Inclusion & Diversity
Embracing diversity to drive innovation and reinvention
We foster a culture and a workplace where all our people can feel a sense of belonging, are respected, and are empowered to do their best work.
48%
of our global workforce are women, compared to our global goal of gender parity by 2025
~141,000
Allies in Action participants
#1
Refinitiv Global Diversity & Inclusion Index (4th time in 6 years)
Our Inclusion & Diversity strategy
We are committed to helping all our people thrive, which includes advancing inclusion and diversity for women; people of different races and ethnicities; persons with disabilities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) people; people from different cultures; people with different religious and faith-based traditions; and people from different age and social groups.
Our purpose is to deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity. Our strategy is to deliver 360° value for all our stakeholders by helping them continuously reinvent. To drive reinvention, innovation must be at the forefront, which requires us to attract, develop and inspire top talent. Talent is one of our most important areas of competitive differentiation.
As part of our talent strategy, we hire and develop people who have different backgrounds, different perspectives, and different lived experiences. These differences ensure that we have and attract the cognitive diversity to deliver a variety of perspectives, observations, and insights which are essential to drive the innovation needed to reinvent. To help achieve this diversity we set goals, share them publicly, and collect data to measure our progress, continuously improve, and hold our leaders accountable for ensuring we have the most innovative and talented people in our industry. This approach is a key driver of our progress.
We recognize that some people come to Accenture having faced obstacles as an aspect of their identity or lived experience. At Accenture, we are committed to harness these perspectives and ensure that all of our people have the opportunity to thrive and unlock their full potential. We are a meritocracy. Our intention is to foster a culture and a workplace in which all of our people feel a sense of belonging and are respected and empowered to do their best work and to create 360° value for all our stakeholders.
Leadership
We expect our leaders to help sustain a culture of equality where everyone can achieve their aspirations.
Our commitment starts with our Chair and CEO, our Board of Directors and our Global Management Committee.
Our Leadership Essentials set the expectation that our leaders consistently demonstrate their commitment to inclusion, diversity and equality, and continuously build their inclusive leadership skills.
45%
of our directors are from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds*
45%
are women, including our Chair and CEO Julie Sweet
*For reporting purposes, racial and ethnic diversity of our directors is based on self-reported United States EEO-1 categories. See our 2023 Proxy Statement for more information.
We set goals, share them publicly, and collect data to measure our progress, so we can continuously improve.
Goals and progress
Gender equality1
Race and ethnicity1
- Accenture's gender equality and race and ethnicity data as of and for the period ended December 1, 2023, has been reviewed by an independent third-party accountant. Refer to the Independent Accountants' Review Report for more information. Gender metrics reflect people who have self-reported as binary in our enterprise management system. Metrics do not include Avanade, a joint venture between Accenture and Microsoft that is majority-owned by Accenture and recent acquisitions.
- "Executives” comprises our managers, senior managers, associate directors, managing directors, senior managing directors and members of our Global Management Committee.
- “Managing Directors” comprises our managing directors, senior managing directors and members of our Global Management Committee.
- New Hires reflect employees hired during the twelve months ended December 1, 2023, the twelve months ended December 1, 2022, and the eleven months ended December 1, 2021. In 2020, Accenture reported new hires for the twelve months ended December 31.
- For U.K. metrics, Black includes Black/Black British colleagues who have self-identified as being of African and Caribbean heritage or with dual heritage of White and Black African or White and Black Caribbean.
- For South Africa metrics, Coloured is a multiracial ethnic group native to Southern Africa who have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including Khoisan, Bantu, Afrikaner, Whites, Austronesian, East Asian or South Asian.
4 of 9
of our executive officers are women
~26%
women representation on Global Management Committee
Culture
We are committed to helping everyone feel connected, with a strong sense of trust and belonging.
In fiscal 2023, we introduced Allies in Action, a global experience that helps our people learn what it means to be an ally, practice inclusive behaviors in a continual learning journey, and be role models for others.
Our five essential ally behaviors are:
Activate
awareness
Practice
presence
Say
something
Have
humility
Inspire
inclusion
~141,000
Allies in Action participants
"I found my voice finally, thanks to the unconditional acceptance I received from an ally—my supervisor at Accenture. She was the first person I came out to. Today, I am happy, visible and doing work I love."
— ANNITH, Manager - Human Resources Bengaluru, India
- We have a zero-tolerance policy for any form of discrimination, regardless of age, disability, race and ethnicity, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or religion
- We take all concerns seriously, so we provide resources and training to help our people understand the actions they can take
- Our goal is to educate and empower our people to have productive conversations and be active allies who advance equality, inclusion and belonging, wherever they live
Fighting racisim globally
Our online We Stand Against Racism course—which is required* in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Europe—includes local perspectives and storytelling to help people identify, speak up and address issues such as racial bias and microaggressions
*Excludes Avanade, a joint venture between Accenture and Microsoft and recent acquisitions
We provide our people with a robust catalog of learning opportunities to build greater understanding and help foster an inclusive workplace.
We introduced 10 neurodiversity training modules in fiscal 2023
Thriving Together – Building Resilience and Belonging: completed by ~66,000 of our people
Unconscious Bias – Mitigating It Together: completed by ~118,000 of new joiners
We offer with Aperian (formerly GlobeSmart), an online learning platform that helps bridge work-style, communication and cultural difference, to help our people learn about cross-cultural diversity and cultural styles
Our employee networks create a sense of belonging, so that all our people can show up equally and be authentically themselves.
