Organizations across the globe are embracing the benefits of a more diverse workforce.

In a 2020 global research review, the nonprofit Catalyst reported that these benefits include increasing success in recruiting and retention, maximizing talent and productivity, increasing innovation, enhancing decision-making, and improving team performance. In 2019, McKinsey & Company reported that across more than 1,000 companies worldwide, those in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity and gender diversity are 36% and 25%, respectively, more likely to have financial returns above national industry medians. And Glassdoor reported in 2021 that 76% of job seekers consider a diverse workforce an important factor when evaluating offers.

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts are propelling change within advancement today, as teams reassess practices from how they engage donors to hiring and internal culture.

“I’ve been in this field for almost three decades, and I’ve seen more change as it relates to DEI in the last five to seven years than I saw in the first 20-plus years of my career. … The face of our profession is changing and will continue to change to reflect more of who our constituents are,” says Shaun Keister, Vice Chancellor for Development and Alumni Relations at University of California, Davis, U.S.

UC Davis is one of 15 institutions that volunteered to participate in a recent pilot program for a new CASE tool: the Advancement Inclusion Index, a self-assessment to measure DEIB efforts and demographic data.

CASE’s Opportunity and Inclusion Center developed the survey in partnership with CASE Insights and with CASE volunteers and DEI consultants beginning in early 2021 as part of a new OIC vision.