Recruitment has never been the insurance sector's biggest diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) challenge, according to Ajay Mistry (pictured), co-founder of the Insurance Cultural Awareness Network (iCAN) and founder of Gambit Insurance. The harder question, he argues, is what happens after diverse talent walks through the door.
"It's that whole adage of recruitment gets you into the door, but then what happens afterwards?" Mistry told Insurance Business UK.
"People don't feel like they belong in the company, don't see the role models they want to see, or don't get the opportunities that they want. And if that visibility of progression isn't there, they'll just leave."
Founded nine years ago to support ethnic minorities and international professionals pursuing insurance careers, iCAN has grown to 14,500 members, 70 corporate sponsors and is preparing to expand internationally as it approaches its tenth anniversary. Its jobs board, iCan Apply, now carries more than 1,000 new insurance vacancies each month. Yet for Mistry, the industry's growing focus on recruitment has not always been matched by the same commitment to progression and retention.
"Awareness campaigns are important," Mistry said, pointing to the visibility firms generate around events such as Pride and through annual recognition efforts like the UK insurance industry's Elite Women list, which he says still needs to translate into board-level representation rather than a single moment of profile each year.
"It doesn't necessarily equal impact. I think a real test has always been: is talent being retained? Are we promoting people, are we progressing people into leadership? That's tangible proof, not just a communication issue."
He believes that visibility too often stops at awareness days rather than becoming embedded in leadership and decision-making.
"You'll get firms doing a big thing for Diwali, one day, and that's it. If they're trying to get it right, they've got to reflect it in their leadership and their decision-making."
Mistry drew a parallel with apprenticeship programmes, which he says often experience the same disconnect between successful recruitment and long-term retention.
"But how many [apprentices] stay once they've passed their apprenticeship? Not as many as you'd like, because they don't see everything that makes them feel like they fit afterwards."
For that reason, he believes DEI should sit alongside succession planning and wider business performance rather than being treated as the responsibility of a single individual. Employee resource groups (ERGs), he added, should support that work rather than carry it alone.
Drawing on his experience advising charities and media businesses, Mistry argued that organisations with highly visible public reputations often recognise the commercial value of inclusive cultures more quickly than sectors such as insurance.
"Think about a charity – their whole reputation is based on how they treat people. If they get that wrong, everything flips," he said. "Media is exactly the same. Everything they do is external, whereas insurance is more internal by comparison."
Mistry believes younger professionals are increasingly willing to leave employers whose culture falls short of their public messaging.
"Employer reputation, employer branding is everything now," he said. "If a company gets a bad rap, it spreads so quickly. Firms can't just say they're inclusive – they've got to prove it."
He acknowledged that ongoing consolidation across the UK insurance market can temporarily shift leadership attention elsewhere, pointing to deals such as Aviva's completed acquisition of Direct Line Group and the broker consolidation debate now playing out across the wider market as reasons boards' focus on people issues can understandably dip mid-deal.
"It's not that it's all changing forever," he said. "The focus of the board has to shift because they're going through change, but things settle again. Networks need to keep the visibility up and keep the agenda high, while recognising firms have to be adaptable."
For Mistry, however, the industry's next challenge is already clear. Insurance has become better at attracting diverse talent. The real test is whether it can build workplaces where people want to stay, progress and lead.
