Diversity, equity & inclusion maturity model launched by Association of Corporate Counsel

The Association of Corporate Counsel and the ACC Foundation have developed a diversity, equity and inclusion maturity model for which they consulted with an advisory committee of corporate executives from business and legal communities.

“With 73% of ACC 2021 CLO Survey respondents reporting that the focus on DEI will accelerate and 27 ACC chapters holding DEI-related programs this past year, it was clear that this important issue is a priority for our members,” said Veta Richardson, the association’s president and chief executive officer, in a news release.

The new DEI maturity model aims to serve as a simple and practical resource for leaders of corporate legal departments to determine the current state of their internal and external DEI programs and policies and to clearly identify and evaluate their next steps, if improvements are needed.

The association looks forward to working alongside its members, its working group and its partners to refine, distribute and develop its programming in the future with the use of the DEI maturity model, Richardson said.

“We expect that the business and legal communities will find this to be a useful resource for advancing their DEI efforts,” said Jennifer Chen, the ACC Foundation’s director, in the news release.

Chen expressed gratitude to those who helped in bringing together the maturity model, then committed to continuously updating and improving the model in response to feedback from those using it for the benefit of their organizations.

The maturity model has 13 categories, with each one detailing early, intermediate and advanced levels of maturity: strategic planning, governance and resourcing, operational model/workstreams, recruitment, talent development — career development, professional development, talent development — advancement, talent retention, succession planning, measurement, goal-setting/communications, incentives and consequences and community engagement.

The Association of Corporate Counsel has over 45,000 members employed by over 10,000 organizations in 85 countries around the world.