IRISH LIFE
Promoting diversity and inclusion has been important to Irish Life for a long time, but it has taken a more formalised approach to this area in the past two years
The company has given its staff ‘Six Reasons to Smile’
Following an extensive consultation with its employees, Irish life introduced a dedicated diversity and inclusion programme in the early part of 2017.
“It came about as we identified that increasing the number of women in senior roles and having a more inclusive culture very much mattered to our employees,” says Simone Macleod-Nairn, Irish Life corporate resources director.
“The aim of the programme is to visibly show that Irish Life embraces gender balance, different age groups, the LGBT community, people with disabilities, both seen and unseen, and people from all cultural backgrounds.”
Last February, Irish Life outlined its diversity and inclusion strategy to employees to show how serious it is about pursuing this agenda. Since then, the programme has moved on a lot with various key developments.
//MORE FLEXIBILITY
An updated leave and benefits package called ‘Six Reasons to Smile’ has been introduced with more flexibility around paternity, parental and carers leave along with sabbaticals (see panel).
“The focus of the update to the policies was on how we can better support each other through the milestones and changes that matter in our lives,” says Macleod-Nairn.
Irish Life participated in Pride for the first time in June 2017, with a parade float and 200 staff at a family-friendly day. It marked Pride in 2018 with events over a full week. Called ‘We Are Family Week’, it included activities such as a talk on one family’s journey with their transgender son and a family party to celebrate Pride. A survey showed that 90% of respondents said their levels of pride in working at Irish Life increased following the week.
With a view to celebrating cultural diversity, Irish Life recognises key dates in the calendar year, such as Chinese New Year. Volunteers have undergone a mental health training course and there are now 20 reps from around the business acting as mental health first aiders.
Irish Life will be the lead sponsor of Down Syndrome Ireland’s Millennial Ball, which is taking place on 24 November in Dublin’s Mansion House. It is the closing ceremony of The Millennial of the Year (MOTY), a national fundraising competition in aid of Down Syndrome Ireland.
Also in the area of disability, Irish Life is a partner of the Association for Higher Education Access & Disability (AHEAD). “We are piloting six contracts across the businesses on campus and took part in this year’s AHEAD careers fair. We have agreed a next wave of roles,” says Macleod-Nairn.
In other new developments, Irish Life has a new focus on mentoring support for all staff, but women in particular, to address talent development. However, the largest initiative it is rolling out this year is ‘Inclusion as a Strategic Driver’ workshops.
“These workshops for all employees offer us an opportunity to understand how our own natural biases and assumptions can influence ourselves, our customers and our business,” says Macleod-Nairn.