Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

At ADP, we know an inclusive environment that values diverse perspectives cultivates the best ideas. We continually strive to create a space where everyone is appreciated and valued for their unique individuality. That’s why we make diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) the pillar of our one-of-a-kind culture and a business imperative. Our workforce is reflective of the communities where we live and work and the clients we serve. We believe in embedding these principles throughout ADP’s business, from our policies to our products.

In December 2020, ADP joined OneTen, a coalition of leaders who are working together to cultivate economic opportunities for Black talent in America. Over the next 10 years, ADP and 50+ companies will upskill, hire and promote one million Black individuals who do not have a four-year degree into family-sustaining careers. It is our imperative to elevate under-represented groups and serve as an industry DE&I champion and leader.

We embrace race, ethnicity, nationality, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, veteran and disability status. Associates from entry level through executive leadership have a deep sense of belonging. To learn more, please visit our website.

While we do not use the Federal Employer Information Report EEO-1 to measure progress, our annual EEO-1 Report is available here. The EEO-1 Report is a snapshot in time of our U.S. demographics and based on categories prescribed by the federal government. These categories do not reflect how our industry or workforce is organized.

Women and under-represented groups in executive roles

The business case for workplace diversity is simple: By establishing a culture of inclusion, businesses gain intrinsic rewards and improved results from better decision making, increased engagement and more innovation.

To accomplish this, we set directional targets to support our business objectives and allow us to measure progress. In 2018, after the successful conclusion of our last target cycle, we issued new three-year targets through 2022 for women and under-represented groups in executive positions.

As we enter 2022, we are pleased to announce that we have reached and exceeded our goals. As of June 2021, 33 percent of our executives are women, which meets the goal we had set to achieve by 2022. And, 23 percent of our executive roles are held by associates who self-identify as individuals from under-represented groups, which is 3 percent above our target for 2022.

Inclusive language initiative

Words matter. How we speak to each other matters. ADP strives to create a space that supports the diversity of our associates by carefully selecting the words we use. As we navigate an evolving world with changing social landscapes, we believe it is important to continually evaluate our communication policies to identify and remove outdated or insensitive language. With this aim, we introduced our inclusive language initiative: To establish inclusive language guidance and standards at ADP and ensure associates are equipped to understand and embrace this shift.

We strive to be a leader that other organizations look to for best practices on identifying and adopting inclusive language. This requires us to be vigilant of current sentiments within our communities and how individuals are affected by major global events. As part of our journey, we listen to and embrace existing calls for change and pioneer new calls for change where we can make a positive impact.

Workforce initiatives

Targeted development

Business resource groups

Our business resource groups (BRGs) are voluntary, associate-led groups that serve as a driving force of diversity, culture and inclusion at ADP. As this ecosystem of inclusivity continues to expand its membership, it also continues to further evolve as a strong business resource for ADP—helping to expand career growth, recruit diverse talent, make inroads into diverse markets and diversify our suppliers and vendors.

ADP’s business resource groups, several of which have been around for 10 years or more, are evolving with our core business. While the BRG community will maintain its mission of fostering diversity, culture and inclusion, ADP’s business resource groups are adopting an increased focus on and alignment to business outcomes and will help ADP identify diverse sales leads, supplier referrals and candidate referrals.

BRG Connect

BRG Connect is a technology-enabled mentoring program that was launched by ADP’s business resource groups in 2019. The program has enabled over 1,384 mentoring connections and 11,000 mentor hours. We will continue to leverage the platform to enhance the associate experience at ADP.

BRG inclusion initiatives

ADP’s business resource groups are part of our associates’ everyday experience. In addition to offering ongoing support, our BRGs sponsor cultural, educational, and networking events, drive initiatives that help promote inclusion and serve their communities through partnerships and volunteering.

Creating an inclusive workplace

Unconscious bias awareness

Our leaders play a critical role in disrupting bias and building an inclusive culture. In 2021, we trained over 2,000 leaders in mitigating unconscious bias and using best practices to ensure inclusive hiring.

Fair and equal hiring practices

Our goal is to extend ADP’s employer brand reach to under-represented talent and position ourselves as an employer of choice by cultivating external partnerships, reimagining our college and university relationships and building an infrastructure to support these efforts.

Fostering under-represented talent

ADP’s partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Hispanic Serving Institutions and other diverse campuses engage students at all stages of the student lifecycle. Our program does not stop at traditional career fairs and visits to the career office. Instead, ADP strives to maintain a consistent presence on campuses to support career preparedness, create brand awareness and develop a diverse pipeline of talent. ADP identifies opportunities to sponsor and co-sponsor existing programs and events and offers career preparation lectures.

We are focused on growing reciprocal relationships: ADP helps cultivate our partnerships’ talent pool through education, programming and resources. In turn, we benefit from access to their talent database, chapter leadership, events and brand exposure.

