Lloyd’s says its marketplace has made good progress on gender parity, particularly at the Board and Executive level, and it has now committed that one third of all new hires at the Lloyd’s Corporation should come from ethnic minority backgrounds.

A year ago, Lloyd’s launched a “culture dashboard” as a benchmark starting point for progress in areas such as gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and disability.

Currently, representation of ethnic minorities stands at 8% in the marketplace and 22% in the corporation, with leadership at 7%.

“We must be strong in our resolve to address this issue in a meaningful way,” Lloyd’s said. “This should be targeted at all levels of our organisations including our leadership, and not just focused on early careers.”

Collection of ethnicity data will be mandated to accelerate the pace of change as part of the long-term plan to support and develop ethnic minority talent. Lloyd’s says it strives to lead by example and is driving the necessary changes required for a more inclusive future.

“Our drive for continued improvement is essential if the market is to attract, develop and retain talent,” Lloyd’s says.

The 2021 Dashboard showed 16 out of 58 firms surveyed – or 28% – have achieved or exceeded Lloyd’s stated target of 35% female representation in leadership positions by the end of 2023. The Lloyd’s Corporation has reached gender parity at an overall leadership level.

Data was collected from January to March and 47 responses were from managing agents and 11 from brokers.

“There is more to do,” Lloyd’s said. “We are pleased that we have maintained progress on achieving gender balance across the market, yet recognise there is still a long way to go. We need to increase the level of representation amongst direct reports of Executive Committees.”

The need for change was reflected by a large jump in Risk committees and Board meetings making culture a set agenda item.

“We are committed to creating an inclusive culture that attracts the most talented people in the world,” Lloyd’s said.