Maintaining momentum with D&I in the COVID era
There are three steps insurance companies can take to build diverse and inclusive workplaces where women are not left behind.
COVID-19 has changed the way we do business and prompted our industry to innovate, adapt and evolve. From responding to new rules and regulations to setting up our colleagues to work remotely, insurance has done well to ensure we continue to do business as usual. This accomplishment, however, cannot and should not hinder the progress our industry has made in building a more diverse and inclusive work environment.
Prior to COVID-19, diversity & inclusion (D&I) programs were at the top of the agenda for many companies. We were making slow but steady improvements. But the pandemic upended the landscape, in many ways counteracting the advances of the previous decade and threatening to have negative long-term impacts on women’s progress in business. The issues in some cases can be acute, with women often having to become the principal caregiver, teacher, and earner in their home. Urgent action is needed. 2021 can be a watershed moment for the re/insurance industry to prove its mettle and put our analytical and problem-solving skills to good use.
What we do know points to a concerning trend. According to a report by McKinsey, women, particularly mothers, women in senior positions, and women of color, are 1.3 times more likely than men to consider stepping back from their careers. This could have a detrimental effect on women’s career progression, development, and success, setting the progress made on D&I back significantly.
Supporting women in the workplace
The onus is, therefore, on companies to ask how they can support their female workforce and enable women to remain a key and growing part of the insurance industry. There are, in my opinion, three main ways to achieve this: championing work flexibility, addressing mental health, and, ultimately, reviewing how we structure individual roles.
While flexibility is now a familiar topic of debate, too often it can be presented as a favor to employees, or as a one-off due to circumstances. This approach does not foster an environment where women can feel comfortable and within their rights to stay and build a career, while at the same time fulfilling responsibilities outside the workplace. Companies need to fully embrace workplace flexibility as a matter of course and demonstrate a commitment to embedding the practice in their business plans, recruitment strategy and working culture.
At Argo, we recognize that a flexible approach is not limited to just location. Truly effective flexible policies consider the very make-up of the day. Can our industry fundamentally embrace a working day that is not the traditional 9-5, and allow for employees to design their day to fit their needs and added responsibilities, such as homeschooling and caregiving/? This would be a pivotal step in creating an inclusive environment in line with today’s circumstances and realities.
Another consideration for businesses is the fundamental structure of job roles. What does a successful career look like in the 2020s and beyond? Further, how can businesses factor in different stages of a person’s life and accommodate for continued career progression and fulfillment? My own experience was that I never stopped working, even when I had children. In my mind, it was either all or nothing and if I left work or went part-time it would be harder to come back and progress in my career. How can we dispel this view, adjust and design job pathways that allow both greater flexibility and maintain leadership potential and room for growth?
We need to think creatively, also when it comes to senior and executive-level roles. In some cases, other industries might already have some or partial answers. Several law firms for example have introduced training programs that have enabled women to come back to challenging roles after a prolonged absence. These programs recognize that starting from the bottom is not an attractive prospect and could discourage women from returning to work.
In adopting a similar or improved approach our industry could develop a competitive advantage, particularly from a recruitment perspective. Talent is, as studies and experience have shown, attracted to high-quality businesses with a commitment to D&I. Similar programs would appeal to a more diverse pool of talent, safe in the knowledge that they would be welcomed back should they take a career break.
Finally, tackling mental health and well-being issues is the bedrock of any company’s support program for assisting employees through periods of stress and uncertainty. And these cannot be tackled without widespread awareness of the importance of mental health in the workplace. Our CEO has reiterated the importance of taking care of our mental health in every company-wide town hall since the beginning of the pandemic.
This continual acknowledgment from the top has had a measurable impact. It is my firm conviction that care for mental health and well-being should and will become an everyday, companywide consideration, not just a focus during the pandemic. It is essential to educate employees about the challenges we all face and provide tools and resources to enable employees to take care of their health and wellbeing. Such resources can go a long way in making your workforce feel valued and, when it might matter most, listened to. In ensuring well-being is a priority, companies will develop a true competitive advantage and be a place where women can flourish and succeed.
These are three steps that we can take to begin building a modern, diverse, and truly inclusive workplace for the future, and make sure women are not left behind. Re/insurance is one of the few sectors in an exciting position to spearhead these urgent efforts and be leaders in the development of creative solutions. Using our capabilities and deep pool of analytical expertise, our industry can address these challenges and build the solutions we need. In doing so, we can put our industry back on the trajectory it was on, and reinforce our commitment to D&I.
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