Our diversity, equity, and inclusion journey
HarbourVest has a long history of placing a high premium on building diverse teams to take on complex global issues. Our culture of inclusiveness is built on the belief that better outcomes are achieved by stronger teams and that understanding, appreciating, and harnessing our differences helps us innovate and grow.
Our DEI journey
1980s
1982 – HarbourVest founded in Boston
1984 – First primary funds in Europe and Asia
1990s
1990 – First international office opened in Europe
1996 – Global expansion continued into Asia
2010s
2011 – Entered South American market
2015 – Founding member of Level 20 women’s organization
2016 – Acquired Emerging and Diverse investment strategy team from Bank of America
2019 – Formed Diversity & Inclusion Council
2020s
2020 – Established Juneteenth as a global annual company day of reflection
2020 – Raised $2M+ from employees to support our communities during COVID-19 pandemic
2020 – Signatory to NAIC Diverse Alternative Investment Industry Statement
2020 – Established partnership with OUT Investors
2020 – Named Top 10 Most Inclusive PE Firms by Equality Group3
2020 – Founding signatory to ILPA Diversity in Action Initiative
2021 – Launched diverse internship program with SEO and #10000BlackInterns
2021 – Named Diversity & Inclusion Leader of the Year by Real Deals4
2021 – Named Top 10 Most Inclusive PE Firms by Equality Group3
2022 – Hired Chief DEI Officer
2022 – Commissioned external consultant to review DEI policies and procedures and make recommendations for improvement
3 As of March 2022. Equality Group’s Inclusive Top 20 PE & VC Index is a comprehensive evaluation tool that analyses fund performance on inclusion, diversity, and equity over the past 12 months. The Index includes 400 global private equity and venture capital groups each with a minimum of $1bn in assets under management. The data is sourced from multiple publicly available information sites, including fund websites, social media channels, published articles and reports. The index covers six core categories: leadership, actions and policies, work-life balance, inclusive team, explicit I&D support and additional public information. Within these categories, there are a total of 22 inclusion and diversity sub metrics. There are a total of 45 points available in the Inclusive Index. Equality Group has applied variable weightings to individual categories to reflect the most impactful data points across the core categories, as informed by the latest academic research.
4 D&I category nominations are put forward by Real Deals’ panel of LP judges who then deliberate on the winner. This award recognizes excellence in the LP communities with respect to companies who have made a real difference to improving D&I within their firm, at portfolio company level and in the wider investment community. For more information on the award and methodology visit: https://lnkd.in/eNWkjBAF