Organizations operating at Lloyd's of London could be ejected if they fail to comply with changes that the insurance marketplace is pushing through to stamp out inequality and harassment, CEO John Neal has said. They could also be called out if they fail to meet new gender diversity targets.
The Lloyd's CEO's comments came as it published its first annual cultural survey, which was first announced in May as part of a series of measures to tackle inappropriate behavior at Lloyd's. The survey found that 8% of the 6,000 respondents had witnessed some form of sexual harassment in the past 12 months, which Neal said was "perhaps the most harrowing statistic" and "a pretty ugly figure."
Speaking at the Dive In Festival, an annual insurance diversity and inclusion event, Neal said that if organizations were "not going to move to the drum beat that we are talking about, then they can't be part of our community — period. I think we should be prepared to take that sanction."
The Lloyd's CEO was responding to a question from panel chair Trevor McDonald, a U.K. broadcast journalist, about how far he would go to ensure the cultural changes he is trying to instill to tackle allegations of sexual harassment and other abuses in the market. Neal said he would go "all the way, at both ends of the spectrum," meaning that Lloyd's would help companies through the changes, but take a hard line against those reluctant to alter their practices.
'Pretty ugly' statistics
Neal noted that the survey's findings went beyond sexual harassment: Across all survey answers, women's accounts of their experiences were more negative than men's, and one in five respondents do not believe people have equal opportunities in the marketplace.
Alongside the survey results, Lloyd's set out a series of actions and goals, including setting gender balance targets for boards, executive committees and their direct reports across the whole of Lloyd's, including the Corporation of Lloyd's and the companies that operate in the market. Results on this measure will be published from the second quarter of 2020.
Neal said progress on the gender balance target would be published on an anonymized basis at first. But he added: "If we don't see the dial move, then we will not shy away from naming the names of those companies that are not making the progress that we expect of them."
No excuses
The Lloyd's CEO also said, "I don't think there is any excuse" for failing to tackle gender equality. He gave the example of Australian mining firm BHP Billiton which, faced with calls from the government to tackle gender balance, started hiring nurses as mine operators, having determined a match in skill sets.
"If a miner can adjust and make gender equality a priority, then frankly anybody can adjust for equality and inclusion," Neal said.
Neal acknowledged that progress had been made both in recent years and in the six months since allegations of alcohol-fueled sexual misconduct at Lloyd's were published by Bloomberg News. But, noting the culture survey responses, he said: "What's really clear is that we have to go much harder than we have to date."
Lloyd's progress on changing its culture is also likely to be of keen interest to regulators. Speaking on the same panel as Neal at the Dive In Festival, Andrew Bailey, CEO of the Financial Conduct Authority, one of the U.K.'s two financial regulators, said he strongly supports the steps Lloyd's is taking and that "as a regulator we will be following it very closely."
