INSURANCE IRELAND
Insurance Ireland’s Year of Inclusion demonstrates what can be achieved at an industry sectoral level to bring about improvements in diversity and inclusion
A year dedicated to the promotion of inclusion
The insurance industry is taking a proactive approach to diversity and inclusion by increasing understanding of best practices, promoting industry initiatives and engaging with nonindustry experts and advocacy groups
Among the most impactful initiatives ever undertaken by Insurance Ireland was the Year of Inclusion – a year-long focus on diversity, inclusion and equality. It attracted strong support from members across all sectors of the industry and was a valuable learning experience for all involved.
Following its establishment in 2015, Insurance Ireland’s Inclusion Task Force led the development of the Year of Inclusion concept. The launch event in February 2017 focused on gender and heard from inclusion best practice expert Charlotte Sweeney OBE. It was attended by almost 250 people from 90-member companies.
The year was divided into four key thematic areas – gender, LGBTI, age and disability. Insurance Ireland formed partnerships with organisations including the 30% Club, Age & Opportunity, The Disability Federation of Ireland and the National Council for the Blind in Ireland (NCBI) to assist member companies in the implementation of best practices as well as complementing the work already underway in its member companies.
SERIES OF EVENTS
The launch was followed up by a schedule of events including six further briefings and workshops. A workshop was held for HR and diversity and inclusion staff on inclusion policies and practices for employees. Sandra Healy, director of the Centre of Excellence for Diversity and Inclusion at Dublin City University shared her knowledge and experience of how to build and sustain inclusion initiatives.
Two inclusion workshops, one on age and one on disability, were also held. The first was run in conjunction with the National Council for the Blind in Ireland and the second with the Disability Federation of Ireland. The latter focused on the importance of understanding disability issues and applying best practice solutions in the workplace to bring about real change. The Agewise workshop aimed to understand the personal, cultural and structural effects of ageism and the impact of unconscious bias.
OUTPUTS ACHIEVED
The outputs of the Year of Inclusion were captured in Insurance Ireland’s Year of Inclusion report for 2017 which was distributed to members and key stakeholders at the end of last year. “We were especially pleased to have the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, Ed Sibley, provide the forward for the report, which highlighted the importance of diversity and inclusion in the context of regulation,” says Kevin Thompson, CEO of Insurance Ireland.
Insurance Ireland continues to be active on the 30% Club’s Financial Services Working Group for Gender. In addition, Insurance Ireland’s own board reached the landmark of having 30% female representation.
Furthermore, the relevance of the Year of Inclusion was recognised in the quarterly updates for the Government’s IFS2020 strategy to grow the financial services industry in Ireland.
LOOKING AHEAD
Insurance Ireland’s Inclusion Task Force continued its work throughout 2018 with activity around International Women’s Day and Pride, as well as supporting the Dive In festival of diversity and inclusion in insurance.
The task force is also developing a diversity and culture guide for the insurance industry to assist insurance companies and to provide a document to inform conversations with stakeholders, including regulators, and their continued focus on diversity, inclusion and culture.
“The insurance industry is taking a proactive approach to diversity and inclusion by increasing understanding of best practices, promoting industry initiatives and engaging with non-industry experts and advocacy groups,” says Thompson.
“Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to the future of the industry and our Year of Inclusion initiative was characterised by cross-industry buy-in. This allowed companies to identify key areas where diversity and inclusion are important within their organisations.
“We were delighted with the response to the initiative and how it has given us a platform to broaden the discussion to wider stakeholders through our best practice guide on diversity, inclusion and culture. Insurance Ireland is committed to facilitating these discussions at an industry level and to building on the outcomes of the Year of Inclusion.”