Diversity as a success factor: Equistone portfolio company TIMETOACT GROUP sets the standard for supporting Diversity and Inclusion

The Equistone funds’ recently published annual ESG report, ESG Review 2023, details their ambitious ESG agenda and demonstrates the vital role that diversity and inclusion (D&I) plays both internally and within its portfolio companies. TIMETOACT GROUP, a digitisation and IT specialist which has been part of the Equistone funds’ portfolio since 2021, has made particularly strong progress over the past 12 months towards empowering diversity and inclusivity.

Pioneering role in D&I
With the support of the Equistone funds, TIMETOACT GROUP has consolidated its position as an international leading digitisation expert and IT services provider. The Colone-based group’s D&I strategy, which was launched last year, has been a major success and has helped it to become a more diverse and inclusive employer. TIMETOACT GROUP currently employs c.1,300 people, with 35 nationalities represented across the workforce. In 2023, 27% of employees were female, which is significantly higher than the industry average in the traditionally male-dominated world of IT. 

Putting ambitious D&I projects into action
While considerable success has already been made, this is only the start of TIMETOACT GROUP’s D&I journey. By signing the Charta der Vielfalt last year, the Group has committed to integrating D&I into its corporate culture. TIMETOACT GROUP has also been working closely with the Equistone funds and its ESG team over the past twelve months on turning D&I strategy into action. With the support of the Equistone funds, the group has established the company-wide use of gender-neutral language, has fostered relationships with NGOs to recruit and attract diverse talent, and has created a 16-member Diversity Board which includes members of the Group’s management team. The introduction of a D&I policy, which is already part of the onboarding process for new employees, also contributes to the Group's ambitious D&I strategy. Looking ahead, the focus for TIMETOACT GROUP will be on developing a broader set of key performance indicators to measure the success of the D&I strategy, as well as rolling out further initiatives to drive positive change and increase the proportion of female IT consultants to 30% by the end of 2024.