Our Progress - Year 3
Discover what we have achieved in 2024-2025, the third year of our DEI Strategy.
As part of our ongoing commitment to transparency and accountability, this summary sets out the progress made across the key themes of our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Strategy, covering the third year of activity from February 2024 to January 2025.
This year, we reached the mid-point of our Strategy, conducting a review to ensure that it continues to best serve our members, volunteers, and staff. We have also focused on collaboration, including partnerships with employers and sector bodies, in support of our aim to build a profession that is genuinely inclusive and accessible.
“We are proud of the progress we have made in the last year, including the creation of the Women Actuaries Community, the launch of a new actuarial employability scheme for young people, and the publication of valuable DEI-related research. As we move forward, we will continue to work with and learn from our valued partners, actuarial employers, and our global membership, furthering our collaborative efforts to co-create an inclusive and accessible profession”
Paul Lewis, Chief Executive Officer
Leadership and culture
- Published demographic data for Council, Management Board, Regulatory Board and the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) in the 2023/24 Annual Report, building on the baseline data from the past two reports.
- Continued to work closely with GAIN, Diversity Project, and Progress Together. This past year, we sponsored Progress Together’s inaugural Progress Pioneers Summit event at the London Stock Exchange. We also featured keynote Johnny Timpson, GAIN founder, at the Life Conference with a session on consumer protection and inclusion.
- Heard what diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) means to our members, including the 100 Years of Women Actuaries panel discussion and the Pride Month blog series
DEI at the IFoA
- Published gender pay gap report and third annual DEI ‘colleague survey’. The fourth annual DEI colleague survey has also been completed.
- Rolled out bystander intervention training to employees across the organisation.
- Offered Let’s Talk online discussion sessions for staff on mental health, non-visible disabilities, and psychological safety.
- The IFoA marked National Inclusion Week with a series of staff blogs and a Let’s Talk event.
Entry to the profession
- Successfully launched the Data Driven Futures programme in partnership with the EY Foundation, which offered employability training and hands-on experience with actuarial employers to young people from diverse backgrounds.
- Delivered an actuarial insights day with University of Essex for A-level maths students, Actuarial Careers Showcases at both the Life and GIRO conferences, and another successful Count Me In webinar.
- Led Employer Network sessions on inclusive recruitment and long-term health conditions, staff networks and intersectionality.
Actuarial Work
- After an extensive review of the feedback from the member consultation on the draft guidance to support proposed DEI changes to the Actuaries’ Code, the Regulatory Board reached consensus on the final amendments that will be incorporated into the Code, focusing on the general changes that clarify existing principles and remove any ambiguity. The revised approach will ensure that all members of the profession feel included and protected, while also respecting the full range of perspectives on DEI.
- Delivered the popular Growth Mindset course, and two DEI-focused Professional Skills training resources.
- Produced volunteer training on inclusive and effective volunteering.
Supporting members
- Launched the Women Actuaries Community to provide a dedicated space for members to network and share advice.
- Welcomed the sixth cohort for Actuarial Mentoring Programme (AMP), our global mentoring initiative delivered by Moving Ahead.
Improving DEI in our community
- Published two major papers on pensions - the Gender Pensions Gap 'think' piece and the Pensions Gap working party report.
- Featured research being conducted by the LGBTQ+ Insurance Implications working party in the January/February 2025 issue of the Actuary.
- Worked with Connectr and Pacific Life Re to host an employer roundtable on women in the actuarial profession, considering successful strategies for promoting the attraction and retention of women in actuarial careers.
“The IFoA Foundation supports talented individuals in need of financial support or facing barriers to actuarial careers. By offering scholarships, mentoring, networking and confidence-building opportunities, we help young people into the profession, making it more open, accessible and socially diverse. We are proud to contribute to the IFoA's DEI strategy with positive, practical interventions that raise the profile of actuarial careers amongst school pupils and pave the way for the actuaries of tomorrow, regardless of their background”
Masimba Zata, Chair, IFoA Foundation
“Diversity in research isn’t just about fairness—it’s about better outcomes. When multiple perspectives are represented, we challenge biases, uncover blind spots, and produce insights that are more reflective of the world we seek to understand. As experts in long-term risk management, actuaries are essential in shaping the future of UK retirement provision. The work of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries highlights the general lack of understanding among the wider public and explores how changes in public policy and individual saving habits might help close the gap. Ensuring diverse voices contribute to this research is critical to developing sustainable and equitable solutions for the future.”
Alexandra Miles, Chair of the Pensions Gap Working Party and Senior Solutions Strategy Manager at Legal & General Investment Management
Looking ahead to Year Four
In Year Four, we will focus on a range of key areas, including continuing to align DEI considerations with our policy and research activity. This will include continued work to promote and expand pensions gap research with a valuable DEI lens, as well as identifying where DEI-focused outcomes arise from other working parties and highlighting these insights. We will also work with DEI Champions from Practice Boards to further support collaboration, as well as continuing to support the work of member-led groups such as the Women Actuaries Community.
We will continue to collect and publish relevant data, leveraging insights from the new member survey. We will also continue valuable partnerships with sector bodies and employers, continuing to deliver initiatives such as Data Driven Futures which seek to raise awareness of, and widen access to, the actuarial profession. We will also support employers through roundtable events and Employer Network sessions.
We will communicate our progress and activity through various channels, highlighting a diverse range of member voices and experiences as we celebrate progress and continue our work to build an inclusive and accessible profession, for the benefit of all current and future members, volunteers and employees, wherever they are in the world.
