Work still to do The Dive In Festival goes from strength to strength, but the war is not yet won By Bernice Han
LLOYD’S DIVE IN FESTIVAL IS GETTING bigger every year – a sign that efforts to promote industry-wide diversity and inclusion have gained significant momentum since the event’s launch in 2015. But the playing field is still far from level for many out there as Lloyd’s outgoing Chief Executive Inga Beale, the driving force behind Dive In, will attest. Ms Beale, who came out as bisexual in 2008, recently told a UK newspaper she copped a barrage of sexist and homophobic abuse when she became the first woman to take the top Lloyd’s role in 2014. A Macquarie Bank survey on diversity within the Australian insurance industry, unveiled at Dive In, turned up some heartening results, but other areas score poorly. Gender imbalance remains an area that requires more effort. While women make up 49% of the 2031 survey respondents, just 2% held C-suite roles and there were no female chief executives. In contrast, about 7% of the male respondents were chief executives. None of the questions relating to how company activities and services promote diversity and inclusion passed the 50% threshold. For instance, only 14% felt external event sponsorships and partnerships were in the direction of promoting diversity and inclusion, 29% felt likewise for community volunteering, and 26% for internal information and communications. Eoghan Trehy, national head of insurance at Macquarie Bank’s business banking, tells Insurance News “there is still a way to go in terms of executive sponsorship”. But the survey, which follows on from last year’s inaugural edition, shows “encouraging progress” in other areas, he says. 40
Sexual orientation at work
Completely out Total
88% +5%*
LGBTl
64%
Only to a few close friends 3% +1% 22%
Not at all
Prefer not to respond
5%
7%
12%
2%
Source: Macquarie Bank Insurance Industry Diversity & Inclusion Survey *Denotes change from last year’s inaugural survey
About 75% believe their executives are committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace, up 8% from last year, and the proportion who strongly agree went up four percentage points to 28%. Around 74% say comments focusing on personal characteristics are not tolerated within companies, 77% feel equipped to manage diversity and inclusion, and 80% are satisfied with their level of flexibility at work. More than 70% believe their point of view is welcomed and 62% say a diverse workplace has a positive impact on performance. Asked to describe their sexual orientation, 4% are attracted to the same sex, 2% are bisexual, 88% are heterosexual and 6% prefer not to say. About 64% who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex are completely open to colleagues about their orientation. insuranceNEWS
October/November 2018
-2%
