We aim to foster an inclusive, diverse and equal working environment which supports our values and engages our colleagues, and have established an IDE strategy to achieve this.
At Athora, we seek to foster and promote Inclusion, Diversity and Equality (IDE). We want to create and maintain an environment where employees feel valued, listened to, and treated with respect. We acknowledge that developing a more gender-balanced workforce has been a long-standing challenge for our industry. We also recognise that diversity of many other visible and non-visible characteristics need to be considered in order to progress. This includes but is not limited to nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and professional, social and educational background.
As well as being the right thing to do, we believe that IDE is fundamentally good for our business. We therefore established our IDE Council in 2021, with the mission to:
- Develop and deliver on our IDE vision and strategy;
- Co-ordinate and enable collaboration between colleagues on IDE initiatives across Athora;
- Champion IDE by acting as role models, representatives and advocates with regards to IDE topics; and
- Represent employees across Athora’s regions and functional teams in building a strong IDE culture.
In 2022, the Athora Women’s Inclusion Network (AWIN) was established as Athora’s first Employee Resource Group (ERG). As an employee-led initiative, the network aims to contribute to efforts aimed at addressing gender imbalance in the financial sector and providing a platform for all Athora employees to discuss gender-related issues.
In my view, culture and behaviours make all the difference within a company and its performance. I personally believe in the value in Inclusion, Diversity and Equality, and Athora is dedicated to getting this right. The key is to take steps towards a real positive impact, and that goes beyond just writing a policy on the topic.
