Hephzi Pemberton, the founder of Equality Group, an inclusion and diversity specialist presented on how an LGBT+ lens is essential for optimising inclusion within business. Her talk was based on a global research study examining the development and adoption of an LGBT+ lens by investment professionals in their firms and across their investment decisions.

The study’s retail survey component concluded that the LGBT+ community (with US$23 trillion of estimated household wealth) and its allies are seeking more thought-leadership and values-driven management from businesses and the investment sector. Meanwhile, the study’s survey among investment professionals also revealed a startling lack of understanding and deployment of LGBT+ related sustainability considerations in their investment products and frameworks.

Hephzi explains how a focus on LGBT+ requires brave and bold leadership, as well as role models who will spearhead the conversation.

Twenty years after its introduction, a focus on Gender has been adopted by many firms and the value it brings is increasingly realised. The same will happen with LGBT+. Early adopters will reap the benefits and lead the way on social sustainability. Where there are challenges around quality data and metrics, those first movers will innovate and activate to fill the gaps. What once seemed impossible with a Gender Lens, became more than possible, it became essential. The same will happen with an LGBT+ Lens. Those firms who drive for more inclusion, equity and diversity will chart a path that others will have to follow. The new frontier belongs to those who choose to act now.