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 of companies 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 offers guidance and tools to help companies take steps to enhance the composition and performance potential of their boards, working with company nominating and governance committees to:
- Adopt and enhance their board candidate search policies
- Instruct third party search firms to include a broad range of candidates in the initial pool
- Expand the candidate pool to include candidates from non-traditional sources
- Disclose the gender and race/ethnicity of individual board directors annually via a board matrix
Since 2016, when the group was formed, MIDI has engaged 91 companies on the issue of board diversity. Among the companies engaged, 143 women and persons of color have received board appointments (111 women and 75 persons of color, including 42 women of color); 66 companies now publicly disclose board diversity data; and 76 companies have adopted a policy to include diverse candidates in the search process.
Resources and Additional Information
Press Releases
Contact Us
Should you have any questions or inquiries, please contact the Illinois State Treasurer's Office at MWVD@illinoistreasurer.gov.