Leadership and culture
We acknowledge the essential role leadership and culture can play. We are committed to making the following changes::
We will:
- Publish the aggregate demographic data of Council, Management Board, Regulatory Board and Executive Leadership Team members.
- Work with all our member-led communities, committees, boards etc to set baseline expectations and demonstrate whether and how they are meeting DEI considerations and leading practice. We will actively monitor and annually report on progress.
- Place an organisational priority on improving the amount and quality of data we hold on DEI within our membership database and for our employee population. We will publish it against leading practice benchmarks.
- Work with other organisations and professional bodies to support, learn and develop DEI best practices.
Valuing diversity in our leadership and culture
Our philosophy
Our approach to DEI has been developed with a large number of members and employees who are passionate about seeing improvements and better outcomes for our members, our volunteers, our employees, and society at large. The approach we have taken is to build the foundation for action, and then to start building the infrastructure to make this real. Data, insight, target-setting, and transparent progress reporting are the cornerstones of our approach. We have already begun work and we are now building the momentum to gain deeper integration across all of these activities. We will continually assess the progress we are making against the targets we set, ensuring that inclusive behaviours are the ‘day-to-day norm’ for the IFoA and our members. As a result, we will see the spontaneous circulation of success stories and visible positive outcomes for all. Ultimately, the IFoA aspires to be recognised as a leader in DEI, supporting the actuarial profession to become a natural attractor of diverse talent – with society seeing and benefiting from the impact this is having. This strategy applies consistently to our members and employees, and to those we regard as our stakeholders and partners who are helping to develop the profession, wherever their location.
The IFoA has broken ground in diversity in the last ten years, with the first female presidents and the first African president.
And I am very proud to be the first Asian president. Sometimes diversity is an issue of redressing injustice.
But let us be in no doubt, it is also about sustainability of the profession. We have to be diverse in our mindsets, outlook and perspectives – reflecting the communities we serve – and always with a common purpose, only then can we thrive as a profession.
Tan Suee Chieh, IFoA President 2020-21