Multiple Pathways Initiative

Elevating under-represented groups requires a collective effort and re-envisioning of how things are done. The Multiple Pathways Initiative, aligned with OneTen, identifies best practices to promote skills-based hiring and makes recommendations for participating organizations, like ADP, to promote these practices and other talent acquisition processes that increase diversity.

Hiring for success

We want our entire global team to share similar core values while bringing their own unique viewpoint and skillsets to their roles. To help accomplish this goal, our Hiring for Success program teaches managers how to use objective hiring criteria, diverse interview panels and consistent interview questions to help remove unconscious bias and improve our hiring processes.

Diverse slates and panels

As we strive for greater gender diversity globally and greater ethnic representation within the U.S., ADP is committed to leveraging best-in-class strategies such as diverse slates to achieve our goals of minimizing bias and systemic barriers for women, people of color and other under-represented groups including people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ and veterans. ADP has been leveraging diverse slates, both gender and under-represented groups, to improve DE&I for years at the leadership level.

In 2020, we expanded our commitment to diverse slates to all job levels at ADP, to ensure groups that have been historically under-represented have opportunity and access. We also employ diverse interview panels, to help protect against “in-group” or similarity bias in the hiring process. In addition, in 2021 we removed the college degree requirement to work at ADP, where permissible, to broaden the talent pool from which we can pull.

Pay equity

At ADP, we are deeply committed to upholding fair and equitable pay. Pay equity is critical to creating an inclusive and engaging culture that enables all associates to reach their full potential. We make pay decisions based on skills, job-related experience, the market value of the job and performance. We have incorporated pay equity reviews into our year-end compensation decisions. And, we no longer ask candidates to provide their salary history in the U.S. or in Canada. We continue to explore ways we can introduce this and other initiatives across the globe to promote pay fairness.

Supporting under-represented groups

Diversity & Inclusion Talent Task Force

Last year, ADP launched the Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Talent Task Force to advance under-represented talent in leadership. This program was developed to ensure equitable representation at all leadership levels for under-represented talent. By enhancing our hiring process, we are more effectively sourcing, interviewing and hiring Black/African American, Hispanic and other under-represented talent.

Further, we’ve aligned our career development programs, promotion practices and retention strategies to assist in closing any representation gaps. ADP’s top 150 leaders in the U.S. have diversity goals tied to compensation as an incentive to diversify our leadership ranks, ensuring they represent the communities in which we live and work and the clients we serve.

In addition, the D&I Talent Task Force championed initiatives including the Latinx Academy, McKinsey Management Accelerator and Black Executive Leadership Program to support under-represented leaders in meeting their potential and overcoming challenges they may face.

We proudly hire veterans

We greatly value the unique perspectives, dedication, adaptability and leadership qualities veterans bring to the table. We strive to give them and their spouses careers of which they can be proud. We have a dedicated veterans careers page, which was enhanced with a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) translator in 2019. Now, candidates can enter their MOS and the system will suggest positions best suited to their profile. We also actively look for veteran candidates as part of our campus recruiting program. Given the close proximity of many of ADP’s U.S. locations to military installations (El Paso—Ft. Bliss, Norfolk—Norfolk Naval Station, Augusta—Ft. Gordon, Tempe—Luke Air Force Base and Louisville—Ft. Knox), we have a very close relationship with our local military bases and non-profit organizations who assist transitioning service members in finding new careers. We designed several initiatives to attract veterans to ADP, ease them into their new positions and help them succeed.

We also work to support our student veterans. Rather than moving directly into corporate America upon completion of their service, many veterans will use their educational benefits to attend college and gain new skills before entering the workforce. ADP partners closely with a non-profit called FourBlock to assist veterans who are still in school and exploring future career options. ADP hosts FourBlock instructors and students at many ADP locations (in person and virtually) across the country and our associates (both from our Military Strong & Allies BRG and outside) participate and give back by helping veterans on topics such as the use of LinkedIn, career triangulation, resume review, interviewing skills and personal branding and marketing. Our veteran and military spouse associates enjoy participating in these events in order to give back to the military community.

LGBTQ+ inclusion

All-inclusive benefits:

With the passage of the marriage equality act, companies started offering certain benefits to married LGBTQ+ couples. At ADP, we go further. Our benefits are all-inclusive and awarded to any domestic partner. See how ADP has created a culture of inclusion.

Human Rights Campaign

In 2022, for the thirteenth consecutive year, ADP received a 100 percent rating in the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Corporate Equality Index (CEI), which annually rates large U.S. employers based on their policies and practices pertaining to LGBTQ+ employees.

Advancing Women in Leadership (AWL)

To aid in the career advancement of female leaders, ADP launched a program for high-performing women in management who wanted to take their careers to the next level. ADP’s global Advancing Women in Leadership (AWL) program is designed to fill our pipeline of future executives in a way that is equitable and reflective of the workforce population. It gives high-performing women, starting at the manager level, the opportunity to define and bolster their career aspirations through facilitators, speakers and exposure to senior leadership.