Lloyd’s of London unveiled the results of the culture survey it had launched in March, thought to be the largest ever conducted in the insurance sector, with around 6,000 participants.
Amongst the key findings, 8% of all respondents – 480 people – claimed they had witnessed sexual harassment over the previous 12 months, but less than half (45%) felt comfortable enough to raise a concern. Thirty eight per cent of respondents said they did not know who to report an issue to. Just 41% of those who did raise a concern felt they were taken seriously.

Women were generally more negative than men in their responses, and one in five participants did not believe there was equality between the sexes. One in five respondents, 22%, said they had seen people turn a blind eye to “inappropriate behaviour”.
Almost half of the respondents (40%) felt under excessive pressure to perform at work, almost a quarter (23%) said working at Lloyd’s had a negative impact on their health and wellbeing.

Lloyd’s announced several measures to address these various issues and to make the market “a place where everyone can feel safe, valued and respected”.

A ‘gender balance plan’ will set up targets to improve the representation of women at senior levels. A code of conduct will provide individuals and businesses working at Lloyd’s with clear information about the standards expected of them in terms of respect, integrity and the necessity to speak up. A ‘culture dashboard’ will monitor progress towards indicators of a healthy culture within the market.

An independent advisory group will also be appointed, chaired by Fiona Luck, a Lloyd’s board member and non-executive director responsible for talent and culture.

Lloyd’s CEO John Neal said cultural change “takes time, but we have to accelerate progress and the measures announced today are intended to do just that”.

“The vast majority of people working at Lloyd’s are as committed as I am to taking the action we need to drive measurable results. Creating an inclusive marketplace is a priority for Lloyd’s and crucial to our long-term success,” he added.

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