Our Diversity & Inclusion Philosophy

At Cotton & Company, we firmly believe that our employees are our greatest asset. We understand that true diversity and inclusion leads to an increased quality of our general work environment, individual work life experience, and relevant client solutions. Increasing diversity and doing the hard work required to become more equitable and inclusive is a win-win for our business, leadership, employees and clients.

Promoting diversity and inclusion across all firm activities is an important aspect of Cotton’s strategic plan. We believe that diversity, equity and inclusion is achieved by ensuring that our policies, procedures, programs and initiatives are inclusive and led by diverse leadership.

Cotton & Company established the Diversity & Inclusion Committee to foster a culture that promotes and celebrates a diverse, inclusive, and multicultural workforce, and increases awareness about diversity issues and topics. By increasing awareness about diversity and inclusion issues, Cotton & Company encourages a culture that celebrates our differences and widens the path to success for all employees throughout the entire employee lifecycle.

The Diversity & Inclusion Committee:

Acts as a liaison between employees and leadership by providing recommendations to leadership to support these goals through collaboration with all company departments, committees, and programs.
Increases awareness among employees and leaders celebrating company diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Develops programs to promote and celebrate diversity, inclusion, and multiculturalism through various mechanisms, including company-wide social gatherings, cultural and educational events, workshops, and community conversations.
Promotes the education and appreciation of the diversity in our workforce, to assist in minimizing the effects of implicit bias.
Creates programs to support Cotton & Company’s diversity and inclusion goals, to create a strong company foundation of diversity and inclusion, as an integral part of the firm’s culture and success.

Employee Statements on Diversity and Inclusion

“Cotton has hired a wide number of employees from all backgrounds for years and has sought to develop a talented and diverse community regardless of cultural background”

“Compared to my prior firm the culture is a lot less "bro" which, as a woman, I appreciate. E.g., the value of people seems to be based on what they bring to the table from a work perspective and not how good they are at golf.”

“My experience, since joining Cotton & Company in 2015, is that the firm emphasized D&I in prior years, way before D&I became a buzzword by industry. The addition of the D&I Committee and Resource Library, just cemented the fact that Cotton & Company has an open dialogue, internally, in this area.”

“Cotton provides several trainings in areas such as harassment and diversity. In addition, periodic communications contribute to better understanding of racial/ethnic differences.”

“Cotton & Company makes a point of hiring individuals who are qualified for the position, regardless of nationality, race, color, sexuality, etc.”

“Different experiences are what makes people great and learning from one another is what builds the strong culture here at Cotton.”

“The engagement teams themselves are extremely diverse which allows you to work together and learn from one another about each other’s different cultures and backgrounds.”

“We are continuously putting effort into looking at varying ideas and input from people from all backgrounds and experiences to make us better.”

“I believe everyone at Cotton values the cultural differences that each individual has and it is the root of what makes the Cotton culture a great place to work.”

“The atmosphere created is one of professionalism and inclusion.”

“I view Cotton as a firm that places values based on the work they perform regardless of their race.”