IMMEDIATE RELEASE: London, 4 March 2024: New study gives first look at FTSE 100’s religiously inclusive firms

London, Salesforce Tower: Today, the two most faith-and-belief-friendly workplaces in the U.K. — Baringa Partners LLP and Rolls-Royce plc — will be honored at the first annual Faith at Work Conference at London Salesforce Tower. They took highest marks in the first UK edition of the corporate Religious Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI) Index and Monitor.

Both organisations have fully integrated religion (including non-theistic beliefs) as part of their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). In doing so they have created workplaces where employees of all faiths and beliefs feel a sense of belonging, which is a benefit to retention, recruitment and ultimately revenue.

This inclusive environment related to religion and belief is facilitated by organisational communications, policies and programs. These include:

This inclusive environment related to religion and belief is facilitated by organisational communications, policies and programs. These include:

• – Featuring religion on the company’s main diversity pages
• – Sponsoring active faith and belief employee resource groups (ERGs)
• – Sharing best practices with other organistions
• – Addressing religion in diversity training
• – Providing access to spiritual care, including in the case of Rolls-Royce, chaplains
• – Being attentive to how religion impacts stakeholders
• – Accommodating the religious needs of employees
• – Having clear procedures for reporting discrimination
• – Encouraging employees to attend religious diversity professional conferences
• – Matching employee donations to religious organisations
• – Equitably celebrating or honoring holy days of employees

Joining Rolls-Royce on the top ten faith-friendly firms listed on the FTSE 100 are BT Group, Schroders, Whitbread, HSBC, Ocado Group, Phoenix, Anglo American, United Utilities and St. James Place, according to the REDI Monitor. Joining Baringa on the top firms on the UK REDI Index are Ovo Energy, NATS, Thames Water, and Rolls-Royce, which is the first FTSE 100 company to opt in to the REDI Index.

The number of UK companies opting in to the REDI Index survey increased by 150%, from two in 2023 to five in 2024. While newcomers Baringa and Rolls-Royce took the top spots in 2024, OVO Energy and NATS, which took the top spots in 2023, both showed progress, both substantially increasing their scores over the past year. Thames Water, a new participant this year, rounded out the top five companies on the UK REDI Index.

The 2024 UK REDI Index and this first-of-its-kind REDI Monitor study of companies on the FTSE 100 list seek to add to the understanding of how companies are including – or not including – a focus on religion in their overall commitments to diversity.

These top ten faith-and-belief-friendly companies from the FTSE 100 with top scores on the REDI Monitor and the five companies from the REDI Index will all be honored today at the inaugural UK Faith at Work conference, The Economics of Faith & Belief Inclusive Workplaces, held in Salesforce London Tower.

This conference is aimed at senior leaders across business and government to explore the research and best practice which links faith & belief friendly workplaces with greater employee wellbeing and improved organisational performance.

By gathering together leading employers from across the UK, in both the public and private sectors, we will explore how organisations that embrace a faith & belief inclusive culture can gain a competitive advantage in talent acquisition, retention and overall productivity.

REDI Monitor vs. Index

The FTSE 100 Corporate Religious Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI) Monitor tracks the growing movement among companies on the FTSE 100 list that are including religion and belief as a core part of their diversity initiatives. RFBF staff analyse the main diversity pages of companies on the FTSE 100 list, coding up the ways their diversity commitments include – or do not include – religion and belief. This is the first year to monitor the FTSE 100. The US Fortune 100 has been annually monitored since 2020.

The REDI Index is an opt-in international benchmarking survey that companies use to benchmark their progress in (and be recognized for) including religion and belief as an integral part of their overall commitment to workplace diversity, equity and inclusion. It covers 11 topics, as shown at right.

Comparison with the Fortune 100

About 8-in-10 companies (79%) on the FTSE 100 make some reference to religion on their main diversity pages. Among the US Fortune 100 companies a slightly smaller share (73%) do so.

Both the FTSE 100 and the US Fortune 100 companies are much more likely than the overall US Fortune 500 companies to mention religion, with fewer than half (43.8%) of US Fortune 500 companies mentioning religion in 2023.

