The insurance and long-term savings sector is making
family-friendly initiatives a defining feature of its diversity,
equity and inclusion journey, as new data reveals significant
growth in surrogacy and IVF support.
A progress update on the
ABI's award-winning DEI Blueprint shows
that 66% of firms now offer surrogacy support and 69% offer IVF
support – up 13 and 19 percentage points, respectively, from
2022.1 This momentum reflects the industry's
recognition that supporting different paths to parenthood is
central to building an inclusive workforce where everyone feels
supported.
New figures also show that 46% of firms now offer returnship
programmes specifically designed to help people back to work
after parental or extended leave, a rise of 13 percentage points
from 2022. Meanwhile, 100% of ABI members continue to offer
formal flexible working options, ensuring that employees can
balance professional responsibilities with family and caring
commitments.
This progress builds upon the Blueprint's guiding principle of
supporting employees through significant life events such as
miscarriage and caring responsibilities.
Other key findings from the latest update
include:
-
New data – Firms are increasingly focused on
additional types of representation as 59% of ABI members now
collect data on socio-economic background, up 8 percentage
points from 2023 (51%). The figures also show that 61% of firms
capture data on neurodiversity within their organisations, an
increase of 14-percentage points compared to 2022 (47%).
-
Inclusive cultures – 89% of ABI members have a
‘speak-up' policy to encourage colleagues to raise concerns
about harassment or discrimination and 76% have a formal ‘zero
tolerance' policy for this type of misconduct.
-
Representation – The proportion of women and
people of ethnic minority backgrounds working at director level
has grown from 31% to 36% and 7% to 9% in 2024, respectively,
compared to 2023. Despite this progress, more action is needed
to increase ethnic minority representation at board level,
which has fallen from 11% in 2023 to 8% in 2024.
-
Development schemes – Insurers and long-term
savings providers continue to engage with the incoming
workforce, with firms welcoming 2,622 young people onto
structured work experience programs in 2024, up from just 288
in 2022.
Liisa Antola, Manager of DEI and Customer Outcomes at the
ABI, said: “The insurance and long-term savings
industry touches millions of lives across the UK, making it vital
that our workforce reflects the diverse communities we serve.
From better support for working parents to stronger engagement
with the incoming workforce, this report shows encouraging
progress, and we look forward to building on this
further.
“We are already working closely with members and stakeholders
to build on the foundations of our DEI Blueprint and drive
lasting change across the industry in 2026 and beyond. Our aim
may be bold, but it still stands; we remain committed to becoming
the most diverse, equitable and inclusive sector of the UK
economy.”
Next steps
The Blueprint update also sets out objectives for 2026 and
beyond. These include continuing to collect and analyse DEI data,
strengthening inclusive workplace cultures, and ensuring
diversity at all levels across the sector.
With the government's focus on closing the disability employment
gap, the ABI is also exploring how the industry can better
support disabled people in the workforce.
ENDS
Footnotes
1 - First launched in 2022, the Blueprint includes guidance and
good practice to help firms attract, grow and advance a diverse,
equitable and inclusive workforce. It also sets yearly objectives
against these themes to help the ABI and its members measure
industry progress. The update report covers objectives for
2024-2025.
The ABI has continued to deliver its Allyship Awareness training
to member firms and stakeholders across the UK. The training
sessions teach colleagues at all seniority levels the importance
of calling out discrimination and harassment in the workplace,
which supports a safer and more inclusive environment for all.
To highlight the importance of allyship in cultivating an
inclusive workplace culture, the ABI has begun collecting data on
its members' relevant policies.
