‘We’ve come a long way’

Dive In festival is back, and celebrating a decade of progress on diversity and inclusion in the industry 

By Miranda Maxwell

The 10th anniversary of Dive In will be held from September 24-26 with the theme A Sustainable Future: The Next 10 Years.

The award-winning festival, conceived by Inclusion@Lloyd’s, aims to drive diversity in the insurance industry, in turn promoting innovation to address challenges such as natural catastrophes, the net zero transition, supply chain and cyber risks.  

“We expect the 10th anniversary … to be extra special as we celebrate a decade of impact,” Lloyd’s deputy chairman Dominic Christian said.

Steadfast has long supported the festival and chief executive Robert Kelly says it will host a session on September 24 featuring Diversity Council Australia chief executive Lisa Annese discussing how inclusive teams ensure skilled leaders for the decade ahead. 

“It’s a great initiative all around the world for the insurance industry because we’re such a big employer,” Mr Kelly tells Insurance News. “The diverse range of people who work in insurance from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds is quite amazing.”

He appeared on a panel last year discussing women in leadership, but has opted to defer to field expert Ms Annese this year. “If I’m asked I’ll appear, but it’s not too major that I appear,” he says. 

Steadfast’s network encompasses 34 nationalities, he says, and the business wants people to feel as comfortable in the work environment as they would at home or with friends.

“That’s the thrust of cultivating inclusive teams and skilled leadership going forward, where people with different cultural and ethnic backgrounds feel very comfortable at work to operate the way they do in their home or social environment. That’s a very important aspect of diversity and inclusion.”

Steadfast says its pipeline of future women leaders is strong, with about half of middle management female, and its 15% gender pay gap is below both the wider insurance industry at 26% and the national workforce at 19%.

“We’ve come a long way on gender, we’ve come a long way on sexuality,” Mr Kelly says.

“I think the ethnic side of it now is crucially important and this year’s thrust will probably focus on that, and make people that may be hesitant to come forward much more comfortable in their environment.

“I’d like to think that a Sikh man would feel quite comfortable to wear his turban [dastar] to work and that wouldn’t be seen to be unusual. A Muslim woman might wear a headscarf or a hijab … a Jewish fellow may feel very comfortable to wear a yarmulke to work. I’m pretty confident that a gay man would be very comfortable in our environment to wear … the rainbow wristband. It’s important.” 

Other Australian Dive In events will include sessions run by Dual, Aon, Marsh, AIG, Wotton + Kearney, Chubb, QBE, Munich Re, the National Insurance Brokers Association, Allianz and WTW. 

The festival has also introduced “reverse mentoring”, in which junior team members are encouraged to share their perspectives with senior figures who will “coach or even challenge” them to “break through communication barriers that form rank, seniority and generational differences”.

Topics include marginalisation, generational perspectives, the future of work, speaking up, welcoming change, social media, sexual orientation, microaggressions and technology. 

Another initiative is “celebrating the unsung heroes” – a program that has sought nominations for managers who foster inclusive cultures. Dive In organisers say it is middle managers who truly inject diversity and inclusion into the heart of corporate cultures.

“Behind the scenes, your manager might be working tirelessly, ensuring every voice is not just heard but valued. Yet their efforts often go unnoticed. By nominating your manager, you have the power to spotlight their dedication and inspire others to follow in their footsteps.” 

Dive In chair Jason Groves says the 10-year anniversary is an opportunity to look ahead to the next decade, and this year’s theme is a “clarion call to ask individuals at all levels of seniority to commit to creating inclusive workplace cultures”.  

Unlocking every individual’s potential to innovate will “enable us to tackle the global challenges the industry is facing and create more resilient businesses”. 

Dive In events were attended by almost 31,000 people last year.

This year, for the first time, events will be hosted in Greece, Belgium, Malaysia, Namibia and the Philippines.

Find out more about the local program here.