2021 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Report
2022 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Report
Then.
Now.
Scroll
Next.
Bain & Company has been investing in diversity, equity,
and inclusion for more than 30 years. From our early affinity communities, we expanded into efforts to mitigate the impact of unconscious bias and create a culture of inclusion where every Bainie can thrive. Yet, in 2020, we recognized that the experiences of our underrepresented communities were still falling short of our aspirations, and we committed to deeper, more systemic change. Today, we are united by a broader ambition and global, regional, and local goals that reflect
our multicultural and multidimensional firm.
We are committed to driving breakthrough results as a leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion in all that
we do—for our people, our business, and our community.
Julie Coffman
Chief Diversity Officer
Agents of Change
Supporting DEI with our clients
and in communities
Building Community
Amplifying diversity through communities of identity
Inclusive Leadership
Building leaders who are role models of inclusion
Support to Thrive
Providing personal and professional support to every Bainie
Talent Pathways
Changing the way we recruit
and support new hires
Leadership Responsibility
Raising our expectations
of our leaders
As trusted advisers to the world’s largest companies and social impact organizations, we have the opportunity and responsibility to create change far beyond what Bain could do on its own. For example,
we have invested to help close the racial wealth gap in the US as a founding partner of the OneTen organization. In the UK, we have been partnering with leaders in the financial services and energy sectors
to advance gender diversity in leadership through projects like the Women in Finance Charter Blueprint
and joint research with POWERful Women. In Australia, we have refreshed our reconciliation action plan
to strengthen our understanding of, relationship with, and contributions to the Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Our corporate clients are on their own DEI journeys, and we are proud to work with them to help embed DEI lenses beyond the talent journey and across a wide range of business decisions and processes. We also embed DEI into our own business operations through
efforts such as our supplier diversity program.
Supporting DEI with our clients and in communities
When businesses champion DEI, it forces them to reflect on legacy views and processes,
which is critical if they want to push innovation to new levels, partner with their communities, and remain competitive. Organizations that create a culture of inclusion benefit in ways that would just not be possible otherwise.
Nishma Gosrani
Partner, London
Agents
of Change
Building Community
Inclusive Leadership
Support
to Thrive
Talent Pathways
Leadership Responsibility
BACK
We believe diverse teams are the source of Bain’s strength, so we strive to nurture the identity of each Bainie. Worldwide, we have seven affinity groups where Bainies can find communities that amplify their life experiences, beliefs, and stories. Our affinity groups are thriving and their programs, such as our diversity summits, are reaching new heights, with a strong focus on intersectionality to deepen everyone’s sense of belonging.
In EMEA, we supported a DEI speaker series and expanded Diverse Abilities at Bain, while also expanding Asians at Bain, Latinx at Bain, and Blacks at Bain. In APAC, we created a safer space for members of BGLAD, our LGBTQ network, and expanded Asians at Bain into Australia. We also encouraged communities within
Amplifying diversity through communities of identity
As Bain becomes more diverse, continuing to build connections ensures that all Bainies feel included. As a relatively new face at the APAC BGLAD summit for the LGBTQ community, I was blown away by powerful stories of support and camaraderie. Our strength and resilience is humbling, and I will do all I can to make Bain a place where everyone can be their authentic self.
Kaoru Perkins
Associate Partner, Tokyo
Agents
of Change
Building Community
Inclusive Leadership
Support
to Thrive
Talent Pathways
Leadership Responsibility
BACK
We are making sure Bain’s leaders understand the role they play in building and sustaining an inclusive environment that brings out the best in every Bainie. We have embedded inclusion into leadership training across consulting and business function teams around the world, and 100% of our new senior managers have been trained on how to be more inclusive leaders. In addition, we have developed unique, highly interactive workshops that equip our leaders with practical tactics to drive inclusion across environments and develop and share more authentic stories. We have also drawn on expertise from outside partners, including creating opportunities for our teams to engage in a conscious inclusion program run by Steps and for our leaders to participate in coaching circles facilitated by BetterUp.