A clear indication of the degree to which religion is actively included as part of an organisation’s DEI priorities is whether the company has faith-based or interfaith employee resource groups (ERGs).

Indeed, while most FTSE 100 companies have one or more types of ERGs for race, abilities, gender, sexual orientation, and so forth, fewer have ERGs related to religion or belief. Among FTSE 100 companies, 12% have such ERGs. On this score, a larger share of US Fortune 100 companies (19%) have faith-related ERGs, according to our ongoing analysis of Fortune 100 diversity pages.

“These data, while showing progress, indicate that much more attention needs to be placed on including religion and belief as a DEI focus not only among companies on the FTSE 100 list, but in companies on both sides of the Atlantic,” said Brian Grim, the study’s lead researcher and president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation.

Organisations interested in participating in the US and global edition of the REDI Index have until 15th March to submit their surveys. Results will be announced on 21 May 2024 in Washington DC at the Annual Dare to Overcome Faith@Work National ERG Conference.

President of RFBF, Brian Grim, was quoted in a Bloomberg Law article on the importance of embracing religious diversity in the workplace. He believes that a community of different identities & views can foster team-building & avoid polarization.

Feb 1, 2024, article by Khorri Atkinson

From the article …

Forty-three Fortune 500 companies have publicly reported having faith-oriented ERGs, up from 37 companies in 2022, according to a recent report by the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, a nonprofit that advises employers on religious issues. Their ERGs have members from various faiths including Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, and even Atheism.

“It’s happening. Companies aren’t necessarily broadcasting it yet because they want to make sure it works and get some track record before they sort of go public with what they’re doing,” said Brian Grim, founding president of the RFBF.

“There’s been a growing recognition of religious diversity in America,” Grim said. “Companies see that the workforce isn’t like it was 30 years ago” because it’s getting more diverse with both workers of minority faiths and those who aren’t affiliated with a particular faith.

…

A community of different identities and viewpoints can foster team-building and avoid polarization, but without care and sensitivity, these groups can lead to misunderstanding and conflict, Grim said.

“One of the things that many companies have found is that people won’t just join an interfaith group” because there’s a presumption it would “water down our faith,” he said.

“That’s like, well, ‘Do I have to pretend like I don’t believe what I believe and come sing kumbaya?’” Grim said. Instead, having faith-specific groups under an interfaith umbrella are more likely to effectively engage workers while creating opportunities for interfaith collaborative ventures, he said.

A major new study that we will release on 4th March in London will show that there is a growing UK faith-friendly workplace movement. Join us in Parliament on 5th March to discuss and learn how this advances Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in the UK and the world. To register, email us.

The report to be released on 4th March will look at how the top 10 faith-and-belief-friendly FTSE 100 workplaces are “building” FoRB. These companies will be recognised at a special event at Saleforce’s London Tower on Monday.

This meeting on Tuesday 5th March will include comments from Sukie Gandhi, the global vice president of Salesforce’s Faithforce, on how the movement is spreading globally. Also speaking on where this movement is heading is Oliver Pawle, the London based Chairman of Korn Ferry Board Services Practice, focusing on chairman, non-executive and executive board appointments for FTSE 100 companies.

It builds on a report previously released by the APPG FoRB: Building Freedom of Religion or Belief Through Faith-and-Belief Friendly Workplaces: A CALL TO ACTION.

The inaugural UK Faith at Work conference, The Economics of Faith & Belief Inclusive Workplaces, will be held at Salesforce Tower in London on 4th March.

This conference is aimed at senior leaders across business and government to explore the research and best practice which links faith & belief friendly workplaces with greater employee wellbeing and improved organisational performance.

By gathering together leading employers from across the UK, in both the public and private sectors, we will explore how organisations that embrace a faith & belief inclusive culture can gain a competitive advantage in talent acquisition, retention and overall productivity.

