Diversity equity and inclusion

Our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion mission statement:
“In order to remain a competitive and high performing firm, Insight aims to move towards an employee profile that reflects the environments in which we operate while maintaining our culture of inclusion that maximises the talent of all our colleagues.”

How Insight’s culture is unique

Insight is a place where everyone is encouraged to share their views. We think differently and want to challenge the status quo to ensure we do the best job for our clients.

Diversity, equity and inclusion are strategic priorities at Insight. We believe that having a workforce that reflects the broader society in which we operate enhances the way we think, adds significant value to decision making and is the right thing to do. No gender, ethnicity, or other social group has a monopoly on good ideas and talent. When recruiting we cast the net wide to attract the very best people from the broadest demographics and backgrounds possible. Hiring diverse talent into our inclusive and collaborative culture enables us to achieve a significant competitive advantage through our people.

To further enhance our approach to diversity, in 2021, we established a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. Reporting to Insight’s Executive Management Committee and including a diverse array of executives from across the firm, the Committee has developed an ambitious plan to place Insight at the leading edge of diversity within asset management.

This includes setting ambitious targets to increase the representation of women and ethnic minorities at all levels of our firm. Our overall goal is that in 10 years, the demographics of the regions in which we operate are mirrored in our respective local workforces.

How we encourage colleagues to get involved

Our affinity groups are an important part of our agenda to engage colleagues from across the firm in our diversity and inclusion ambitions. The six that have been established to date focus on particular areas of diversity that we regard as a high priority.  Colleagues are encouraged to join and support one or more of the Groups. 

• Women at Insight – supporting women at every stage of their career by providing opportunities for personal and professional development and raising awareness of the unique issues that female professionals face at different stages of their careers.
• Multigenerational Insight – promoting a non-hierarchical culture where all generations can connect and learn from one another.
• Multicultural Insight – ensuring that our culture is informed and inspired by the mix of people within our broader community.
• Disability Awareness – raising awareness of the challenges faced by employees with seen and unseen disabilities and helping leverage the talent of employees with diverse abilities by building an inclusive and accessible environment.
• Outsight – promoting an environment where LGBT+ people are valued and can unlock their full passion and potential.
• Veterans at Insight – providing a support network for employees who are veterans, reservists or supporters of the military family.

Colleagues in each group work together to represent the interests of that community within Insight, for example in organising events, taking advantage of opportunities that arise from our external partnerships and in providing mentoring and other forms of support. The affinity groups initiative also provides a leadership opportunity for individuals happy to put themselves forward as representatives of their respective groups.

In addition to our affinity groups, all Insight colleagues have access to, and are encouraged to participate in, the employee resource groups (ERGs) operated by our parent, BNY Mellon. As ERG members, employees increase their visibility inside and outside of their respective business units and help ensure our differences contribute to the success of the company.

BNY Mellon sponsors the following ERGs:

• Genedge sharing the knowledge capital, energy and range of talents within its diverse, multigenerational workforce to solve business problems. Learn more
• Heart increasing awareness and education around the needs of people with disabilities. Learn more
• Impact providing a resource for the recruitment, retention, professional development and advancement of multicultural employees. Learn more
• Prism fostering an open and supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and ally employees (LGBTQA). Learn more
• Vetnet a resource for the recruitment, retention, professional development and advancement of military members as they transition to new careers and civilian life. Learn more
• Win promoting a culture of leadership and sponsorship to recognize and support the professional development and advancement of our women. Learn more

How we help promote DEI across asset management

Being an exemplar of DEI involves contributing to making our industry more accessible and representative. We take this role seriously. A key pillar of our DEI programme is to engage with organisations who are playing an important role in leading these improvements. Our parent company BNY Mellon is a member of a number of such organisations and through our partnership with them, we are able to show our commitment to DEI, contribute to bringing about change and learn how we can be better.

Insight is partnered with the Diversity Project – a cross-company initiative championing a more inclusive culture within our industry. The aim of the Diversity Project is to create a truly diverse and inclusive UK investment and savings industry. Insight signed up to work towards the project’s 10 standards and colleagues were invited to volunteer to join associated workstreams focusing on gender, LGBT+, early careers, ethnicity, social mobility, returners, SMART working, disability and mental health.

Women in Finance Charter

BNY Mellon is a signatory of the UK Treasury Women in Finance Charter which Insight embraces. Through this, we are committed to supporting the progression of women into senior roles by focusing on our executive and mid-level pipelines.

