Race Equality Matters is pleased to announce that Beazley have been awarded Bronze Trailblazer status!

Beazley are a leader within the insurance sector and they are passionate and strategic in their considerations for both their clients and colleagues. They have been recognised as an organisation committed to tackling race inequality because their application demonstrated a targeted approach to race disparities with sustained actions to facilitate meaningful change. They shared tangible examples that addressed real challenges and showed transparency and bravery in addressing solutions, setting achievable targets and using their communications to ensure endorsement and recognition throughout the organisation. Beazley have been recognised and celebrated as an organisation that is committed to achieving racial equality in the workplace. Their action was focussed and was described by the judges as ‘inspirational’ and ‘comprehensive’ 100% judges voted that their application had demonstrated evidence of action taken in tackling race inequality and 100% voted for Beazley to receive the status. 

Their bravery and dedication towards making an impact makes them a trailblazer for change.

Actions and Initiatives

Commitment to Increasing representation/targets

Beazley used a comprehensive approach and strategized how different areas of the business could collaborate to produce change. Beazley set a target in 2020 to improve representation by 2023 as data revealed underrepresentation particularly of those from Black backgrounds. Beazley achieved their global group target a year ahead of schedule. When they first set the target, 19% of the organisation were people from underrepresented ethnic minority backgrounds, and three years later, they achieved 25% To mitigate any concern of positive discrimination, Beazley relied on open communications, regular facilitated discussions and education as well as management support sessions to ensure employees understood why representation goals were important. Due to the success of their efforts they have now turned their goal towards improving senior leadership representation. Panellists felt the measured improvement was impressive and in addressing the issue of positive discrimination Beazley showed transparency and a commitment to transformation. 

Consultation with Networks

Colleagues within their RACE (race, culture and ethnicity) network, and the executive sponsor endorse and support the activity and helped to maintain open dialogue with ethnically diverse colleagues to ensure their experiences and perspectives are taken into consideration when setting and achieving the company goals. In establishing targets around representation Beazley worked with their network’s senior sponsor and the network leaders to ensure that their opinions and feedback were considered as part of the process. The network helped advise on appropriate language to use when communicating the importance of representation and progress and their Head of Social Impact is also in regular contact. They also have representation from their network in their central inclusion and diversity steering group. Panellists praised the ‘collaborative approach’ and the integrity’ shown within their actions. 

Partnerships

Beazley have evolved their partnerships with external companies such as the Black Young Professionals Network, the Black Insurance Industry Collective and the Insurance Cultural Awareness Network. They have senior leaders acting as mentors through these programmes. They also measure feedback through their employee engagement survey through a racial lens. 

Impact and Ethnically diverse Staff Endorsement 

• Engagement scores in terms of how people feel loyal to and proud of the organisation have improved by 7% specifically for their ethnically diverse employees 
• They have worked to build a continual feedback cycle with their network colleagues so they remain fully informed as to strategic decisions being taken in the organisation understanding the reason for and the processes behind decisions.
• They record that prospective candidates cite their ‘approach to diversity and inclusion as a major reason as to why they want to join the company.’ 
• Comment from a colleague “I feel safe here & am happy to see the company consciously consider diversity & inclusion. Beazley is also a great place for growth – I’ve grown in terms of career advancement and increased my toolkit of skills
• Released their first global ethnicity pay gap report to provide more transparency on the current inequality in terms of representation in the higher paid roles within the organisation.
• Ensure marketing and communications effectively communicate clear objectives and progress to encourage endorsement 
• Effective partnerships such as the Black Young Professionals Network, the Black Insurance Industry Collective and the Insurance Cultural Awareness Network.
• Transparency, accountability and responsibility 
• Senior Leadership are actively involved in demonstrating change acting as mentors through their partnership programmes
• Promoting improvement in the sector through sharing best practice with other organisations through guiding HR or senior leaders, presenting on panels or at events and by sharing dashboard examples

Feedback from an Ethnically Diverse Panel

The panellists felt this application was ‘inspirational and brave’ because Beazley strives to do the right thing and be an example of best practice in the sector inspiring others to do the same. Beazley have shown a clear commitment to improving racial representation across their organisation which ensures that the workplace can become an environment of inclusivity, equality and belonging. Beazley’s Trailblazer application demonstrated a commitment to transparency, accountability and responsibility using resources, communications and senior leadership participation to encourage cultural change and endorsement. 

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Next steps…

Looking to the future, Beazley seeks to:

• Improve ethnic minority representation within their senior leadership team
• They are evaluating the career trajectories of ethnically diverse colleagues and looking at opportunities to improve this 
• Their executive committee, board and senior leadership will continue to have prominent roles in improving and addressing barriers to inclusion and promotion 
• They intend to further support and educate managers on their complex responsibilities in promoting and facilitating change 
• They will use their Ethnicity Pay gap data to navigate a route for change 

Follow Beazley’s Lead: Become a Trailblazer

If your organisation is driving change for Race Equality and you can demonstrate impact, endorsement from ethnic background employees and share future plans; register your interest for the next round of trailblazers.