Legg Mason Supports CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ Goal to Tackle Unconscious Bias and Advance Inclusion Beyond the Business Community
BALTIMORE, November 16, 2018 /3BL Media/ – Legg Mason, Inc. (NYSE:LM) supports CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ (D&I) as the coalition announces three key actions at its second annual CEO Closed-Door Session. These actions align with Legg Mason’s efforts to promote open dialog on diversity and inclusion.
“Diversity – as demonstrated by background, ethnicity, gender, race and perspective – helps us to deliver better outcomes for our clients, makes Legg Mason a better place to work for our employees and creates a more resilient business for our stakeholders,” said Joseph A. Sullivan, Chairman and CEO of Legg Mason. “I signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion Pledge last year because I also believe that inclusion – mindfully, intentionally and consistently bringing different voices into the conversation – is critical to achieving the potential that diversity offers.”
The three actions announced at the CEO Closed-Door Session include:
- Launching the new “Check Your Blind Spots" unconscious bias mobile tour, which will make 100 stops across the country and engage one million people;
- Initiating the "I Act On" pledge for individuals to commit to mitigating any unconscious biases, and act on encouraging more inclusive behaviors in their everyday lives; and
- Organizing a "Day of Understanding" where signatories, including Legg Mason, will come together to host a day of candid conversations within each of their respective companies in order to further embrace differences in our organizations.
These announcements underscore Legg Mason’s commitment as well as the coalition's commitment to action. Since hiring its first Chief Diversity Officer in January 2017, Legg Mason has taken a series of actions to advance D&I throughout the company. To help prioritize future initiatives, Legg Mason conducted a Global D&I Maturity Assessment to establish a baseline to benchmark its current position against global D&I best practices in March 2018. On Dec. 7, Legg Mason will participate in the Day of Understanding, an opportunity to further embrace differences in the workplace, educate employees and build a more inclusive culture.
With research showing that 78 percent of Americans want companies to address important social justice issues, the actions outlined at the second annual CEO Action Closed-Door Session will help the coalition’s more than 500 signatories, representing 48 industries and 12 million employees, glean ideas and opportunities to drive additional progress within their companies and organizations around diversity and inclusion.
For more information on the actions announced today and the CEO Action Closed-Door Session, visit www.ceoaction.com.
# # #
About Legg Mason
Legg Mason is a global asset management firm with $733 billion in assets under management as of October 31, 2018. The Company provides active asset management in many major investment centers throughout the world. Legg Mason is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, and its common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: LM).
Contact Information
Media:
Lisa Tibbitts
(212) 805-6039
ltibbitts@leggmason.com