We also have networks for Race & Ethnicity, Interfaith and Veterans where locally relevant.
Pride
at Accenture
90+
networks across 45 countries
Neurodiversity
Employee Network
1,780
people
Gender-based
network
120+
in 37 countries
Disability-based
networks
29
countries
We strive to create a safe and welcoming environment where all our people can thrive.
Across our physical spaces, we have:
Accessibility Centers
Available in 36 locations, these interactive spaces support our people to try and test accessible technology and solutions to ensure they have the tools that best support their individual needs. Our Centers also serve as hubs for education, collaboration and exchanging ideas, including with our clients and local communities.
Private and supportive spaces
Our physical spaces include wellness rooms, interfaith rooms, lactation rooms and all-inclusive restrooms.
Expressive environments
Through art, programming and signage, we celebrate different cultures, backgrounds and perspective.
Spotlight
"Having lived with hearing loss since high school, I am both proud and grateful that I joined Accenture—a company that champions Inclusion & Diversity. I feel valued. I’ve had the opportunity to lead an accessibility testing project and be an advocate for others. The accommodations that I receive improve my quality of life at work and help me to live without limits."
— MADZ, Senior Manager - Technology, Industry X Taguig, Philippines
We embrace, recognize and celebrate the diverse cultures of our people. These observances reinforce the importance of allyship and include globally celebrated moments such as:
International Day
for Persons with
Disabilities
We participated in PurpleSpace's global Purple Light Up initiative at 60 of our locations to celebrate the contribution of disabled people around the world
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
We encouraged our people to gain a better understanding of the ramifications of racial and ethnic discrimination and to take action for meaningful change
World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
Our people were given the opportunity to learn about the importance of intercultural dialogue for achieving peace and sustainable development
International Women’s Day
We celebrated our 19th annual IWD with 171 events in 43 countries
Pride celebrations
Our Pride at Accenture network hosted ~100 events around the globe
Processes
We use a data-driven approach to measure our progress, proactively monitoring our processes for equity.
We expanded the reach of our self-ID programs, where legally permitted, to provide our people with the option to voluntarily share information about themselves.
~13,000
of our people have self-identified as a person with a disability
~82%
of our people can now share their sexual orientation and gender identity*
*Excludes Avanade
We draw on technology to build inclusive candidate pipelines that reflect the array of human diversity and to hire the best talent for Accenture.
We invested in SocialTalent, a recruitment learning platform, to support how we hire, engage and lead teams
Nearly 680 people in India joined our flagship program, Aarambh, and the Inclusive Internship Program
We launched a partnership with myGwork, the largest talent platform and professional network for the global business community of LGBTIQ+ professionals, to reach new talent pools.
In the U.S., our hiring teams use an inclusive slate process that helps reduce bias, increasing equitable outcomes based in meritocracy
Our Inclusion & Diversity leadership development programs* are designed to strengthen our pipeline for advancement and representation.
Women
Our Insight and Developing Our Women programs help senior analysts and above navigate their careers with confidence.
Persons with disabilities
Our Abilities Unleashed program provides opportunities for consultants and above to build confidence and plan career journeys.
Racial and ethnic groups
In the U.S., our Shift and Drive programs proactively focus on skill building, coaching and self-development activities for African American, Black, Hispanic American, Latinx and Asian Pacific American employees and allies; Engage! is a leadership journey for U.S. and U.K. participants, their direct managers and sponsors that focuses on culture change and inclusive behaviors across the employee ecosystem.
LGBTIQ+ people
Our LGBTIQ+ Leaders Learning (L3) provides the tools, skills, insights and enhanced self-confidence for our people to advance their careers and be role models. The L6 program extension for senior managers and associate directors creates opportunities to connect with leadership and peers to drive career growth towards leadership positions.
*Our I&D leadership development programs are available globally unless noted; participation is not limited by protected class or other personal characteristics.
Our career programs drive development, engagement and retention of our diverse talent.
Mentors promote holistic personal and professional development to advance our culture of equality for all
Through sponsorship, our senior leaders can advocate for and actively promote the career advancement of our people
Returnship programs focus on clearing barriers to workforce re-entry through mentoring, training and skilling opportunities
Collaborating with clients and communities
We work with our clients and communities to advance inclusion and diversity.
We build diverse and inclusive teams because they create better, more innovative solutions that reach more people and reflect the needs of our clients’ customers and stakeholders.
To achieve mutual progress, we share strategies and practices, collaborate on programming and learning events, and celebrate key cultural observances together
We promote equality and foster employment and advancement for under-represented communities, both globally and locally, partnering to address specific challenges and advocate for change. Examples include:
Disability inclusion
We partner with the International Labour Organization Global Business and Disability Network to help enterprises achieve business success while simultaneously creating equal opportunities for people with disabilities.
We partner with Disability:IN, a global network of over 500 corporations focused on expanding opportunities for people with disabilities across enterprises, lending our voice and expertise to multiple committees and work streams.
Racial and ethnic inclusion
We participate in Business for Inclusive Growth, a global CEO-led coalition of major companies that is fighting against inequalities of income and opportunity.
In the U.S., through our Black Founders Development Program, we invested in Praxis Labs, a software-as-a-service immersive learning platform that embeds equity and inclusion throughout the employee lifecycle equipping learners to show up as inclusive leaders in the workplace.
LGBTIQ+ equality and inclusion
Accenture is a founding member of the Partnership for Global LGBTI Equality, a coalition of 22 leading multinational companies and six nonprofit organizations in partnership with the World Economic Forum and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.