ASIS Foundation and The Clarity Factory release diversity, equity and inclusion research report

The ASIS Foundation, in partnership with UK-based research firm, The Clarity Factory, reinforced its commitment to support global security managers with the launch of its first-ever Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) report, Empowering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Corporate Security 2022.

The report highlights DEI challenges within corporate security and suggestions for building a culture that respects and celebrates the diversity of its workforce; recruiting, developing, and retaining diverse talent necessary to address the challenges faced by the security profession.

Methodology

The Clarity Factory used the following methodology in its research:

• An extensive literature review of the latest thinking and best practices on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
• Informal interviews, discussions with 32 professionals across the security industry, and participation in several informal industry networks on DEI.
• Structured interviews with 16 Chief Security Officers from multinational companies based in the UK, US, Australia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany. They were from the following sectors: banking and finance, extractive, energy, defence and aerospace, retail, pharmaceuticals, entertainment, technology, agriculture, and consultancy.
• Anonymous survey, which received 474 responses, which were concentrated in the US, the UK, Canada, and Europe. The results should be seen as illustrative and further work is needed to develop a statistical base for work on DEI in corporate security.
• The survey’s data on race and ethnicity has some limitations. The Clarity Factory opted to ask an open question about race and ethnicity, which made the data difficult to analyse, it should have asked “do you consider yourself to be a member of a racial or ethnic diversity within your current country of residence.” The company has separated the race and ethnicity data for North America (excluding Mexico), the UK, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand and classified responses into Caucasian and non-Caucasian.
• Survey respondents were: 38 percent women, 11 percent LGBTQIA+, 6 percent had a physical disability and 11 percent were neurodiverse. 21 percent of respondents residing in the US, Canada, the UK, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand were non-Caucasian.
• Throughout the report, The Clarity Factory uses the acronym LGBTQIA+: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersexual, asexual, and plus. The plus relates to individuals who do not classify as heterosexual or typical gender categories but do not identify with the other listed identity categories. The company recognise this is an area where we are all learning and we have attempted to be as inclusive as possible.
• The Clarity Factory also received data from SMR Group, a small, woman- and veteran-owned recruitment firm working across 75 countries, whose sole focus is security, risk, and resiliency. They analysed data from the last 5 years of job searches, which included over 5000 records, and provided the anonymised numbers to The Clarity Factory. They did not disclose any personally identifiable information about individuals.

According to Maria Teresa Septien, CPP, Chair, ASIS Foundation Board of Trustees, “Valuing and leveraging a diverse workforce, and developing and retaining talent with different life experiences, will undoubtedly bring better and more strategic solutions to the world of security.”

DEI

ASIS International has a key role to play in progressing DEI efforts now and in the years to come"

She went on to add, “We embarked on this research effort to better understand the current state of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within corporate security: the nature and extent of diversity, the experience of diverse professionals within the industry, the thinking of corporate security leaders and the types of initiatives they are spearheading, the role of membership organisations, and outstanding challenges."

"Organisations like ASIS International have a key role to play in progressing DEI efforts now and in the years to come.”

Corporate security practices 

The research points to the following practices for corporate security functions:

• Use of metrics to track progress and hold managers accountable.
• Provide training for managers in conducting reviews and promotions.
• Offer equal access to career development-enhancing opportunities.
• Identify routes for progression for the intelligence function to the transition, it is a diverse cohort but struggles to transition into mainstream security roles.

Corporate strategies 

“According to the study's findings, corporate security departments have recently placed more focus on DEI work,” said Rachel Briggs, OBE, co-founder, and CEO of The Clarity Factory. “Corporate leaders acknowledge the importance of DEI but also voice their displeasure that more hasn't been done."

"Security isn't the only sector suffering with it. Although there is still much to learn about the strategies that will work best for corporate security, this study gives us a glimpse into the most urgent problems now present in corporate security settings.”

Three areas of DEI

Nearly all of the CSOs participating in this research effort placed a great emphasis on broadening the diversity of their teams, improving equity via the work, and fostering inclusive workplaces. Their work across the three areas of DEI was documented and fell into the following three categories:

• Collective Wisdom: Getting more diverse talent into corporate security – diversity.
• Rewarding Talent: Ensuring all talent can rise equitably through the function–equity.
• Unlocking the Diversity Dividend: Inclusive work environments – inclusion.

The research cites that corporate security starts from a much lower diversity base than most other areas of the business. For example, data from SMR Group showed that 94 percent of their candidates for security, risk, and resiliency roles globally were men, and 70 percent came from a former government background generally military, police or intelligence.

Practices for security industry membership organisations

Additionally, it points to the following practices for security industry membership organisations to further their role as change agents as their access and reach are significant. Those practices include:

• Collecting data to understand their members and gather input and feedback on DE&I efforts.
• Revising talent spotting and selection processes to ensure diversity within boards and leadership.
• Using programming to enhance DE&I within the industry, including diversity of speakers, rules on entertainment at events, instigating and implementing codes of conduct, offering safe spaces for discussions about DE&I, ensuring fair approaches to awards, running programs for members on reverse mentoring, and promoting and supporting DE&I networks.
• Playing an active role in wider industry brandings efforts, such as campaigns and career pathways.