Lloyd's report points to market progress on D&I targets

Lloyd’s report points to market progress on D&I targets | Insurance Business Canada

Insurance News

Lloyd’s report points to market progress on D&I targets

Findings include rise in proportion of women in leadership roles

Insurance News

By
Terry Gangcuangco

Lloyd’s has released the findings from its latest Market Policies and Practices (MP&P) return.

The fifth iteration of the report highlights a marked advancement in the adoption of inclusive practices and a culture of high performance among market firms. The improvements have been driven by a greater emphasis on leadership and accountability, with specific, measurable goals for fostering a diverse corporate culture.

The MP&P return outlines substantial strides made towards diversity goals, particularly regarding leadership roles for women and hiring from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

A noteworthy uplift of three percentage points has been observed in the market, elevating the percentage of women in leadership positions to 35%. This achievement spans across all tiers – boards, executive committees, and direct reports of executive committees – successfully hitting the short-term goal established in 2020.

In terms of ethnic diversity, there’s been a four percentage-point increase in hires from diverse backgrounds over the past year, bringing the group’s overall market representation to 13% – a two percentage-point rise.

Meanwhile a significant 71% of firms in the Lloyd’s market are now actively engaging with partners to promote outreach and adopting hiring practices that aim to eliminate bias. Additional efforts include enhanced support for inclusivity, with a notable surge in firms offering menopause support and implementing drugs and alcohol policies.

Improvements in the collection of diversity data have also been reported, including metrics on ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, and social mobility, showcasing the market’s commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment.

Sara Gomez, Lloyd’s chief people officer, shared her optimism, saying: “[The] update shows the steps we’ve taken to improve the culture in our market – from our oversight framework, to our upskilling programme and our public targets – are working.

“While we’ve hit our short-term target for 35% of leadership positions to be filled by women, and the market continues to make progress on representation of diverse groups, we still have a way to go on our culture journey. We will continue to support the market so that Lloyd’s is a destination of choice for global talent, and attracts the best and brightest minds, wherever they come from.”

Looking ahead, Lloyd’s is committed to continue building a diverse talent pipeline and enhancing its market oversight framework. The recently introduced Inclusive Futures programme aims to further this goal.

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