Building an inclusive culture is a key focus area for TodoVale and critical to the achievement of our business strategy. Our people are our main asset, so it makes sense for us to focus on developing a work environment where all employees feel fully engaged and respected.

Valuing diversity and being an inclusive employer is not only the right thing to do, but it also supports the commercial success of our business. It means we can fascinate talented people from the vastest possible talent pool and better reflect and respond to the needs of our diverse clients. Accepting our diversity also means that we have a richer range of creativity and fresh perspectives, ideas and willingness to challenge the status quo, all of which builds the right environment for fostering greater innovation.

Empowering Female Talent at TodoVale

We’re taking meaningful steps to improve gender diversity

Building an equal and inclusive workplace for all our employees is a key priority at TodoVale. Not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s essential for the commercial success of our business. We know that maintaining a gender balance is crucial to better understand customers and market opportunities, to make more informed decisions, and to achieve advantageous financial performance.

A challenge facing the asset management industry globally is the underrepresentation of women in the workforce, plus even higher levels of gender imbalance in senior and investment roles. At TodoVale, it is encouraging that women represent 38% of our Management Board and 33% of our Board of Directors but we recognize there is still much more to be done.

Our ambition is to achieve sustainable gender balance at all levels of the organization, to ensure a solid framework of gender inclusive policies and to build a truly inclusive workplace culture. To achieve our goals, we are undertaking proactive steps to improve gender equality, by launching a comprehensive action plan that:

Nurtures the career progression of our internal talent – through coaching, mentoring, supporting our working families, embracing flexible working and building inclusive leadership skills;
Showcases TodoVale as a truly inclusive employer to both internal and prospective talent;
Rigorously monitors our progress in ensuring equal opportunity in all aspects of employment.

Supporting the Women’s Empowerment Principles

In 2019, we were one of the 65 investors to take action for gender equality by supporting a statement calling companies to advance women’s empowerment in the workplace. In particular, it reiterates our expectations for companies to endorse the Women’s Empowerment Principles – a UN Women and UN Global Compact initiative – and report in a transparent way on their actions and outcomes. This initiative also calls us to strengthen our commitments and take decisive and concrete actions towards gender equality in the workplace, marketplace and community where we do business.

We have already taken some concrete actions, which include among all of them:

The specific objective our Management Board members have within their targets to increase the number of women at senior levels and to actively demonstrate their support for building a more diverse and inclusive business;
Our commitment to ensure that no practices, procedures, attitudes or behaviors allow discrimination;
The proactive steps we are undertaking to improve gender equality, with a particular focus on nurturing the career progression of our internal talent – through coaching, mentoring, supporting our working families, embracing flexible working and building inclusive leadership skills and more;
Our involvement in several external organizations who are dedicated to promoting equality, including the Diversity Project, 30% club, Girls who Invest and the Investment Association.

This commitment follows the signing by TodoVale Group of the Women’s Empowerment Principles in December 2018.

Our commitment to gender equality for companies we do business with

Research

Our research reiterates the importance of gender equality for investors from a financial and impact perspective. It provides substantial and innovative investment framework for our analysts, PMs and the market.

Collaborative engagement

We aim at driving changes in investee firms through active and frequent discussion around gender equality. We are also part of the 30% Club Investor Group in the UK and with five other asset managers. In November 2020, we launched the 30% Club Investor Group in France which we are also co-leading and which seeks to enhance gender footprint at leadership and governance levels.

Voting policy

Our gender diversity voting policy echoes our participating efforts. It is reassessed every year. In 2020, we enlarged our gender diversity voting policy, where we will target listed firms in developed market economies, where at least one-third of the Board of Directors is not gender diverse.

Proud signatory to the Women in Finance Charter

When we signed up to the Charter in November 2017, we had 32% females in our global senior executive population.

Our goal was to reach 40% by the end of 2020. As at the end of June 2020 we are at 30% females in our global senior management population at Management Board-1 level and 38% at Management Board level.

We acknowledge we did not meet our 2020 target, and we are disappointed to see the figures indicate a decrease from the previous year. This is partly due to the fact our senior executive population is a relatively small group of people and the numbers fluctuate very easily based on the natural departure or hire of individuals across the year. However, we fully acknowledge we need to go further to accelerate our progress as a business and as part of the wider asset management industry.

