The Big Picture
Our 2021 culture, diversity and inclusion numbers
Over the span of decades, in large and small ways, our team members have been the drivers of our culture and the center of our mosaic of diversity and inclusion. What sets us apart is the quality of people we are able to recruit, the way they develop at RSM, their opportunity to connect in meaningful ways with our clients and how we build long-term relationships that benefit all groups. We take pride in our people and are committed to making RSM a firm they are proud to work for.
One of the ways we uphold our promises to our clients, colleagues and communities is by measuring and tracking our progress in building a culture of diversity and inclusion. To understand and explain the big picture, here is data we’ve gathered over the past three years.
This approach allows us to see our progress year-over-year, identify opportunities to raise the bar and continue to create and evolve our mosaic. Our reporting strategy is guided by internal and external accountability, as well as by our firm’s inherent belief that diversity and inclusion improve our ability to serve clients and foster a desirable workplace. The data we include aligns with best practice reporting in our industry and internationally as compared to AICPA and Global Reporting Initiative standards.
Increased overall diversity
As our firm has grown, the diversity of our people has grown at an even greater rate in most categories.
This development is in line with our commitment to reflect the diversity of our communities and the clients we serve. Between fiscal year 2019 fiscal year 2021, we increased our headcount by 16%. Over the same period, the percentage increase in overall RSM presentation grew by 17% for women, 14% for Black employees, 33% for Hispanic/Latinx employees and 28% for Asian employees.
overall Percent increase* in headcount
Percent increase in women professionals
Percent increase in black professionals
Percent increase in hispanic/latinx professionals
Percent increase in Asian professionals
*Percent increase is from fiscal 2019 (year ended April 30, 2019) to fiscal 2021 (year ended April 30, 2021)
Our intern pipeline also reflects our ability to increase diverse representation in the future, as we increased representation of women and nonwhite interns from fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2021.
Fiscal 2019-21 intern representation as a percentage
FEMALE
MALE
Fiscal 2019-21 intern representation as a percentage
Fiscal 2019 - FIscal 2021* Rsm Team members
Nonwhite representation increased from 18% in fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2021, more than a 20% year-over-year improvement. We expect this growth will continue to accelerate as we advance our diversity and inclusion goals.
total rsm team members
women and men as A percentage
women
men
racial/ethnic demographic change
Board and leadership
RSM is committed to advancing diversity on our board of directors and leadership team. Included below are representation numbers for fiscal 2019, 2020 and 2021.
RSM US LLP Board of Directors
The RSM US LLP Board of Directors is the governing body of the firm. It is composed of the firm’s managing partner and CEO and 11 partners and principals who are elected by their fellow partners and principals to serve a four-year term. A chairman of the board is elected annually.
RSM US LLP Leadership Team
The firm’s leadership team is responsible for setting the firm’s strategy and annual operating plan. Representatives are selected through a panel interview process.
Partners and principals
Partners and principals are the owners of RSM US LLP. They are selected through a robust pipeline, application and panel interview process.
Retention and advancement
We understand that our work around diversity and inclusion expands beyond recruitment. We want to ensure our people experience RSM as an open, inclusive workplace where they want to stay, learn and build their careers. We continue to make progress toward ensuring fair and equitable opportunities for all of our people, and remain committed to fostering an inclusive workplace that supports the communities where our people live and work.
41.19% of promotions in fiscal 2021 WERE female firmwide
21.59% of promotions in fiscal 2021 were diverse firmwide
55.20% of promotions in fiscal 2021 were either diverse or female at associate level
Our data shows that 55% of promotions at the associate level were earned by diverse candidates, which bodes well for more diversity at upper levels in the future. Focused mentorship and professional development programs help us to continue to identify qualified individuals and elevate them into their next opportunities.
Our employee network groups (ENGs) and overall impressions of the importance of diversity and inclusion at our firm are also important factors in our ability to advance and retain diverse professionals. We are proud that 98% of our people said they believe we value diversity and inclusion on our most recent pulse survey and 50% of people belonged to one or more ENGs in fiscal 2021.
98% of people report THAT rsm values diversity and inclusion in fiscal 2021
50% of people belonged to one or more ENGs in fiscal 2021
Women
In seven of nine levels, women's representation in the RSM workforce has increased from fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2021, an indicator that our firm’s dedicated recruitment and inclusion efforts have had a positive impact.
The largest increases in female representation were at the associate, supervisor, senior director and partner/principal levels.
We would like to focus on hiring and advancing more women into the most senior positions—partner/principal, senior director and director/senior manager.
Fiscal 2019-21 female representation as a percentage by level
Big picture: What the numbers say
We have made increases in a number of key areas over the last three years, including female employees in leadership positions and hiring of diverse professionals. Through our robust analysis, we also have identified areas in need of improvement, most notably decreasing attrition across-the-board. As our timeline demonstrates, RSM has a long history of a commitment to diversity, and we remain as committed as ever to enhancing diverse representation in our firm.
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