To further support all Bainies on their own DEI journeys, we have built out a locally delivered pod-based experiential DEI curriculum, established regional learning sessions—such as those honoring Juneteenth in the Americas—and continue to provide independent
self-study DEI modules.
Building leaders who are role models of inclusion
If you’re not making every employee feel included, you’re not living up to the full potential
of your organization, even if you check the box when it comes to representation. As a leader
of diverse teams, I believe that supporting a greater sense of belonging creates purpose and delivers results. Making sure every person who manages staff at Bain is focused on inclusion
is central to our culture.
Catalina Fajardo
Partner, Bogotá
Agents
of Change
Building Community
Inclusive Leadership
Support
to Thrive
Talent Pathways
Leadership Responsibility
BACK
Every Bainie needs a strong sense of belonging, support, and trust to thrive. We reimagined the first-year experience for recent graduates and midcareer industry hires and committed to ensuring that all Bainies have sponsorship and mentorship throughout their careers. This includes formal coaching and leadership development in APAC through programs like our global Bain Career Advisory (BCA), training focused on experience sharing for members of our Blacks at Bain and Latinx at Bain groups, and expanded sponsorship for underrepresented racial groups in EMEA and the Americas.
Providing personal and professional support to every Bainie
In my role, I support Bainies globally to foster more intentional career planning, purpose-focused conversations, and 1:1 coaching sessions so they can thrive at every stage of their career. We're working to make sure everyone on our team is prepared to coach and provide resources for our diverse Bain community.
Christina Strong
Senior Manager, Bain Career Advisory, Chicago
Agents
of Change
Building Community
Inclusive Leadership
Support
to Thrive
Talent Pathways
Leadership Responsibility
BACK
Our success depends on diverse teams of extraordinary talent, and we continue to expand our efforts and the channels we use to find and recruit that talent. In EMEA and APAC, we invested in programs for women recruits like Lead to Inspire and also increased our hiring of senior women by 20%. In the Americas, we expanded our Building and Supporting Excellence (BASE) and Building Entrepreneurial Leaders (BEL) internship programs for Black, Latinx, or Indigenous MBA students and undergraduates. Last year, we more than doubled BASE by expanding it to every US office. Our 2022 BEL program welcomed 179 participants from 58 universities, including many historically Black colleges and universities, making it our largest program to date.
To be the employer of choice for a broader set of exceptional talent, we also must think differently, mitigating our own biases as we screen recruits and prepare them all for success. For example, we shifted many Americas-based roles from school- to skill-based requirements.
In EMEA and APAC, we expanded the STAR program, an end-to-end change to our hiring processes to mitigate bias and improve outcomes
for all underrepresented talent.
Changing the way we recruit and support new hires
After I was accepted to Harvard Business School, BASE offered me insight into management consulting, demystified case interviews, and demonstrated Bain’s support for diverse leadership. The BASE scholars in my office are a tightly knit community that remind me of my pivotal undergraduate experience at Morehouse. To this day, we continue to support each other.
Michael Cox
Consultant, Houston; 2019 BASE Participant
Agents
of Change
Building Community
Inclusive Leadership
Support
to Thrive
Talent Pathways
Leadership Responsibility
BACK
We hold the leaders of our offices and functions around the world accountable for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) outcomes, including measurable goals based on our ambition. To continue our progress, we have established a new set of DEI champion roles and forums in each of our regions, with the expectation that they can provide the local customization and support we need to reach our multiyear aspirations. We have also embedded DEI dashboards and results into our ongoing management and governance reviews.
We have made a sustained commitment to creating an equitable talent journey for every Bainie and are investing heavily to ensure our human capital tools and processes help us deliver against that aspiration. As a business, we are also embedding a DEI lens into the way we work with our clients and suppliers as we seek to create change in the marketplace.
