• Refinitiv's Diversity & Inclusion Index measures relative performanceagainst multiple factors that define diverse and inclusive workplaces.
• 21 companies across eight countries in Asia-Pacific (APAC) are included inthe 2020 D&I Index Top 100 List.
• Australia continues to lead the region with nine firms ranked among the top100, followed by Japan and Malaysia with three companies each.
• These companies come from a wide range of industries, including Computers,Phones & Household Electronics, Food & Drug Retailing,Telecommunications and Natural Gas Utilities, among others.

SINGAPORE/SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - Media OutReach - 17 September 2020 - Refinitiv today announced the 2020 Top100 most diverse and inclusive organizations globally as ranked by theDiversity & Inclusion (D&I) Index. The index ratings areinformed by Refinitiv's Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) data,designed to transparently and objectively measure the relative performance of closeto 10,000 companies representing 80%+ of global market cap across 450+ ESG data points, and provide clients withcritical and differentiated insight.   

Industries leading thisyear's D&I Index Top 100 are banking,investment services & insurance firms with a total of 18, followed by pharmaceuticalswith 9 and telecommunications services, specialty retailers and personal &household products & services with 7 respectively.  United States leads the Top 100 list with 20firms followed by the United Kingdom with 13, Australia with 9 and Canada andFrance with 7.

Key findings of the Refinitiv Diversity and Inclusion report for 2020 include:

• Globally the cultural diversity of board members has increased from fiveyears ago but has stalled at around 30%.
• EMEA leads the way with the most culturally and gender diverse boards.
• The average board in APAC is made up of 12% female members, whichrepresents a 53% increase over the last 5 years, but it is still behind theglobal average of 19% of female board members.
• Regionally, Africa is leading the way with on average 34% of femalemanagers.
• The average proportion of female managers in APAC firms is 25%, an 18%increase over the last 5 years. 
• The number of companies with an official flexible working policy hasincreased by 78% in APAC and 54% globally over the last fiveyears. 
• A total of 34% more APAC companies and 25% more companies globally have acareer development policy in place than five years ago.
• Regionally the largest increases have been seen in Oceania with a 40%increase.
• Although APAC businesses recorded improvements across various D&Imetrics, there is still room for APAC businesses to strengthen its D&Iefforts, especially in area of board cultural diversity.

"21companies across eight countries in APAC are recognized among the top 100 mostdiverse and inclusive organizations globally in our 2020 D&I Index," saidAlfred Lee, Managing Director, Asia Pacific at Refinitiv. "We have seenencouraging progress among APAC firms in their efforts to increase workplacediversity and inclusiveness, with our data showing a 53% increase in theregion's board gender diversity over the last five years and a 78% increase inthe number of APAC companies with an official flexible working policy duringthe same period. With investors and businesses paying more attention to D&Ipractices and disclosures in the region, we are confident that more APACorganizations will be taking the lead in embedding diversity and inclusion intotheir business strategy going forward."

"It'sfantastic to see 9 Australian companies from a range of industries in the topglobal 100 this year, with supermarket chain Woolworths gaining top spot in Australiafor the second year running. AGL Energy and Blackmores rank second and thirdrespectively. Whenlooking at the APAC data it is encouraging see that Australia has the largest overallpercentage of female managers. Diversity and inclusioncontinues to garner increased attention, with areas such as board diversityhotly debated," said Daryl Sisson, Managing Director, Pacific at Refinitiv.

"SixASEAN companies from Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand earned a place in thisyear's D&I Index Top 100, with Thailand's Home Product Center PCL leadingthe Southeast Asia region," said Vernice Moh, ManagingDirector, ASEAN at Refinitiv. "Our data also found that Malaysia and Singaporehave seen an 89% and 88% rise in board gender diversity respectively over thelast five years, which are among the largest increases in proportion of womenon boards globally. While there is still room for Southeast Asian countries tocreate a more diverse and inclusive workforce relative to global and regionalpeers, transparent reporting of D&I data and targets will enable ASEANcompanies to share best practices and further the region's progress in theyears to come." 

