Inclusion and diversity

We treat inclusion and diversity as our business priority | The Ability Coaching Programme | Charter Cross Cultural Mentoring Programme | Charter talent to the top | KPMG Pride | Cultural Diversity Awareness Programme | Continuation of ‘Meer Kleur aan de Top’

For KPMG, inclusion and diversity are both business and moral imperatives that build trust and growth and compel us to stand up for what is right. Diverse teams are more likely to be innovative and excel in their performance. Inclusive work cultures that embrace ethical behaviour allow our people to position themselves for success. To us an inclusive culture goes far beyond gender. It is about the different aspects of a person such as, in addition to gender, cultural background, personality, ability, personal characteristics and stages of life. An inclusive work culture is a working environment where people feel they belong and can be their whole selves.  

In our view, if you cannot lead a culture of inclusion within a diverse team, you cannot lead a business. We treat inclusion and diversity as a business priority. This means that we set targets and make our leaders accountable. For example we focus on growth of cultural diversity in senior positions and create cultural two-way mentoring programs. 

A programme that supports lasting acceptance of employees with a disability or chronic illness. Additionally, we work together with organisations that promote the recruitment of IT specialists with autism spectrum disorder. 

In FY19, the first KPMG participants took part in the Charter Cross-Cultural Mentoring Programme. This programme ties in with our ambitions of increasing cultural diversity at leadership level.

The Charter Talent to the Top contains a guideline and clear agreements for KPMG that purposefully work on durable and effective results. We commit ourself to 9 commitments for diverse talent to the top.

We intensified our learning opportunities at organisations such as Workplace Pride. We held a special KPMG Pride Lunch event to discuss the challenges faced by LGBTQ colleagues within our firm. Overseen by one of our board members, we raised the Rainbow Flag on International Coming Out Day during Amsterdam Pride Week. 

KPMG celebrates festivities from other cultures. Hundreds of our colleagues participated in ‘Ramadan for a day’ or joined the Diwali event. From FY20 onwards, one Christian holiday can be exchanged for a holiday from other cultures. For example, exchanging Pentecost for the Sugar Festival. 

KPMG contributes to a research programme of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam that relates to the question of how to achieve more culturally diverse leadership in top positions.