By Brian Grim

At the Jaipur Literature Festival, India, I participated in a open, uncensored panel discussion of the challenges of free speech in a polarized world. The discussion was with literature, conference, and festival leaders from around the world, including India (Hindu and Muslim participants), Indonesia, Kenya, Germany, the US, UAE, and Bhutan. I shared how the covenantal pluralism movement within corporations to be faith friendly is opening new doors. it was a new idea to everyone.

Hope in a troubled world.

A corporate motto that puts people first.

Fortune 500 company Equinix empowers its people to care for others.

“There’s an ability now within corporations to help and make an impact in the world that there never really was before. The world is filled with things that need our help. Being able to work at a company that is so globally minded beyond just the bottom line is incredibly hope giving. You get to bring your full humanity and do everything in your power.”

Join them as they tell their stories of supporting bilingual schools, science education, combatting human trafficking, caring for orphans, and more! All with the motto, Be Well. Do Good. Stay Connected.

“As cultural change and new legal precedents are increasingly bringing religion to the forefront in the workplace, employers are left wondering how—and whether—they can draw a line between employees’ work and religious practice,” writes Theresa Agovino in the forthcoming issue of All Things Work from HR Magazine (SHRM, Feb. 3, 2024).

Among those interviewed are Brian Grim:

:Conversations about faith can help quell dissent over accommodations, says Brian Grim, founding president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, an Annapolis, Md.-based nonprofit that educates leaders, policymakers and consumers about the positive benefits that faith can have in the workplace.

“’Respect, empathy and humility are core values espoused by most religions,’ Grim says. ‘While some religious beliefs might be offensive to others, those core values aren’t. In religious DE&I initiatives, it’s important to define what they are about and what they aren’t. Among other things, they are about information, engagement and celebration; they are not about dogma, proselytizing or the culture wars.’”

Respect, empathy and humility are core values espoused by most religions. While some religious beliefs might be offensive to others, those core values aren’t.” —Brian Grim

In commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27), and at a time of resurgent global antisemitism, Dell Technologies, Google, Equinix, Salesforce, SAP with the American Jewish Committee (AJC), jointly sponsored a special program dedicated to honoring the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and fostering awareness to ensure that the lessons of the past are never forgotten.

Hear from Holocaust educator Todd Hennessy, introduced by Google VP of YouTube Americas, Tara Walpert Levy, also discussed the events of the 1930s that led up to the Holocaust.

Gain insights from a panel of company employees–all descendants of Holocaust survivors and victims–as they discussed the significance of being living memorials and custodians of the memories of the Holocaust. And explore allyship resources that aim to ensure that the profound meaning of “Never Again” is upheld.

Above, tune into this conversation with Seth Cohen, Chief Impact Officer @ Forbes, hosted by RFBF’s Brian Grim, on the new community created by Forbes to share ideas and discuss how faith, business, entrepreneurship and creativity can work together to help make the world more prosperous. You can join the group’s LinkedIn page here.

The Forbes Faith + Business Community recently launched a LinkedIn Group for a global network of individuals applying their talent and time to the intersection of faith, business, entrepreneurship and creativity. The community is open to any individual who is interested in sharing and exploring content, ideas, opportunities, and initiatives that are faith-focused. Community members include executives, educators, entrepreneurs, investors, NGO leaders, policy makers, content creators, and many others.

This community is open and inclusive, the common denominator among all Forbes Faith + Business members is the willingness to share ideas, opportunities and solutions, all in a respectful and open-minded way. This isn’t a place for overly insistent self-promotion (although sharing your work and efforts is invited), its a place to discover new approach an allies, while also sharing stories and learnings we can all grow from.

Now, more than ever, leaders are grappling with all of these issues and more as they struggle with talent shortages, high rates of turnover, disengaged workers, a wobbly economy and the escalating pace of change. That’s why we created this digital forum — so ideas can be heard, partnerships can be nurtured, and solutions can be found. We are glad you found us, and we are looking forward to helping the world work better – together.

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The Forbes Faith + Business Community is an initiative of the Forbes Impact Lab. The content posted herein is the opinion of the individual posting the comment and is not to be deemed the opinion of Forbes Media. For questions, comments and collaborations, please contact Seth Cohen, Chief Impact Officer, Forbes Media.