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IAG New Zealand has become the latest Kiwi insurer to receive the Rainbow Tick, an accreditation that indicates that an organisation is a safe, welcoming and inclusive place for people of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity.
The certification was presented to IAG by Rainbow Tick programme director Michael Stevens, who said that although there is often a lack of understanding around the issues faced by LGBT people in the workplace, IAG has shown “genuine goodwill and a desire to be welcoming.”
“It was fantastic to celebrate the achievement with our colleagues,” IAG people & culture general manager Merran Anderson told Insurance Business. “Diversity, inclusion and belonging are issues which are very close to our heart. A lot of companies aim for diversity, but they tend to focus only on gender; we think we have a responsibility to create a workplace that’s safe and welcoming for everyone.”
Rainbow Tick is a programme which evaluates a company’s LGBT inclusion in five core areas and provides evidence-based recommendations for change, along with resources and support for their implementation. The programme looks at company policy, staff training, external engagement and monitoring - and an organisation is awarded the Rainbow Tick once all the benchmarks have been met.
According to Rainbow Tick, diversity and inclusion training is not about political correctness – it’s about allowing employees to “bring the whole of themselves to work” which increases talent retention and loyalty, and is “directly linked to enhanced performance and strengthened brand reputation.”
“We’ve really enjoyed partnering with Rainbow Tick, and IAG has learned a lot from the partnership,” said Anderson. “We see our certification as the start of a journey to develop our strengths in this space even further, and to ensure that there is no part of our business that could create exclusion. There is a lot of evidence around the business consequences of not being an inclusive employer, but it’s also a moral responsibility in 2018 to do the right thing.”
The Rainbow Tick follow’s IAG’s first entry in Auckland’s pride parade earlier this year under the banner, Together We’re Safer.
Other major companies certified with the Rainbow Tick include ASB, AUT, Coca-Cola and New Zealand Rugby.
