Insurers’ workforces should be as diverse as their customer bases, the recent Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) annual forum was told.

The forum’s final session tackled one of the most critical challenges facing the industry: how to attract and retain diverse talent.

“We need to address what prevents people from planning a career in our industry,” ICA CEO Rob Whelan said. “The industry has the capacity to be very flexible and seems to me to be a brilliant place to work, yet we’ve struggled for so long.”

IAG Indigenous Engagement Manager Phil Lockyer believes in getting into the marketplace and presenting insurance companies as employers of choice.

“There are thousands of Aboriginal people who want to work for us – they just don’t know it yet,” he said. “We have to start attracting a more diverse, younger, more agile workforce.”

Mr Lockyer rejects the idea of quotas, but says targets are to be applauded.

“Our target is to have 3% indigenous employees by 2020,” he said. “We are a long way from that, but targets are an excellent thing.

“They show you really are committed and someone is accountable.”

Journalist and commentator Catherine Fox told the forum a gender pay gap remains, but that is the case in other sectors too.

“The debate is now seen as legitimate, but there is still a lot of work to be done,” she said.

“Women are in the sector, but they are clustered in the lower levels. There is no such thing as the glass ceiling – just a thick layer of men.”

Louise Dwyer, EGM Personal Insurance Human Resources at Suncorp, told the panel a long-term people strategy is vital.

“Trying to do things on a short-term basis will always be a struggle,” she said.