Diversity Snapshots: Intermodal Analysis of Firm Diversity Discourse

Pictures are a powerful medium to communicate complex and emotive messages. In particular, the human face expresses corporate culture including diversity and equal opportunity. However, despite the recent visual turn in accounting and finance, quantitative research on diversity in photos is scant because automated solutions for identifying and classifying human faces were not readily available. This paper seeks to bridge this gap by tailoring automated large-sample facial analysis from the recent computing literature into the accounting literature. Our automated model identifies and classifies faces with sufficient accuracy and precision to draw reliable inferences, and this model is made available for future research. We use the resulting quantitative dataset to analyse intermodal discourse in the annual report, asking the question: Do cover photos augment textual diversity disclosure, or are they PR window-dressing? Results suggest that the decision to publish faces on the annual report cover is associated with an integrated reporting strategy and high-quality diversity disclosure, consistent with pictures augmenting textual disclosures. Gender and ethnic diversity of faces in cover photos tell a different story, tending towards PR window-dressing. Methods and findings from this paper may be of interest to researchers, government and policy makers involved in diversity research and regulation.