Raising our expectations of our leaders
DEI is a key regional priority and critical to our future success. We’re taking a tailored approach to meet the specific DEI needs in each of our offices. Regardless of starting point, we have united behind a single ambition and are accelerating progress with new approaches in every area, from talent acquisition to inclusive leadership. As leaders, we are collectively accountable for the experience of our people and our work across every market.
Domenico Azzarello
Regional Managing Partner, EMEA
Agents
of Change
Building Community
Inclusive Leadership
Support
to Thrive
Talent Pathways
Leadership Responsibility
BACK
We are proud to share more granular global data this year, going beyond the US to provide regional data for all of the Americas and for EMEA and APAC, including five local spotlights that highlight our efforts around the world. Globally,
our representation of women and those who identify as nonbinary continues to grow, both overall and at the leadership level—where we have exceeded 30% for the first time. Our leadership representation of women continues to grow in
all three regions, with EMEA leadership representation jumping 5 points. We also continue to invest in increasing our
LGBTQ representation.* Within the US, we have seen increases in Black and Asian representation, while our Latinx
and veterans representation has stayed steady.
Global/Regional
Local Spotlights
US
Our progress over the last two years has been exciting and
has shown us just how much bolder our ambition can and should be. Sustained progress depends first on articulating
a future state that can be translated into goals and results.
We pledge to continue to do more, for our people, our business, and our community.
For our people, that means continuing to expand diverse representation throughout our firm, at all levels, and
making sure that everyone feels included and supported.
It means making sure our leaders are trusted because they
are on their own DEI journeys and truly understand why
DEI matters for our people and our firm.
functional groups, such as Women in Bain’s Technology Support Group. Authenticity was a key theme at our global summits, where
world-renowned thought leaders shared their wisdom to help attendees understand how to bring their authenticity to all they do.
We also increased active allyship around the world, creating events and learning opportunities to deepen connections between Bainies from underrepresented backgrounds and their allies.
We know work, and life, can be hard sometimes, so we also invest in a culture and resources that put
well-being, including mental health, first. Our B.E.S.T. program and our entire global team are dedicated
to providing the space and support we all need when the road gets rough. Our colleagues are more than
just their work product. We believe living more enriching, inspiring, healthier lives allows Bainies to be their best selves and create outstanding value for our clients and communities.
All of our frontline leaders recognize the importance of every Bainie feeling a sense of belonging, support, and trust at work, and they are focused on role modeling high-impact inclusive leadership behaviors.
*We protect our employees’ right to privacy, so our LGBTQ data is directional and based on voluntary disclosure.
There is much more to come and further to go.
Then. Now. Next.
Then. Now. Next.
Our Data
Our Ambition
Learn more about our journey in our full report
DOWNLOAD PDF
Sustained progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion means taking a fresh look at every aspect of how we run our organization. We have devoted significant resources to a wide range of local, regional, and global efforts and are testing and learning from multiple ideas, interventions, and new ways of working designed to ensure that all Bainies thrive.
The sections below offer a sample of our efforts.
Then. Now. Next.
For our business, it means embedding DEI into the way
we work as teams, as well as in the way we deliver value
to clients. For our community, it means showing up
to be an agent of change. We are inspired and awed
by our opportunity to partner with leading not-for-profit organizations to effect change in the world, and we will continue to invest in these efforts.
Leadership Responisibility
Our success depends on diverse teams of extraordinary talent, and we continue to expand our efforts and the channels we use to find and recruit that talent. In EMEA and APAC, we invested in programs for women recruits like Lead to Inspire and also increased our hiring of senior women by 20%. In the Americas, we expanded our Building and Supporting Excellence (BASE) and Building Entrepreneurial Leaders (BEL) internship programs for Black, Latinx, or Indigenous MBA students and undergraduates. Last year, we more than doubled BASE by expanding it to every US office. Our 2022 BEL program welcomed 179 participants from 58 universities, including many historically Black colleges and universities, making it our largest program to date.
We have made a sustained commitment to creating an equitable talent journey for every Bainie and are investing heavily to ensure our human capital tools and processes help us deliver against that aspiration. As a business, we are also embedding DEI lenses into the way we work with our clients and suppliers as we seek to create change in the marketplace.
