In the same way that the moment of truth for an insurance policy happens at the point of claim, the moment of truth for any employee wellbeing initiative can only be when it is lived and experienced. In conversation with Insurance Business ahead of the 2024 Dive In Festival, Angela Flaherty (pictured), partner at Clyde & Co, shared highlights from her own diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) journey.
Looking back to when she joined the market and Clyde & Co some 16 years ago, Flaherty noted that specializing in the energy insurance sector meant that she was used to attending meetings and conferences where she was the only woman in the room. It’s both encouraging and inspiring that this is no longer the case, by some margin, she said, but that change hasn’t happened overnight - and it has required deliberate and targeted action from key players across the wider insurance ecosystem.
While the evolution of DE&I initiatives in insurance has been gradual, an individual’s journey is often marked by key milestones, and for Flaherty, these have coincided with Clyde & Co’s commitment to clearly defining its DE&I expectations – and living up to them. “Over the last three years, we’ve seen an acceleration in dedication to our DE&I strategy, which very happily coincided with the timeframe in which I had my son. That was the biggest milestone for me, to really see that work in action.
“I had progressed through my career, from being a trainee when I applied, through various promotions, to becoming a partner and now I was going to see how this was affected by having a child. I think most people reach that stage in life with some uncertainty about how it’s going to play out. And the support I received before, during and after my maternity leave… meant I could put my mind at ease knowing my clients would be looked after while I was away. For me, that’s a clear result of what the firm has achieved in terms of actually practicing DE&I support when it’s needed at the most critical times in somebody’s life and career.”
There’s a myriad of ways in which firms can put DE&I initiatives into action but, for Flaherty, accountability – on a personal, company and industry level – is critical to their success. On an industry level, moving the dial on DE&I is all about collaboration and there are few events that epitomize the capacity for the insurance market to put competition to one side in order to come together to solve industry-wide challenges quite as well as the Dive In Festival.
Scheduled for September 24-26, the 2024 festival is set to host over 130 hybrid events in a record-breaking 48 countries. Since first becoming involved with Dive In as a delegate attending events some eight years ago, Flaherty has watched the festival go from strength to strength and said she is now looking forward to helping it celebrate its 10th anniversary.
The theme for this year’s festival, “A Sustainable Future: The Next 10 Years” is one that will likely resonate with the market, as it reflects how far the industry has come, both in terms of the individual journeys of those who make up the sector, and on a collective level. But it’s also about what’s next, she said.
“It’s about encouraging businesses to view inclusive and diverse cultures, not just as a business requirement but as a pivotal factor in their long-term success,” she said.
“And Dive In serves the whole industry, so it’s important for businesses all across the sector to be looking at this in the same way and saying, ‘Where’s our investment and what is our strategy for the future?’ We are only partway through the journey of DE&I and we need to be asking what the next 10 years look like, while encouraging people to reflect on the last 10 years.”
From her own experience of the festival to date, Flaherty highlighted that “a successful Dive In for me is a successful Dive In for Dive In itself.” As an avid supporter of the event, she’s delighted to see its ambitious objectives for 2024, and deeply confident they’ll be able to deliver on their big, global plans for the upcoming celebrations. Seeing familiar faces at Dive In events is always rewarding, but she also hopes to see the initiative capture a new pool of attendees and imbibe them with the same enthusiasm that keeps her returning.
“I’ll be encouraging as many people from within my team, my clients and across the market to get involved and focus on spending their time and effort to get involved with the festival and contribute to making it a success, because that’s what we’re all working towards,” she said. “As with previous events, it’s all about bringing the whole market together to make a real, meaningful change for the future. It’s not a once-a-year ambition but it’s a once-a-year celebration – and a great chance for us all to reflect on the progress we’ve made and where we want to go next.”
A Sustainable Future: The Next 10 Years - #DiveIn2024
