At L&G Our vision is to build a workplace where we can all perform at our best, no matter who we are. A core pillar of our D&I strategy is the recruitment and retention of diverse talent. In support of this, in 2023 we set ourselves the following ethnicity goals to be achieved by 2027:

• 17% of workforce to be from ethnic minorities,
• 17% of senior roles to be held by people from ethnic minorities.

We are currently exceeding our full workforce goal and giving increased focus to representation at senior grades. Representation at our most senior level has exceeded this with 25% of our Board being from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

Initial barriers: culture fit versus adding to the culture

Recruiting ethnically diverse talent can be challenging due to several barriers. Unconscious bias can affect decision-making and lead to the exclusion of qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds. There is also a tendency to hire for a “cultural fit” which can favour candidates who are similar to the existing workforce. This is why our ‘How to Hire workshop’ (which focuses on inclusive hiring practices) emphasises the point of hiring candidates who add to the culture, instead of those who simply fit into the culture.
Following an independent review of our hiring practices we have identified several areas of focus. Various process changes were implemented to further reduce the risk of bias during recruitment, and we invested in best practices for recruitment at all grades.

Moving forward: following recommendations with action

To attract early career talent, we implemented several measures, including offering internships and apprenticeships targeted at diverse candidates, partnering with universities and colleges that have diverse students. These measures have increased the diversity of our early career talent pool and helped us build a more inclusive workforce from the ground up, creating a pipeline of diverse talent. Building on these findings, we made further improvements to enhance the inclusiveness of our practices:

• We used a language decoder to ensure our job advertisements were free from exclusive language;
• More detailed reporting and forecasting were embedded to help track progress against diversity goals more proactively;
• Partnering with professional organisations and networks that focus on diverse talent has helped attract and pipeline experienced hires. Examples of these include Black Women in Asset Management and in 2024 we hired 5 refugees through the Welsh Refugee Council;
• Provided training for hiring managers through our How to Hire workshop, to recognise and mitigate unconscious bias;
• Provided Inclusion training for our Talent Acquisition teams and setting diversity targets with accountability for meeting them.

Concluding remarks

Collecting ethnicity data at various recruitment stages has been instrumental in identifying bias and tracking progress. By analysing this data, we can pinpoint the stages that may be impacted by bias and take corrective actions. This allows us to make data-driven decisions to improve our recruitment processes and monitor our progress towards diversity goals.

The Maturity Matrix has been instrumental in our efforts to improve diversity. It has helped us assess our current state, identify areas for improvement, establish clear and measurable diversity goals, and monitor our progress over time. By systematically addressing these areas, we have made significant strides towards creating a more diverse and inclusive workforce, whilst also recognising that there’s still work to do.