Avnet’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Vision and Mission
Vision
A company whose employee population reflects the diverse communities in which we live, work and do business, with an organizational culture which seeks out varying perspectives that allow the best ideas to come to light and help Avnet achieve maximum business success.
Mission
To create awareness of diversity issues and opportunities by fostering a supportive, respectful culture where inclusive behaviors are valued and embraced as the workplace norm.
At Avnet, we are focused on building a culture of inclusion around the world. We aspire to create an equitable and inclusive environment in which every employee feels a sense of belonging. We celebrate our differences and believe that a diverse workforce fosters the ability to leverage a broader range of perspectives and leads to better decision-making and enhanced outcomes.
Avnet’s DEI strategy is built on five pillars:
LISTENING & LEARNING
Regular listen and learn sessions, local and global
Employee resource groups and affinity networks
Periodic DEI surveys
EDUCATION & AWARENESS
DEI/inclusiveness training
Articles and employee stories
DEI and culture calendar
SharePoint site, Yammer
Global DEI council
POLICIES & PRACTICES
Sourcing/hiring diverse talent
Diverse interview panels
Performance management
Leadership development
Global mentoring program
BUSINESS COMMITMENTS
Leadership goal
ELT compensation metric
Representation
Supplier and vendor diversity
COMMUNITY & PARTNERSHIP
ESG framework
Avnet Cares
Volunteering
Student/Education support
Leadership voices
“To make Avnet as strong and versatile as it can be, we are committed to sharing values of diversity and inclusion to achieve and sustain excellence in every aspect of our business. Our belief is that we can best promote excellence by attracting, engaging, developing, rewarding and retaining a diverse group of employees and stakeholders by creating a climate of respect that is supportive of their success and providing opportunity and access to thrive.”
Ken Arnold
Chief People Officer
“Avnet understands that when employees feel supported and included in the workplace, they bring their best selves to the job and are able to make better contributions to the business. From a definition standpoint, diversity is the ‘what’, inclusion is the ‘how’ and equity is about fairness. Yes, we want a workplace with people from all backgrounds and walks of life, but even more importantly, we aspire to be an organization where everyone feels seen, has equal access to resources and opportunities, knows that their inputs are heard and contributions are truly valued.”
Claire Senga
VP, Global DEI & Talent Management Programs
Representation of our FY23 Diversity*
| Global Gender Breakdown | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Men | 55% |
| Women | 45% |
| U.S. Race / Ethnicity Minority Population | Percentage |
| Diverse | 31% |
| Non-Diverse | 65% |
| Undisclosed | 4% |
| Global Female Head Count by Seniority | Percentage |
| Senior leadership (VP & above) | 18% |
| Management (non-executive leadership management) | 34% |
| Individual Contributors | 47% |
* This data does not include Softweb and Witekio but does represent more than 90% of our global employee population.
Our community
Relationships, allyship and mentorship are key components of Avnet’s culture.
Relationships, allyships and mentorships are key components of Avnet’s culture
Avnet’s success is all about relationships, allyships and mentorships – starting with our CEO and continuing with every employee.
According to the National Institutes of Health, Office of Equity Diversity and Inclusion, “allies, or the individuals who stand up for equal and fair treatment of people different than them, offer some of the most effective and powerful voices for those who are underrepresented. The practice of emphasizing inclusion and human rights by members of an “in” group, to advance the interests of an oppressed or marginalized “out” group (allyship) is also one of the most critical activities that makes [any organization] a more inclusive environment for all employees.”
Avnet recognizes the importance of allyship both in and out of the workplace, which can be seen in our long-standing organization called RISE – an employee resource group (ERG) committed to empowering and supporting women at Avnet to achieve success on their own terms. This is just one example of how Avnet employees support one another through both formal and informal relationship building, and it is replicated in our other ERGs.
In the area of mentorships, Avnet recently launched a new global mentoring program MentorConnect. This program is enabled by technology and supports career and skill development without limiting potential connections by geography or proximity. A mentee in Singapore can have a mentor in Phoenix, and a mentor in Thailand can have a mentee in Mexico. MentorConnect is open to all Avnet employees and grounded in our intent to foster a learning culture, where anyone can be a mentor or mentee, regardless of position or level.
Awareness and education enhance our global culture of inclusion.
