The lack of gender diversity across the Insurance industry is again a ‘hot topic’.
Many would now argue that urgent action is needed.
From a PR perspective, the last few months have been a disaster. In March, Bloomberg Businessweek reported on allegations of sexual harassment and bullying at Lloyd’s of London. In the article, Lloyd’s was described as a “meat market”. In the past week, there have been reports of suspensions and resignations at two major firms following allegations of “rude and offensive” comments, and sexual harassment. In addition, judging by comments from the Lloyd’s chairman, Bruce Carnegie-Brown (City A.M), there may be more to come.
Hard times …
But despite the headlines, the tide has been turning for a while as most parts of the Insurance industry have proactively sought to create more inclusive workplaces. Lloyd’s – and the London market in general – has always seemed slow to change so, in a way, it is good to see these incidents being dealt with as opposed to being swept under the carpet.
Unfortunately, the recent negative publicity reflects badly on the industry as a whole. This will be felt most acutely when it comes to attracting female or more diverse Talent at a senior level in functions such as Technology and Data, where we often seek to attract candidates out of sector.
But there is a solution …
Over recent years, Norman Broadbent Group has worked extensively with Clients to help them meet their D&I challenges. For example, we have been working with a leading global professional services partnership to help them:
- Understand the Female Talent Landscape in, and around, their sector
- Benchmark themselves, from a gender perspective, against their competitors/the wider market
- Meet their stated objective of increasing senior female Talent
- Pipeline ‘next generation’ female Talent
- Design a new female candidate engagement strategy
- Improve candidate communications with female Talent