4. Fortescue
5. Woolworths Group
6. Commonwealth Bank
7. CSL
8. Macquarie
9. Wesfarmers
10. Sydney Airport

Key takeaway from the findings:

Understand the complexities of race and ethnicities: High-scoring companies in Australia focused on underrepresented minorities from all backgrounds in their geographic location and highlight this focus on publicly available information.

Japan

Most of the organisations studied in Japan scored above the overall average of 50%, regardless of the industry. Remarkably, companies within the technology, financial services, and pharmaceutical industries all scored higher than 50%.

1. Sony
2. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial
3. Nippon Telegraph & Telephone
4. Recruit
5. Daikin
6. Toyota
7. Fast Retailing
8. Chugai Pharmaceutical
9. Nidec
10. Softbank

Key takeaway from the findings:

Go beyond anecdotal examples: Organisations in Japan demonstrated accountability for diversity data by featuring a breakdown of employee demographics, either on their website or in an ESG report.

Check the employee pulse: Japanese organisation Nidec took things a step further by establishing an employee satisfaction improvement committee responsible for driving positive change within the workplace using employee feedback.

South Korea

The top-scoring South Korean companies were those in the automobile and electronics industries.

1. Kia
2. Samsung
3. LG Electronics
4. Hyundai
5. Kakao
6. Samsung Biologics
7. SK Hynix
8. LG Household & Health Care
9. Hyundai Mobis
10. Samsung SDI

Key takeaway from the findings:

Attract a diverse talent pool: Use inclusive language and images in the careers section and job postings. High-scoring organisations in South Korea had leaders who were explicitly supportive of diversity and inclusion, outlining recruitment strategies to ensure diverse hiring in their reports

Lead image / Top APAC Companies Leading The Way In Inclusivity