​The recent announcement by Goldman Sachs that from July, they will refuse to take a company public unless they have at least one ‘diverse’ director, with a focus on women, has certainly caused quite the media storm.

There have been many comments on the matter with the best implying it isn’t enough and the worst maintaining it’s just a PR exercise. Both views, of course, miss the point that any move forward in the area of D&I in tech is positive. Indeed, much has been written that for the tech industry little has changed concerning D&I since Google released the industry’s first D&I report back in 2014.

In 2014 Google’s workforce was 61.3% white and 69.4% male. Today the figures have shifted to 54.4% white and 68.4% male and for the rest of FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google), the figures are roughly the same. It’s easy to see why the tech industry is criticized when these statistics are bandied about, but as is so often the case with statistics, they don’t always show the whole picture, as Facebook’s Chief Diversity Officer Maxine Williams likes to point out.

In terms of the proportion that underrepresented minorities makeup of the entire employee population at Facebook, little has changed since 2014. However, in reality, Facebook has increased the number of black women by 25x and black men by 10x over the last five years through initiatives that have made a real difference.

Of course, Goldman Sachs’ decision is very much a product of the times we now live in. After all, you only have to see the reaction to the news that New York start-up WeWork, which leases shared office space, tried to go public last year with a board that did not include a single female.

There is nowadays already an expectation, from the markets and investors, that it is only acceptable for a company to go public with at least one female board member. Hence, it’s easy to see why many see Goldman’s decision as just being the right thing to do. Dive a little deeper than the headlines, though, and it’s clear that Goldman’s decision is very much based on business sense rather than just a PR exercise.

During an interview with CNBC at the recent World Economic Forum Goldman Sachs’ chief David Solomon highlighted that over the past four years or so, IPOs with at least one woman on the board have performed better. Solomon went on to add, “Look, we might miss some business, but in the long run, this I think is the best advice for companies that want to drive premium returns for their shareholders over time.”

Goldman’s decision makes D&I an operation imperative for businesses wanting to do business with them, especially as by 2021, the requirement will be for two ‘diverse’ board members. This will force change as all evidence highlights that for D&I issues to be fixed, unequivocal commitment to the cause is essential from the senior management team.

Goldman understands that its decision is only a “small first step,” but as with all change, there has to be a pioneer who drives others to consider making their change.