The D&I Index is available on Refinitiv Workspace and Eikon, as are the underlying diversity and inclusion metrics,which are used by financial professionals to evaluate sustainability relatedrisks and opportunities of companies across their investments, as well asempower diversity-lens investing strategies. The D&I Index utilizesinnovative analytics to rate and score companies across 4 main pillars: Diversity,Inclusion, People Development and Controversies. Onlycompanies with scores across all four pillars are assigned an overall score(the average of the pillar scores). The top 100 ranked companies with the bestoverall D&I scores are selected for the Index.   

Diversity and Inclusion inthe workforce are core environmental, social and governance (ESG) themes, whichfinancial professionals are more frequently incorporating into their investmentstrategies and capital allocation decisions. COVID-19 has shone a light on why diversity is critical for businessrecovery and resilience. As companies look to adapt to a new way of conductingbusiness post-COVID-19, diversity and inclusion factors need to be on theagenda alongside financial resilience, environmental risks and workforcehealth.

"Theglobal pandemic and social unrest this year has reinforced the focus ondiversity and inclusion in the workplace coming from different businessstakeholder groups," said Elena Philipova, global head of ESG atRefinitiv. "Our Diversity and Inclusion Index, now in its fifth year,emphasizes the critical importance for companies to commit to, measure andreport on their diversity journey beyond gender. Sustainable and resilientworkforce is the fuel for businesses especially during volatile times. Refinitivremains fully committed to using our data assets, expertise and influence tochampion the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace -- includingour own."

For the second annual report, Refinitiv analyzed trends in diversity andinclusion data, covering the following areas: trends in diversity and inclusiondata reported by public companies over the last five years; long/shortportfolio analysis using the Portfolio Analytics app in Refinitiv Eikon®; and theconstituents of the Refinitiv 2020 Diversity and Inclusion Index (based on thesecond quarter 2020 index rebalance).

For more information about the Diversity and Inclusion report for 2020,please visit:

https://www.refinitiv.com/en/resources/special-report/diversity-and-inclusion-at-workplace

The D&IIndex, launched in 2016, ranks the top 100 publicly traded companies globallywith the most diverse and inclusive workplaces, as measured by 24 metricsacross four key categories: Diversity,Inclusion, People Development andNews Controversies. The Index is then calculated by weighing each metricbased on importance in the market and how each company compares with its peers.

APAC Companies in the Top 100 D&IIndex and their corresponding overall D&I percentage score (%): 

For more information about the D&I Index(Methodology) please visit: https://www.refinitiv.com/content/dam/marketing/en_us/documents/methodology/diversity-inclusion-rating-methodology.pdf

For a complete list of the Top 100 Most Diverse & InclusiveOrganizations Globally, please visit: https://www.refinitiv.com/en/sustainable-finance/diversity-and-inclusion-top-100

To learnwhat top-ranked institutions are saying about the D&I index, please visit:https://www.refinitiv.com/content/dam/marketing/en_us/documents/reports/diversity-and-inclusion-quotes.pdf

Refinitiv provides innovative indices andindex-related services to the global financial community to help investors makebetter decisions. Our index clients and partners rely upon the unparalleledbreath, depth, global network and vast data and content sets that only Refinitivcan provide. Backed by the content, data, independence and global informationnetwork of Refinitiv, our indices and index services are designed to suit anyneed. For more information, go https://www.refinitiv.com/en/financial-data/indices.

About Refinitiv

Refinitiv is one of the world's largest providers offinancial markets data and infrastructure, serving over 40,000 institutions inapproximately 190 countries. It provides leading data and insights, tradingplatforms, and open data and technology platforms that connect a thrivingglobal financial markets community - driving performance in trading,investment, wealth management, regulatory compliance, market data management,enterprise risk and fighting financial crime. For more information, visit: www.Refinitiv.com.