AIA has added another accolade to its growing list of diversity awards, having recently picked up the Supreme Winner title at the 2019 White Camellia Awards.
The award recognises businesses who promote gender equity by supporting the UN’s Empowerment Principles. These are establishing high-level leadership for equality, treating all men and women fairly at work, ensuring everyone’s health, safety and overall wellbeing, promoting education and professional development, implementing enterprise development, promoting equality through community initiatives and publically reporting on progress.
When it comes to promoting diversity within your business, AIA’s chief people and culture officer Brynlea Hunter-Morpeth says the key is that the company sets solid, tangible targets, and has the right processes in place to make them happen.
“As an example, our target was to have women in half of our managerial and above level roles, and we reached that target in 2016,” Hunter-Morpeth explained. “Currently there are six out of 10 females on our executive leadership team, and two of those are Maori women.”
“Equality and women’s empowerment is led from the top, and it is important that our executives and senior leaders are proactive, and are ongoing champions,” she continued.
“We also have a mentoring programme, and our female executives are actively coaching and mentoring others. The principles underpinning recruitment and selection at AIA New Zealand are those of fairness, credibility, equal opportunity and merit-based selection, and we ensure that our advertisements are free from discrimination and align with our Diversity and Inclusion policy.”
Hunter-Morpeth says that in order to hit equal leadership targets, she recommends a 50/50 shortlist for senior positions which are recruited for externally, and says that leaders should ensure their internal talent pool has a mix of female and male successors.
“We are immensely proud of our organisation and all the people in it who are committed to diversity and inclusion,” she concluded.
“It does not just come from one person, it is a team effort to do the right thing in the right way for our people and the community.”
