Dive In, the global festival for diversity and inclusion (D&I) in insurance, has identified the sector’s top concerns. Dive In’s independent survey reveals gender equity (54%) as the ‘most pertinent’ area that the insurance industry needs to focus on, followed by mental health (47%), culture and ethinicity (38%), and family and care responsibilities (28%).
Both the Middle East and the Americas highlighted gender equality as a key barrier to overcome, while mental health sits high on the agenda for Europe and the UK, confirmed Dive In.
The survey also revealed that 94% of insurance staff believe that inclusion is a ‘client-facing’ issue. As business leaders wake up to inclusivity as a talent issue, they appreciate the need for their suppliers/partners to foster inclusive cultures to attract and retain the best staff, and so are finally starting to understand that it is ‘no longer an internal issue, but a commercial concern too’.
COMMERCIAL IMPERATIVE
Commenting on the findings, Pauline Miller, Head of Talent Development and Inclusion at Lloyd’s, stated: “More advanced markets have known for some time that D&I is not just a ‘nice to have’ but a commercial imperative, yet this research has made it clear that this is also the case all over the world. While addressing gender balance may be seen as the ‘first step’ in a company’s D&I journey, the research has shown that it is not the only step, as festival goers call for more work to be done in other areas, such as mental health and culture and ethnicity.”
2019’s Dive In festival attendees will learn ways of “creating positive action and creating an impact on all areas of D&I, from gender equality to disability”, added Miller.
Photo credit: Dive In
EXPONENTIAL GROWTH
The independent survey interviewed 5,000+ registered attendees from more than 30 countries, in the run-up to the festival’s fifth anniversary, which starts tomorrow. This year’s event, which takes place during 24th-26th September, will be celebrated in more than 30 countries, across six continents. Bahrain, Nigeria, Turkey, and Indonesia are holding events this year for the first time, confirmed the organiser.
Since its inception in 2015, Dive In has grown substantially, and now includes some of the world’s largest insurance companies, brokers and associated service providers.
“From a few small events in the London insurance market, the Dive In Festival has grown exponentially, gathering global momentum and spreading to countries where the issues around inclusion and equality can still be challenging,” commented Jason Groves, Chair of the Dive In Committee. “The adoption of the festival in places like Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria shows that more and more companies have become determined to build inclusive workplaces, enabling them to attract top talent. By coming together to share good D&I practices, we can help them drive cultural change more effectively.”
INCLUSION IMPACT
The insurance industry is the first to run a sector-wide global D&I festival focused on workplace culture. The festival’s mission is to enable people to achieve their potential by raising awareness of the business case and by promoting positive action for diversity in all its forms. Building on last year’s campaign of developing ‘awareness into action’, this year invites participants to consider ways to make an impact, under this year’s theme of ‘inclusion impact’.
This year’s confirmed Dive In sponsors include: AIG, Aon, Aviva, AXA XL, Chubb, CNA, CNA Hardy, DLA Piper, Gallagher, Guy Carpenter, Kennedys, Lloyd’s, Markel, Marsh, Miller, MS Amlin, Oliver James, PwC, RMS, RSA, Willis Towers Watson and Zurich.
Check out the action-packed 2019 Dive In agenda by clicking here.
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