Thanks to increasingly comprehensive diversity data collection and pressure on companies to share that data, the positive connection between a diverse organization and financial performance is finally coming into focus.

A recent analysis of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) data shared by 277 large employers builds on previous studies that had indicated the connection existed. The study, a collaborative effort among three diversity centric organizations (As You Sow, DiversIQ, Whistle Stop Capital), reviewed data contained in Equal Employment Opportunity Component 1 data (EEO-1) forms that companies are required to submit to the agency.

Previously, most companies had not shared their forms with the public. But due largely to pressure from investors and other groups, between August 2020 and October 2022, the number of S&P 100 companies releasing the forms publicly more than quadrupled, the study sponsors says in a release.