NEW YORK -- Inclusion and diversity are key to innovation and essential to business in a digital age. At Accenture, we know that our diversity makes us stronger, smarter and more innovative, which helps us better serve the needs of our clients, our people and our communities, said Julie Sweet, Accenture (NYSE: ACN) chief executive – North America.

“To kick off a new level of collaboration – and because transparency builds trust – today we reported the diversity statistics of our U.S. workforce for the first time,” said Sweet. “While we have a demonstrated commitment to inclusion and diversity through many strong programs and policies, in the end those do not create diversity – people do. We believe that by increasing transparency around our diversity, we will foster a new level of collaboration and connection with our people, clients, partners and the communities where we live and work.”

Accenture takes a broad view of diversity across abilities, age, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression. The company aspires to have the most inclusive and diverse workforce.

Accenture published its U.S. workforce demographics on gender, ethnicity, persons with disabilities and veterans. Moving forward, Accenture intends to report annually on its progress across these areas of diversity.

“While I am pleased with the progress we have made, we are not where we want to be,” said Sweet. “We need to find new ways to make an impact. Just as we collaborate with clients to help them win in the market, we need to collaborate more as an entire community to drive disruptive change.

“One of the immediate steps we are taking is asking our people to help increase the diversity of our applicant pool in the areas where we need the most focus: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, women and veterans. Our people are our best source of new talent, and we are launching an enhanced referral initiative to reward our U.S. employees who refer diverse candidates who are hired.”

To learn more about Inclusion & Diversity at Accenture visit accenture.com.

Accenture