diversity & inclusion

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Our 2026 Looking Ahead Report explores the trends, developments, and emerging risks shaping financial services in the year ahead, covering topics like agentic AI in fintech, corporate fraud prevention, cybersecurity, workforce strategies, a regional spotlight on the Middle East and much more. Here is an excerpt:

Global workforce strategies for the financial sector

As financial institutions recalibrate their workforce strategies for 2026 and beyond, they face a rapidly shifting regulatory terrain shaped by geopolitical tensions, technological disruption and evolving societal expectations. 2025 has seen a marked acceleration in legal reforms and policy shifts across jurisdictions, with four key themes emerging at the forefront of employment and compliance planning. These trends are not isolated – they are interconnected, and they demand a proactive, globally attuned approach to workforce governance.

The Shifting DEI Landscape

While institutional diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and practices have been subject to more legal scrutiny in the US this year, other regions—particularly EMEA and parts of Asia—are deepening commitments and expanding regulatory requirements. Major US-based financial institutions have scaled back public commitments to DEI, rebranding or removing references to diversity figures and programs in corporate filings, amid heightened political scrutiny under the current US administration. In contrast, many financial institutions across EMEA remain committed to robust DEI frameworks. For example, the UK’s financial regulators have proposed regulatory standards to embed diversity and inclusion into governance structures. And in South Africa, financial and insurance activities is a sector specifically identified under new affirmative action targets now in force. This divergence underscores the need for multinational financial institutions to carefully navigate DEI policy and goals with regional nuance, balancing local regulatory pressures with global values and workforce expectations.

Employers, including those in the financial sector, are under pressure (from both employees and government authorities) to increase transparency, particularly on workforce composition and compensation. In Brazil, for example, equal pay enforcement has intensified, with hundreds of companies inspected in the last year. Some of the significant changes include the US, where certain states, including California, require gender pay reporting, and shareholder activism is driving pay equity disclosures. In the EU, the Pay Transparency Directive requires member states to implement legislation by June 2026, with gender pay gap reporting starting in June 2027. Key requirements include: mandatory pay range disclosure; banning salary history questions; and employee rights to pay information with an increased role overall for worker representatives.Continue Reading What’s On the Radar for Financial Institutions in 2026?

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), or workplace affinity groups, are not new, and in fact they have been around in workplaces since the 1970s when they evolved in response to racial tensions in the US. For years, ERGs mainly hosted networking events and weren’t typically remarkably impactful on the business, but served as a safe space and support network for members. ERGs have come a long way since then, expanding and deepening their influence and impact.

Now, ERGs are typically employee-led, voluntary forums that provide employees with support, and career development, mentorship and networking opportunities. They are often created around shared characteristics or personal traits like ERGs for women employees, members of historically underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, LGBTQ+ employees, veteran employees and more. In recent years, ERGs have expanded to include interest-based groups like working parents and caregivers, the environmentally conscious and mental health advocates. Further, business leaders increasingly recognizing the value ERGs can bring as key strategic partners. In fact, about 35% of companies have added or expanded their support for ERGs since the start of 2020, according to a 2021 study by McKinsey & Co. and LeanIn.org of 423 organizations employing 12 million people.

Why the shift?

This uptick in popularity of ERGs in the workplace is due in large part to the impact of COVID-19, which has amplified the prominence and importance of ERGs. After two years of pandemic-related isolation and a lot of social and political unrest, ERGs are playing an essential role in companies by fostering community, improving employee engagement and building company culture and brand. While it can be difficult to connect with employees feeling distanced by remote work, ERGs are an effective way to give employees a sense of belonging, shared purpose and support. For instance, during the pandemic, ERGs focused on women have shared tools for easing burdens for members suddenly facing new challenges of child-care demands while working from home. Likewise, they’ve given important feedback to help shape company policies and benefits.Continue Reading DEI Matters: How Employee Resource Groups Can be Your Company’s Strategic Ally

[T]he reason diversity and inclusion and equity of thought drives innovation and creativity is because innovation and creativity aren’t born out of sameness, they’re born out of differences; but people will not share their differences unless they experience belonging.”

Ritu Bhasin

In this video, Baker McKenzie’s Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer, Anna Brown, moderates a…

We identified and mapped out our most relevant blog posts, articles and video chats to serve as a quick and handy roadmap to recovery and renewal for your company.

Our 2021 Employment & Compensation Resource Navigator provides US multinational companies organized links to Baker McKenzie’s most helpful, relevant thought leadership in one brief document. Arranged…

Once again, Baker McKenzie attorneys, industry thought leaders and key clients from around the world convened (this time in New York) to answer this essential question: What is the future of work? 

One consistent theme that permeated many of our discussions can be summed up as: Inclusion or Bust.

What does this mean?

It means that as global employers, we’re moving beyond a singular focus on diversity. As guest speaker Vernā Myers says,

Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.”

To truly reap the rich rewards of a diverse workplace, companies must invest generously and continuously in inclusion. Many senior business leaders predict that companies that don’t will be left behind and may actually cease to exist entirely in the not too distant future.Continue Reading Inclusion Or Bust