Edward Jones Shares One-year Update and Progress on Five-Point Commitment to Address Racism and Positively Impact Opportunities for People of Color

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Jun 15, 2021, 09:00 ET

ST. LOUIS, June 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On the one-year anniversary of Edward Jones issuing its Five-point Commitment to address racism and positively impact opportunities for people of color, the financial-services firm today announced its diverse representation goals for 2025, along with an update and progress on previously set commitments.

In 2020, Edward Jones committed to a meaningful increase in the diversity of its home office leaders and financial advisors. Currently, 8% of the firm's financial advisors are people of color and 21% are women. Within its home office senior leadership roles, 9% are people of color and 30% are women.

Having now defined what and by when the firm will strive to achieve greater diversity among financial advisors and home office leadership, the firm has committed to the following human capital aspirations by the end of 2025:

20% people of color and gender parity among leaders in the firm's U.S. headquarters
15% people of color and 40% women among U.S. home office general partners
15% people of color and 30% women among U.S. financial advisors

"We are holding ourselves and each other accountable for meaningful progress in addressing racism and creating opportunities for people of color and women in our workplaces and our communities," said Edward Jones Managing Partner Penny Pennington. "In sharing our goals and reporting our progress thus far, we recognize the importance of listening, learning, taking responsibility and acting in accordance with our purpose to partner for positive impact to improve the lives of our clients and colleagues, and together, better our communities and society. We realize that there's still a lot of work to be done, but it is work that we're willing to do – to become an ever-better version of ourselves, in service to current and future generations."

In addition, Edward Jones has committed to raising awareness of the issues of racism and creating a path to greater diversity and equity as well as economic opportunity for people of color in the community. The firm believes that it can make meaningful, positive systems-change toward inclusive growth for even more associates and community members in the years to come. In the spirit of transparency and accountability, the firm provided an update on its Five-point Commitment, including:

POINT ONE: Giving everyone a voice. As one of the first signatories of the CEO Action for Diversity pledge in 2017, which aims to rally the business community to advance diversity and inclusion within workplaces, Edward Jones committed to engage associates in honest dialogue as a tool to create change. To date, the firm has hosted hundreds of sessions for our associates on topics like deepening the conversation on race, as well as focus months such as Hispanic Heritage, Disability Awareness and Honoring Our Veterans. Since June 2020, more than 11,500 associates have participated in Courageous Conversations to build understanding and create empathy among colleagues. Edward Jones has taken these conversations into the business community as well, partnering with the American Business Journals to host Community Courageous Conversations in Kansas City, Raleigh-Durham and St. Louis.

POINT TWO: Continuing the focus on equitable hiring, training, promotional practices and policies, including specificity around diverse representation goals within the firm's U.S. home office leadership team and financial advisors. By the end of 2025, the firm has committed to the following human capital aspirations:

20% people of color and gender parity among leaders in the firm's U.S. headquarters
15% people of color and 40% women among U.S. home office general partners
15% people of color and 30% women among U.S. financial advisors

POINT THREE: Conducting an analysis of pay. Committed to equal pay for equal work, Edward Jones is currently conducting an analysis of pay in our home offices in the U.S. to assess how associates are compensated. The firm will share results and take any necessary actions when the data is available.

POINT FOUR: Continuing racial-equity training and anti-racism personnel policies.
Edward Jones, which has been on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list for 22 years, seeks to create an even more inclusive workplace culture. In 2020, the firm enhanced its learning program, Inclusion and Diversity 365, to provide training and development opportunities for all colleagues. Hosted in collaboration with our Business Resource Groups (BRGs), I&D 365 highlights a specific dimension of diversity each month (i.e., Black History, Women's History, Native American/Indigenous Peoples, etc.) through focused resources offering experiences that will build understanding and skills to create a more diverse, equitable and inclusive society. I&D 365 is supplemented by a strengthened array of racial-equity, unconscious bias and allyship courses, and all colleagues are encouraged to take at least one every year.

POINT FIVE: Supporting organizations and programs important to our clients, colleagues and communities. In 2020, Edward Jones committed $1.2 million to continue fostering our 40-year partnership with the National Urban League and St. Louis Urban League. Investments in the Save our Sons program helped 300 African American men find jobs and careers lost during the pandemic. Edward Jones is helping to make it possible for the St. Louis Urban League to offer skill building and job placement services, and to provide a professional look for interviews, all at the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis' new headquarters in north city. In 2021, Edward Jones financial advisors will provide financial education to Urban League clients at that location.

Edward Jones has also expanded its Financial Fitness program for 2021 committing to provide financial literacy education and greater economic inclusion for 20,000 high school students in 575 schools, more than half of which are high-need city schools.

"I want there to be no question about whether our firm is doing enough to positively impact opportunities for people of color," continued Pennington. "Our commitment to inclusion and diversity transcends platitudes and promises. We know that progress depends on the hard work and everyday actions all of us take as we work together toward a more diverse, inclusive and equitable firm, and society."

The firm's complete Five-point Commitment is available here.

About Edward Jones
Edward Jones, a FORTUNE 500 firm headquartered in St. Louis, provides financial services in the U.S. and, through its affiliate, in Canada. Every aspect of the firm's business, from the investments its financial advisors offer to the location of its branch offices caters to individual investors. The firm's nearly 19,000 financial advisors serve more than 7 million clients with a total of $1.6 trillion in assets under care. The Edward Jones website is www.edwardjones.com, and its recruiting Web site is www.careers.edwardjones.com. Member SIPC.

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