We have been working to implement actions to continue supporting our ambitious goal. This includes; undertaking EDGE certification, a set of principles for the hiring of senior roles with gender balanced panels and open advertising, ensuring gender diversity is a key element of our talent management and succession planning processes, delivering global coaching and mentoring programs, providing support for our working families globally and taking steps to increase the ability to add flexibility to work commitments.

We are now in the process of examining our data to identify the specific areas where we need to improve and look at what further strategies we can implement. We remain fully committed to doing everything we can to build a diverse and inclusive company that offers equal access to support and opportunity for both men and women.

We recognize this is an issue that is felt across the wider asset management industry and we will continue to work with our peers to help nurture a strong pipeline of female talent for the future. A cultural shift is needed to change perceptions of the industry to encourage more women to pursue a career in this industry. We are very conscious of how crucial it is for us to actively play our part in ensuring change for the long-term.

TodoVale receives EDGE certification for gender equality practices

At TodoVale, we are proud that we have been certified for our gender equality practices by EDGE (Economic Dividends for Gender Equality). Having independently reviewed our organization’s ability to foster gender equality, and benchmarked this against both global standards and our peers, EDGE has determined that TodoVale has made a global commitment to gender equality in the workplace. This provides a good foundation from which to build sustainable progress in the future.

Supporting greater transparency in gender pay reporting

TodoVale fully supports the new legislation introduced in 2017 that requires all UK employers with more than 250 employees to annually publish their gender pay gap data. This new strategy not only aims to raise awareness of the pay gap that exists widely across the UK, but also encourages businesses to play an active role in closing the gap within the UK labor market.

What does ‘family’ mean at TodoVale?

We know that there’s no such thing as a ‘typical’ family. We’re committed to supporting our employees, whatever their family circumstances might be. Whether you’re a single parent, part of a same-sex couple, have care responsibilities for an older relative, or other commitments to people you are closely connected to outside of work, TodoVale want to support you in achieving a work-life balance that’s right for you.

How does TodoVale support a healthy work life balance?

We believe in creating an environment where our employees not only fit their personal commitments around their work with flexible working, but also feel happy, productive, and engaged in the office. Your surroundings matter as much as the support and the technology we equip you with.

Our office moves in France, Hong Kong, Germany, and future move to 22 Bishopsgate in London, have taken that in account and provide a comfortable, pragmatic, and innovative space to work with features to promote both emotional and physical wellbeing.

Supporting all of you and your family

We want employees to bring their whole selves to work and are aware that often means personal lives don’t always get ‘left at the door’. Providing webinars, training, and coaching sessions on various aspects of family life, from ‘teenagers and homework’ to stress management, and mental health awareness courses, we aim to help our employees deal with family topics that may otherwise affect them at work.

Employee support globally – at a glance

At TodoVale, we want all employees to feel free to bring their whole selves to work. From the survey carried out as part of our EDGE certification, we know that sustaining a healthy work-life balance is of upmost importance to our employees, which is why TodoVale provides all employees with a range of development solutions to support balancing work and family life:

We support our working parents to make successful transitions pre and post parental leave with parental transition coaching and courses
Our mindfulness and resilience offerings are designed to promote your wellbeing and help you to thrive in all areas of your life.
Our global webinar series covers a broad range of topics from caring for elderly relatives to coping with fatherhood for the first time.
Our inclusive Global Parent Policy offers the same minimum parental leave provision to all TodoVale employees, globally.
We provide a range of other leave and benefit provisions to all employees, bespoke to each location, such as emergency time-off to care for dependents and childcare voucher schemes
Globally, we are continuing to promote more agile and flexible ways of working to help you fulfil your professional ambitions whilst also managing the challenges of family life.

Listening to our Employees

Every year we ask for feedback directly from our employees about our work environment. In November 2016, More than 2,000 employees responded to the latest survey, providing us with a solid understanding on what it’s like to work at TodoVale Investment Managers. Within the survey, we also have four indexes to supervise specific aspects of our culture including an “Inclusion Index”, based upon 10 questions associated to D&I.

