Embracing Equality: Covéa's Journey towards a Diverse and Inclusive Culture
Authored by Lisa Meigh, People Director, Covéa Insurance (pictured)
At Covéa, equality is the cornerstone of our approach to Diversity, Equality & Inclusivity (DE&I). Our efforts to surpass gender targets, promote intersectionality, and create policies supporting various issues are putting us in a position to make a real difference. Let’s delve into our journey towards fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion.
Our highlights:
A Culture of Action: We launched extensive initiatives to address gender balance, intersectionality challenges, and recalibrated policies to promote equality of opportunity.
Embracing Individuality: Our diversity strategy centres on creating an inclusive environment where people feel confident to be their authentic selves. We support our people through key life events, gender transitioning, and menopause through safe spaces and open conversations.
Breaking the Menopause Taboo: Recognising the impact of menopause on women’s careers, we have supported this by raising awareness, allowing open conversation and putting in policies where people can be correctly supported. Our aim is to break the taboo surrounding menopause in the workplace.
Equity and Power: We are committed to growing the number of women in leadership roles. We have a passionate “gender balance” community group and embrace a holistic approach to achieve equitable power within the organisation.
Shifting Cultural Mindset: We initiated a cultural mind-shift by making diversity and inclusion a priority. Encouraging participation in internal community groups, volunteering for causes, and facilitating conversations around diversity and intersectionality.
Building Trust and Disclosure: We have designed internal campaigns to foster trust and increase disclosure rates about ethnicity, sexuality, religion, and more. This circle of trust informs future policies and support.
Promoting Transitions and Support: We established menopause cafés, providing safe spaces and allies for women to manage their symptoms and thrive at work. We also implemented transitioning policies to support trans and non-binary employees.
Achieving Results: Our efforts have yielded significant results, including increased disclosure rates, a higher percentage of female appointments and promotions into leadership roles with the Level 5 Women in Leadership apprenticeship, improved gender balance pay gap, and a diverse Executive Committee.
Flexible Work and Care: We recognise the importance of flexibility for caring responsibilities, navigating menopausal symptoms, and accommodating diverse lifestyles.
Creating Safe Spaces: We actively facilitate solutions and policies to address harassment, bullying, domestic abuse, baby loss, and menopause. We provide dedicated Employee Assistance Helplines and partner with organisations to support our people and customers.
Leadership Commitment: We firmly believe that achieving gender equality and intersectional equalities requires embedding inclusive practices, policies, and behaviours throughout the organisation. Our leadership is fully committed to this approach.
Our journey towards a diverse and inclusive culture is a testament to our unwavering commitment to equality. By fostering a culture of action, embracing individuality, and implementing comprehensive initiatives, we are achieving results in representation and support for our workforce.
Our dedication to creating safe spaces, promoting conversations, and challenging taboos sets us apart as a leading advocate for DE&I and our continuous efforts ensure that equality is a living, breathing reality in our organisation.
In the end, it’s about recognising that diversity strengthens teams, nurtures innovation, and ultimately leads to a more successful and inclusive workplace. Our journey is about striving to create a better and more equitable future for all.
