Rigorously tracking diversity, equity, and inclusion data is necessary to both monitor progress and find insights in that data that may highlight weak points and influence future strategies.

Big financial institutions need to be better at tracking, forecasting, and reporting on their own diversity statistics, according to Dr. Hood in the same way “we’re presenting data on deposits and things like that.” And it needs to be more specific than just following overall workforce numbers: For example, a bank should know the percentage of people across different races and genders that are progressing through specific parts of its pipeline at any given time, he said. An ability to measure progress is crucial to accountability and ultimately to a firm’s ability to hire, onboard, and retain diverse talent long term. Read the rest of Dr. Hood’s interview on Insider.