Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. – Workforce Diversity Data (2024)

Outcome: Successfully withdrawn following JLL’s agreement to disclose EEO-1, hiring, retention, and promotion data broken out by gender globally and by EEO-1 race/ethnicity categories for U.S. employees.

Effectiveness of Diversity Efforts

RESOLVED: Shareholders request that Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (“JLL”) report to shareholders on the effectiveness of the Company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. The report should be done at reasonable expense, exclude proprietary information, and provide transparency on outcomes, using quantitative metrics for workforce diversity, hiring, promotion, and retention of employees, including data by gender, race, and ethnicity.

WHEREAS:

More than half of the S&P 500 and over one-third of the Russell 1000 have released, or have committed to release, their consolidated EEO-1 forms, a best practice in diversity data reporting.[1]

In 2017, JLL committed to releasing its EEO-1 reports in a shareholder proposal withdrawal agreement with Trillium Asset Management.[2]

However, as of the date of the filing of this proposal, JLL has not consistently released its consolidated EEO-1 form since 2017. In comparison, real estate peer CBRE Group began releasing EEO-1 data in 2020.

JLL has also not shared sufficient hiring, retention, or promotion data to allow investors to determine the effectiveness of its diversity and inclusion programs.

As You Sow and Whistle Stop Capital released research in November 2023 that reviewed the EEO-1 reports of 1,641 companies against financial performance metrics from 2016-2021.[3]

Hiring: Studies conducted by economists at the University of Chicago and UC Berkeley found that “discriminating companies tend to be less profitable,” stating “it is costly for firms to discriminate against productive workers.”[4]

Promotion: Without equitable promotional practices, companies will be unable to build the necessary employee pipelines for diverse management. Women and employees of color experience “a broken rung” in their careers; for every 100 men who are promoted, only 87 women are. Whereas women of color comprise 18 percent of the entry-level workforce and only 6 percent of executives.[5]

Retention: Retention rates indicate if employees believe a company represents their best opportunity. Morgan Stanley has found that employee retention above industry average can indicate a competitive advantage and higher levels of future profitability.[6]

SUPPORTING STATEMENT:

Quantitative data is sought so that investors can assess and compare the effectiveness of companies’ diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

It is advised that this content be provided through the JLL’s existing sustainability reporting infrastructure. An independent report specific to this topic is not requested.

[1] https://www.freshfields.us/49fd4b/globalassets/noindex/documents/freshfields-trends-and-updates-from-the-2023-proxy-season-july-2023.pdf, https://justcapital.com/reports/companies-disclosing-workforce-diversity-data-eeo-1-report-more-than-tripled/

[2] https://archive.trilliuminvest.com/2017/03/24/jll-commits-comprehensive-workplace-diversity-reporting/

[3] https://www.asyousow.org/report-page/2023-positive-relationships-linking-workforce-diversity-and-financial-performance

[4] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/29/business/economy/hiring-racial-discrimination.html

[5] https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace

[6] https://www.morganstanley.com/im/publication/insights/articles/article_culturequantframework_us.pdf, p. 2