Midwest Investors Diversity Initiative
About
The Midwest Investors Diversity Initiative (MIDI) is a coalition of Midwest-based institutional investors dedicated to increasing racial, ethnic, and gender diversity on corporate boards across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin, given the correlation between diversity and long-term outperformance.
With over $1 trillion in assets under management and advisement, the coalition uses corporate engagements and shareholder rights to protect shareholder value and maximize returns.
“We know that diversity is good for business. We also know that change is hard, especially inside our nation’s boardrooms. Many corporate leaders agree that diversity benefits their operations and board performance. Our focus is to help them navigate this change.”
– Treasurer Michael Frerichs
What We Do
MIDI provides guidance and tools to help companies strengthen board composition and performance. Working with nominating and governance committees, the Midwest Investors Diversity Initiative helps companies:
- Adopt or improve board candidate search policies
- Require third-party search firms to include a broad, diverse slate in the initial candidate pool
- Expand the candidate pipeline by considering qualified candidates from non-traditional sources
- Publicly report board diversity each year by disclosing the gender and race/ethnicity of directors in a board matrix
Since 2016, MIDI has engaged 91 companies on board diversity. Among those companies, 143 women and people of color have received board appointments (111 women and 75 people of color, including 42 women of color). In addition, 66 companies now publicly disclose board diversity data, and 76 companies have adopted a policy to include diverse candidates in the search process.
MIDI relies solely on the capacity and expertise of its members and receives no external financial support.
Resources and Additional Information
- Company Toolkit – Board Diversity & Disclosure
- Examples of Diverse Search Language
- Infographic Flyer
Press Releases
Contact Us
Should you have any questions or inquiries, please contact the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office at MWVD@illinoistreasurer.gov.