"For investors, DEI is not merely a social virtue – it is an emerging strategic lever for managing ESG risk and enhancing corporate sustainability," it added. DEI basically encompasses fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all people, while striving to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented the full participation of some groups. BIMB Research noted that, globally, ESG disclosure frameworks are evolving to include more rigorous DEI metrics. It said the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and Global Reporting Initiative all integrate DEI-related indicators, particularly those concerning gender balance, fair wages, equal opportunity policies, and anti-discrimination. In response, stock exchanges and financial regulators – from the US Securities and Exchange Commission to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange – are now enforcing more stringent diversity.