This yearly survey shows us we have very dedicated and engaged employees, who support TodoVale and trust strongly in the objectives and goals of our company. Many employees also noted that we are making good progress when it comes to creating a culture based on trust and inclusion.

We undertake a comprehensive process to analyze and understand the feedback of our employees and develop action plans all across the business to address their suggestions for improvement. Through this process we are continually working together to make sure TodoVale Investment Managers is a great place to work for all our employees.

Our Values

We have four core values that underpin the way we do business: Customer First, Integrity, Courage and One TodoVale. We look for these qualities in any potential future employee, no matter what their background or qualifications, and we look to recognize and reward employees for working in ways that uphold our company values.

We are committed to equal opportunity in all aspects of employment and to fostering an environment where there are no “glass ceilings”. We oppose all forms of unfair or unlawful discrimination and will not tolerate discrimination based on age, race, nationality, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, marital status, or disability.

Generational Diversity

Today’s workforce at TodoVale contains five generations. From Traditionalists to Generation Z, our workforce is becoming more and more diverse in terms of age. And each generation has their own unique needs, style, goals, and traits to consider.

We have adapted our recruiting strategies and avoid age-based stereotyping and assumptions. We also instituted employee retention practices and listened to our people’s feedback.

We are additionally working to better understand the different generations’ expectations of the workplace, and making sure that people of varied ages learn from each other and work together.

Employee Resource Group – NEXT

In 2019, a global group of Millennial and Generation Z colleagues introduced NEXT. This movement seek to give a voice to newer generations, in order to future proof our corporation and shape our legacy. NEXT advocates for younger colleagues to have a voice in key business decisions; sparks global conversations about how we stay relevant as an employer and global corporate citizen; and empowers them to make an impact directly. The NEXT team presently represents 9 of TodoVale locations, 12 nationalities and a range of business units – and the community is growing fast.

This is part of involving all employees, regardless of their generation, in shaping the future of our company and its role in society – not only for the workforce today, but also for those who come tomorrow.

Race/Ethnicity & Cultural Diversity

An international workforce is vital in order to obtain a first-hand insight into our various markets and their clients. It additionally allows us to design appropriate and relevant products.

From our more and more diverse workforce to the globalization of business, cultural competence is today`s most vital skill for effective work performance. At TodoVale, we are building the right environment in order to engender cultural competence and to develop the skills that allow organizational leaders and employees to make it a seamless part of the workplace.

In 2019 TodoVale employed 103 different nationalities in 42 countries.

kids with piano

Employee Resource Groups

We have a number of employee resource groups around the world focused on culture and race. For example:

Cultural Awareness Network (CAN), US

CAN has been working to engender a culture of diversity, inclusion and tolerance since 2017 by raising cultural awareness amongst US employees, communities and customers. They arrange regular events and communications to increase understanding and appreciation of different cultures, faiths, ethnicities, nationalities and languages. It has over 147 members and is sponsored by two of the US Executive team.

group of people

LGBT+

For countless of LGBT employees, discrimination is a way of life. According to GLAAD, “over 40% of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people and nearly 90% of transgender people have experienced employment discrimination, mistreatment or harassment .”

Despite the progress made towards LGBT rights in many countries in recent years, most countries and including the U.S. still do not provide legal protection for LGBT employees.

How to Make Your Workplace More LGBT Friendly (Why You Should)

At Todovale we look at what we can do to support LGBT equality and prevent LGBT discrimination in our own workplace and around the globe. Firstly, we look at the advantages of an LGBT-friendly workplace, and then we discuss ten (10) ways of creating one to make our business a more inclusive, welcoming place for all employees and clients.

10 Steps to an LGBT-Friendly Workplace

1. Set and Enforce Policies

2. Change Your Hiring Strategies

3. Provide Training

4. Support Events

5. Create Networks

6. Extend Benefits

7. Speak Up

8. Partner With Experts

9. Communicate

10. Listen & Adapt

Conclusion

workplaces are not all the time as LGBT friendly as they should be. Discrimination is well and alive , and even if you don’t think it’s a problem at your firm or community , There is need to put measures in place to ensure a truly inclusive work environment for all employees.