Awareness and education enhance our global culture of inclusion
Listen & Learns are opportunities for employees from across the globe to come together and openly discuss and learn about a variety of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion topics. The goal of these voluntary group sessions is to create a safe space and foster an inclusive environment that supports employees of all identities. In fiscal year 2022, Avnet hosted several Listen and Learn sessions in addition to adding a pulse survey for employees on DEI topics. The findings from the survey will be used to inform our DEI priorities going forward. For example, employees indicated that the most important DEI topics for Avnet to address are gender, leadership diversity and race/ethnicity. Moving forward, as new employee resource groups (ERGs) form, we intend that future Listen and Learn events will tie in with ERG activities and shift to more localized/smaller regional discussions to cover these important topics.
Avnet’s Board of Directors exemplify our commitment to diversity.
Avnet’s Board of Directors demonstrates the value of diversity
To succeed in business, there must be people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives at the table. The Boston Consulting Group found that companies with above-average diversity at the management level generate 19% higher innovation revenue than companies with below-average diversity.
Yet, only 10%* of the board representation for companies in the S&P 500 and Russell 3000 index were ethnically diverse in 2019. The representation of women on boards in these two indices is slightly better, at 20%*, a major milestone reached in 2019.
At Avnet, diversity starts at the very top level of leadership – our Board of Directors. We’re proud that as of the end of fiscal year 2022, 55% of our directors represent diversity by race, ethnicity, LBGTQ+ orientation and/or gender. We are committed to maintaining this level of diversity on our board. This team of nationally recognized leaders is fully committed and involved in advancing Avnet’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) strategy.
Learn more from Avnet’s Board Chairman Rod Adkins in our annual sustainability report.
*source: ISS Analytics
Our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion focus areas
Click the headings below to learn more about each focus area.
Culture of inclusion
A culture of inclusion makes for a great place to work and drives business success. Here at Avnet, inclusiveness is one of our Core Values, and we view it as central to creating a sense of belonging for our employee community. Strong relationships are a key part of Avnet’s global culture and are reflected in our Listen & Learn events and Employee Resource Groups. We are a global company with operations in many countries, and we respect and value the local cultures that come together under the Avnet umbrella to form the greater organization.
DEI as business strategy
At Avnet, we know diversity and inclusion is the right thing to do. A diverse workforce fosters the ability to leverage a broader range of perspectives, which leads to different ways of problem solving and better decision-making overall. A six-year McKinsey study found that more ethnically and culturally diverse businesses are as much as 36% more profitable than the least diverse companies. The profitability gap widens to 48% between the most and least diverse businesses from the gender aspect alone. In the spirit of tone at the top, Avnet’s Board of Directors is fully committed to and involved in advancing our DEI strategy. At the company leadership level, our executive (C-Suite) team’s compensation is tied to our DEI goals. Further, inclusiveness is one of Avnet’s core values:
“We value and respect our people by embracing diversity of backgrounds, learning, experience and though creating equal opportunities across our workplace culture.”
With regard to execution of our strategy and goal setting, Avnet has a dedicated DEI function with global oversight, supported by a Global Diversity and Inclusion Council with cross-functional, business and regional representation and flanked by various Employee Resource Groups. We continually look at our messaging to ensure our values are clearly reflected for all employees, and recently updated our DEI policy.
Avnet aspires to being a workplace that truly represents the diversity of the communities where we live and work.
Building on diversity
In light of the fact that distribution companies have historically lagged in the areas of both gender and ethnic diversity, we recognize that Avnet must play a key role to build awareness in the industry.
We are committed to:
- serving as a role model in DEI
- advocating for further DEI in our industry
Avnet is a proud sponsor of Women in Electronics (WE), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of women in the electronics industry. Our CEO, Phil Gallagher, serves as an advisory board member for WE. Since becoming a sponsor company, Avnet has made a commitment to expand opportunities for women in our industry.
As we enter our second century in business, we are expanding on our efforts by:
- Emphasizing a culture of inclusion based on through education and awareness, via through a global DEI holiday calendar, a and series of employee features and cultural articles and activities led by our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
- Setting goals in the area of supplier and vendor diversity (equity in sourcing)
- Sharpening our focus on underrepresented and historically marginalized groups
Avnet holds frequent listen and learn sessions on diversity topics that are open to all employees and regularly attended by executive management. The information gathered during these open conversations helps us to engage the workforce through transparency and allows for people to share potential concerns in real time.
We’re also working on developing a support structure for community and partner programs, including access to grants and volunteer opportunities to support education/students, minority and women-owned businesses and non-profit organizations. All of these actions bring Avnet leadership and the employee base together, creating a sense of belonging in the workplace and a satisfaction from making an impact in the community and in the environment as a whole.
For more information about Avnet’s DEI impact, please visit our Sustainability Report section on social impact.