Safeguarding Our Employees: Promoting Equity & Inclusion from Within

In today’s world, humans are intertwined in a way unlike any other time in our history. Across the globe, nations, communities and individuals are all demanding that companies prioritize ESG and sustainability issues, as well as advance more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces. It is our view that the more diverse professionals we can attract to our asset class, the more our industry can thrive. We know that smart teams do great things, but diverse teams can do truly incredible things, and the way to affect change is to help create it.

That is why at Hamilton Lane, promoting diversity, equity and inclusion from within is one of our company values. We leverage our status as a global leader in the private markets to advance these initiatives in an effort to benefit our clients, our employees, our industry and our communities.

We are proud of our organization’s history of embracing and championing diversity. That authentic commitment is demonstrated by the meaningfully diverse representation across our organization. Today, women and ethnically diverse employees comprise 51% of Hamilton Lane’s total employee base and 44% of the firm’s senior leadership.* Those figures are well above the averages for our industry.

And yet, the events of this past year have brought about more honest conversations, deep reflection and some meaningful progress. Earlier in 2020, we announced the adoption of a new corporate value - Promoting Equity and Inclusion from Within.” These words make clear what we hold to be true: Responsibility starts with us – and if we get that right, we all stand to benefit.

In another notable development of the past year, our DE&I Council together with our Human Resources team introduced a strategic plan to intentionally embed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into our recruiting and retention practices. We know that talent is everywhere, but that not all talent has access – and our goal is to provide a path for more diverse professionals to become part of the private markets industry.

We are guided by a genuine belief that in order to diversify – and therefore, improve – the composition of our asset class, we must advocate for, educate and include women and ethnically diverse candidates early and often. Our partnerships with organizations such as Girls Who Invest, Cristo Rey Philadelphia, and Big Brothers Big Sisters, as well as initiatives such as the Hamilton Lane Women’s Exchange, our annual Undergraduate Women’s Summit and our targeted campus recruiting program, are a testament to this belief.

In early 2021, Hamilton Lane became a signatory to ILPA’s newly announced Diversity in Action Initiative. This effort focuses on foundational actions that LP and GP organizations are taking to advance diversity, equity and inclusion, both internally and throughout the industry more broadly. Hamilton Lane is honored to join our founding co-signatories in this important effort across our industry, and we remain committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and collaborative workplace across the globe.

In addition to our recruiting and retention efforts, we recognize that a true commitment to diversity requires a proactive and multi-faceted approach. We have multiple employee-led programs designed to help our colleagues with skill development, career progression and work-life balance, as well as to facilitate open dialogues around important topics such as race, inclusion and social justice.

• Coffee Connects - internal networking opportunities for Hamilton Lane women intended to facilitate building new relationships and sharing of experiences across the organization;
• DE&I Speaker Series - interview series intended to promote and encourage the honest discussion of issues related to diversity and inclusion within our firm and broader industry
• HLWE - creating experiences designed to bring Hamilton Lane women together to support their development and success
• Mentoring Program - formal program designed to help employees foster relationships with more experienced colleagues and/or peers in different departments for professional and personal development and growth
• SJChats - employee-facilitated small group sessions discussing a variety of racial inequality and social justice topics

At Hamilton Lane, we remain fully committed to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Our success is because of our people – our colleagues across the globe who bring their authentic selves to work every day. We are not only private markets specialists, but we are artists, musicians, athletes, parents and so much more. It is that intersection of experiences that drives our culture and our unique spirit of competition that inspires innovation. Together, we believe diverse perspectives lead to informed decisions – decisions designed to benefit our clients, our employees, and our competitive edge.

^{*As of 12/31/20}