Federated Hermes EOS to crack down on diversity laggards

UK Corporate Governance Principles set out for 2021

Federated Hermes' EOS stewardship team has promised to get tough on FTSE 100 companies with little to no ethnic diversity on their board of directors.

EOS' UK engagement lead Amy Wilson said now was the time to "advance our expectations" of investee firms' diversity and inclusion strategies, as it prepared to "provide a leading voice on this topic for stakeholders". In a letter sent to FTSE 100 companies, EOS told corporate bosses it would recommend clients vote against the chair of a board that "does not have at least one director from an ethnic minority background and has no credible plan to rapidly achieve this". Race against time: Companies must act fast to make workplaces more inclusive for ethnic minority colleagues It also...