30% Club

BNY Mellon is a member of the 30% Club, a campaign established in 2010 to boost the number of women in board seats and executive leadership all over the world. The Club’s goal is to deliver at least 30% female representation on company Boards and Executive Committees. This aspiration informs Insight’s targets for female representation at senior levels of the firm. We additionally participate in the 30% Club’s cross company mentoring scheme where high potential female executives are mentored by senior executives from other firms, and senior executives from Insight mentor high potential women from other organisations. Through this we help strengthen the pipeline of senior women at both Insight and across industry.

LGBT Great

People who identify as LGBT+ can face unique challenges when it comes to being themselves at work.  Alongside BNYM, one of the ways in which Insight supports LGBT+ colleagues is as a member of LGBT Great. We pride ourselves on being inclusive. Our view is that all colleagues should be able to bring their full selves to work and contribute to our high-performance culture, regardless of their identity.

How our approach to recruitment supports our DEI aspirations 

We believe that having a workforce that reflects the broader society in which we operate enhances the way we think, adds significant value to decision making and is the right thing to do. No gender, ethnicity, or other social group has a monopoly on good ideas and talent. When recruiting we cast the net wide to attract the very best people from the broadest demographics and backgrounds possible. Hiring diverse talent into our inclusive and collaborative culture enables us to achieve a significant competitive advantage through our people.

Our recruitment process supports our diversity, equity and inclusion aspirations at every stage.

When working with recruitment agencies and search firms, we stipulate at the outset that we require them to look broadly for talent and provide a diverse slate of candidates for us to consider.

When scoping the role profile for a job, our Recruitment Team work closely with hiring managers to describe the critical skills required for success in terms that do not favour particular demographic groups,

Our interviewers are trained to use structured questions as a way of gathering evidence about a candidate’s competence in areas critical to success in the role. We also provide evaluation tools and frameworks that enable interviewers to objectively evaluate the interview data they collect.

Typically, a number of Insight colleagues will meet 1:1 with candidates to conduct their evaluation. Here again we ensure the interviewer panel is diverse.

Finally, when arriving at a decision, the perspectives of all interviewers are aggregated to form an overall evaluation of the candidates. By using the methodical and robust process we are able to minimise the risk of unconscious bias infecting the selection process.

Our Gender Pay Gap & what we are doing about it

The UK government equalities office has introduced legislation which requires employers with 250 or more UK employees to publish information in respect of their gender pay gap.

The 2022 Gender Pay Gap report can be found here.

Measuring a gender pay gap is not the same as measuring equal pay. The gender pay gap is a measure of the difference between the average earnings of men and women. Equal pay means being paid the same for the same or similar work. Insight conducts ongoing and consistent reviews of pay levels across all comparable roles in the organisation to ensure men and women are paid equally for doing equivalent jobs with similar levels of experience and skill.

Here are some initiatives designed to increase female representation across our business:

Accelerating female representation

• We challenge our recruitment partners to produce balanced shortlists to enable talented female candidates to join us at all levels of our business. This includes sponsoring recruitment events which aim to encourage women into asset management.
• We also encourage a diverse mix of graduates to apply to our rotational programme.

Retaining female talent

• We offer a maternity coaching programme and family friendly policies to encourage and support our employees at all stages of their lives.
• The Women at Insight affinity group supports inclusion and encourages awareness of gender related issues.

Developing female talent

• Insight’s inclusive culture provides every individual with the opportunity to successfully grow their career.
• Insight encourages internal mobility. Roles are advertised internally and opportunities for promotion are reviewed and approved at regular intervals.
• Insight supports professional development and offers a wide range of training activities including a management development programme.
• Our managers are invited to attend inclusive leadership training which focuses on alleviating bias from our culture and fostering an open environment

Flexible working

• Insight offers a hybrid working model to help our people find a better balance between their work and home lives. We believe that this model, which is comprised of three days working from the office and two days working from home, will support our efforts to be an inclusive organisation that can attract and retain diverse talent. In addition, our Insight Extended Remote Working Programme allows our people to work entirely remotely from home or another location for up to two weeks annually. For example, this could be time working from home during school holidays or as an extension to a family trip.

Issues of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are also relevant to Insight’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme. Click here to learn more about our CSR initiatives.