As the board and organization created and executed on its DE&I objectives, goals, and initiatives, what were some surprising challenges, successes, and/or lessons learned?

Successes:

• Creation of a volunteer DEI Committee comprised of a diverse group of member company employees that meets monthly to provide strategic and tactical input into MSCI’s industry journey.
• Formal adoption of a DEI mission statement.
• Successful completion of first-ever industry-wide (producing mills & service centers) demographic survey in 2020; thereby creating a baseline from which member companies can measure their respective progress vis a vie the industry. Data will be updated on a bi-annual basis.
• Monthly series of free webinars on DEI thought leadership provided to men and women at member companies both live as well as “on-demand.” Since inception, MSCI has hosted (16) webinars/firesides, totaling 3,075 registrations (avg. registrations = 192). Actual reach of individuals is greater as we know several viewings occurred in conference rooms with multiple attendees per single registration as well as numerous “on-demand.”
• Hosted a first-ever, industry-wide event in Chicago for Gen Z & Millennial men and women of member companies (186 attendees).
• In 2023, MSCI will be fostering an environment to recognize different categories of under-represented classes through monthly heritage celebrations (i.e., Black History, Women’s History, Asian American, Pride, Latinx, National Disability, Military Appreciation, etc.)

Challenges:

• As a trade association representing 245 member companies, it is always challenging when introducing any new strategic initiative. Individuals have different views/opinions on DE&I as well as whether or not a trade association should be leading an endeavor into said issue. Fortunately, our Board of Directors recognizes the power of DE&I and is fully committed to having MSCI lead on an industry-wide basis.
• Getting senior management leaders at various member companies to acknowledge that the business community and our trade association both had roles to play in addressing social justice issues.
• Getting men and women from under-represented classes to apply for job opportunities throughout the industry as well as at MSCI.
• Creating a safe environment within which staff as well as volunteer members feel comfortable freely discussing uncomfortable topics.

Lessons Learned:

• Having a Board-approved mission statement has been instrumental in keeping both staff and volunteers focused throughout our journey.
• Providing demographic data on society today as well as projections into the future has been instrumental in moving opinions from neutral/negative to positive relative to our journey.