To be the employer of choice for a broader set of exceptional talent, we also must think differently, mitigating our own biases as we screen recruits and prepare them all for success. For example, we shifted many Americas-based roles from school- to skill-based requirements. In EMEA and APAC, we expanded the STAR program, an end-to-end change to our hiring processes to mitigate bias and improve outcomes for all underrepresented talent.
Changing the way we recruit and support new hires
Talent Pathways
After I was accepted to Harvard Business School, BASE offered me insight into management consulting, demystified case interviews, and demonstrated Bain’s support for diverse leadership. The BASE scholars in my office are a tightly knit community that remind me of my pivotal undergraduate experience at Morehouse. To this day, we continue to support each other.
Michael Cox
Consultant, Houston; 2019 BASE Participant
All of our frontline leaders recognize the importance of every Bainie feeling a sense of belonging, support, and trust at work, and they are focused on role modeling high-impact inclusive leadership behaviors. We have made a sustained commitment to creating an equitable talent journey for every Bainie and are investing heavily to ensure our human capital tools and processes help us deliver against that aspiration. As a business, we are also embedding a DEI lens into the way we work with our clients and suppliers as we seek to create change in the marketplace.
Raising our expectations
of our leaders
Talent Pathways
Raising our expectations
of our leaders
Support to Thrive
Raising our expectations
of our leaders
Inclusive Leadership
Raising our expectations
of our leaders
Building Community
Raising our expectations
of our leaders
Agents of Change
Every Bainie needs a strong sense of belonging, support, and trust to thrive. We reimagined the first-year experience for recent graduates and midcareer industry hires and committed to ensuring that all Bainies have sponsorship
and mentorship throughout their careers.
This includes formal coaching and leadership development in APAC through programs like
our global Bain Career Advisory (BCA), training focused on experience sharing for members of our Blacks at Bain and Latinx at Bain groups,
and expanded sponsorship for underrepresented racial groups in EMEA and the Americas.
We have made a sustained commitment to creating an equitable talent journey for every Bainie and are investing heavily to ensure our human capital tools and processes help us deliver against that aspiration. As a business, we are also embedding DEI lenses into the way we work with our clients and suppliers as we seek to create change in the marketplace.
We know work, and life, can be hard sometimes, so we also invest in a culture and resources that put well-being, including mental health, first. Our B.E.S.T. program and our entire global team are dedicated to providing the space and support we all need when the road gets rough. Our colleagues are more than just their work product. We believe living more enriching, inspiring, healthier lives allows Bainies to be their best selves and create outstanding value for our clients and communities.
Providing personal and professional support to every Bainie
Support to Thrive
We are making sure Bain’s leaders understand the role they play in building and sustaining an inclusive environment that brings out the best in every Bainie. We have embedded inclusion into leadership training across consulting and business function teams around the world, and 100% of our new senior managers have been trained on how to be more inclusive leaders.
In addition, we have developed unique, highly interactive workshops that equip our leaders with practical tactics to drive inclusion across environments and develop and share more authentic stories. We have also drawn on expertise from outside partners, including creating opportunities for our teams to engage in a conscious inclusion program run by Steps and for our leaders to participate in coaching circles facilitated by BetterUp.
We have made a sustained commitment to creating an equitable talent journey for every Bainie and are investing heavily to ensure our human capital tools and processes help us deliver against that aspiration. As a business, we are also embedding DEI lenses into the way we work with our clients and suppliers as we seek to create change in the marketplace.
To further support all Bainies on their own DEI journeys, we have built out a locally delivered pod-based experiential DEI curriculum, established regional learning sessions—such as those honoring Juneteenth in the Americas—and continue to provide independent self-study DEI modules.
