Organisations that can help
Acas
Acas (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) provides free and impartial information and advice to employers and employees on all aspects of workplace relations and employment law.
Business in the Community
Prince’s Responsible Business Network: a business-led membership organisation for organisations which want to publicly demonstrate commitment to acting responsibly and investing in building a better society.
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)
The professional body for experts in people at work. The organisation champions better working and working lives by setting professional standards for HR and people development, as well as driving positive change in the world of work.
Equally Ours
Equally Ours (previously the Equality and Diversity Forum) is a UK charity that brings together people and organisations working across equality, human rights and social justice to make a reality of these in everyone’s lives.
https://www.equallyours.org.uk/
Stonewall
Insurance based support
There are some groups that specifically offer support to the insurance sector. These include:
Link
Link, the LGBT Insurance Network, is a network of LGBT+ insurance professionals and allies who are working to improve diversity and inclusion in the insurance industry.
https://www.lgbtinsurancenetwork.co.uk
The Gender Inclusion Network for Insurance (GIN)
GIN The Gender Inclusion Network for Insurance was formed in 2015 by a group of likeminded women from across the insurance industry. Membership of GIN is open to both women and men across the insurance industry who want to take positive action to improve the gender balance within the industry.
https://www.genderinclusionnetwork.co.uk/
iCAN (Insurance Cultural Awareness Network)
iCAN stands for Insurance Cultural Awareness Network which is the industry-wide independent network that supports multicultural inclusion across the insurance sector. The mission of iCAN is to ‘promote multicultural inclusion and progression, engage with allies, and celebrate the benefits of inclusion and diversity in the insurance sector.’
African-Caribbean Insurance Network (ACIN)
The ACIN was formed to boost black and minority ethnic representation within the insurance industry by way of increasing cultural competence in the London market and making the Insurance sector a more attractive destination for young ethnic professionals.
The Chartered Insurance Institute
As the professional body for insurance and financial planning the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) works to promote ethical business and professional practices among people engaged or working in the insurance and financial advice professions. The CII has produced D&I guiding principles for key stakeholders which provides a useful overview on which a D&I proposition can be built.
Equality and Diversity – Promoting good practice
The CII has also produced some good practice tips which can be read here.
The CII-established programme Insuring Women’s futures is aimed at promoting and enhancing the insurance and financial planning profession’s role in relation to women and risk. BIBA staff are ambassadors of the programme and actively involved in the workstreams currently developing a future blueprint of activity for the programme. Find out more about the programme here.
Government bodies
Government Equalities Office
The Government Equalities Office aims to improve equality and reducing discrimination and disadvantage for all in the UK; improving people’s life chances at work, and in public and political life. It leads work on policy relating to women, sexual orientation and transgender equality. It is responsible for a range of equalities legislation, most notably the Equality Act 2010.
Gender Pay Gap
Employers in Great Britain with more than 250 staff have been required by law from 6 April 2017 to publish the following four types of figures annually on their own website and on a government website:
- Gender pay gap (mean and median averages)
- Gender bonus gap (mean and median averages)
- Proportion of men and women receiving bonuses
- Proportion of men and women in each quartile of the organisation’s pay structure
To help employers, the Government Equalities Office and Acas, have produced guidance on managing gender pay reporting in the private and voluntary sectors.
Women’s Business Council
The Women’s Business Council was established in 2012 to advise on how women’s contribution to growth could be optimised. They report to the Minister for Women and Equalities and are supported in their work by the Government Equalities Office.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is Great Britain’s national equality body and its role is to safeguard and enforce the laws that protect people’s rights to fairness, dignity and respect.
The EHRC has published extensive guidance to help employers, workers, service providers, service users and education providers understand the Equality Act 2010.