Building leaders who are role models of inclusion
Inclusive Leadership
If you’re not making every employee feel included, you’re not living up to the full potential of your organization, even if you check the box when it comes to representation. As a leader of diverse teams, I believe that supporting a greater sense of belonging creates purpose and delivers results. Making sure every person who manages staff at Bain
is focused on inclusion is central to our culture.
Catalina Fajardo
Partner, Bogotá
We believe diverse teams are the source of Bain’s strength, so we strive to nurture the identity of each Bainie. Worldwide, we have seven affinity groups where Bainies can find communities
that amplify their life experiences, beliefs,
and stories. Our affinity groups are thriving
and their programs, such as our diversity summits, are reaching new heights, with
a strong focus on intersectionality to deepen everyoe’s sense of belonging.
We have made a sustained commitment to creating an equitable talent journey for every Bainie and are investing heavily to ensure our human capital tools and processes help us deliver against that aspiration. As a business, we are also embedding DEI lenses into the way we work with our clients and suppliers as we seek to create change in the marketplace.
In EMEA, we supported a DEI speaker series and expanded Diverse Abilities at Bain, while also expanding Asians at Bain, Latinx at Bain, and Blacks at Bain. In APAC, we created a safer space for members of BGLAD, our LGBTQ network, and expanded Asians at Bain into Australia. We also encouraged communities within functional groups, such as Women in Bain’s Technology Support Group. Authenticity was a key theme at our global summits, where world-renowned thought leaders shared their wisdom to help attendees understand how to bring their authenticity to all they do. We also increased active allyship around the world, creating events and learning opportunities to deepen connections between Bainies from underrepresented backgrounds and their allies.
Amplifying diversity through communities of identity
Building Community
As Bain becomes more diverse, continuing to build connections ensures that all Bainies feel included. As a relatively new face at the APAC BGLAD summit for the LGBTQ community, I was blown away by powerful stories of support and camaraderie. Our strength and resilience is humbling, and I will do all I can to make Bain a place where everyone can be their authentic self.
Kaoru Perkins
Associate Partner, Tokyo
As trusted advisers to the world’s largest companies and social impact organizations, we have the opportunity and responsibility to create change far beyond what Bain could do on its own. For example, we have invested to help close the racial wealth gap in the US as a founding partner of the OneTen organization. In the UK, we have been partnering with leaders in the financial services and energy sectors to advance gender diversity in leadership through projects like the Women in Finance Charter Blueprint and joint research with POWERful Women. In Australia, we have refreshed our reconciliation action plan to strengthen our understanding of, relationship with, and contributions to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
We have made a sustained commitment to creating an equitable talent journey for every Bainie and are investing heavily to ensure our human capital tools and processes help us deliver against that aspiration. As a business, we are also embedding DEI lenses into the way we work with our clients and suppliers as we seek to create change in the marketplace.
Our corporate clients are on their own DEI journeys, and we are proud to work with them to help embed DEI lenses beyond the talent journey and across a wide range of business decisions and processes. We also embed DEI into our own business operations through efforts such as our supplier diversity program.
Supporting DEI with our clients and in communities
Agents of Change
When businesses champion DEI, it forces them to reflect on legacy views and processes, which is critical if they want to push innovation to new levels, partner with their communities, and remain competitive. Organizations that create
a culture of inclusion benefit in ways that would just not be possible otherwise.
Nishma Gosrani
Partner, London
In my role, I support Bainies globally
to foster more intentional career planning,
purpose-focused conversations, and 1:1 coaching sessions so they can thrive at every stage of their career. We're working to make sure everyone on our team is prepared to coach and provide resources for our diverse Bain community.
Christina Strong
Senior Manager,
Bain Career Advisory, Chicago
Our Actions,
A Better Bain
Sustained progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion means taking a fresh look at every aspect of how we run our organization. We have devoted significant resources to a wide range of local, regional, and global efforts and are testing and learning from multiple ideas, interventions, and new ways of working designed to ensure that all Bainies thrive.
The sections below offer a sample of our efforts.
Longstanding Focus,
Renewed Ambition
Not A Destination,
An Ongoing Journey
