Legal & General : Supporting LGBT+ diversity

5 Jul 2019

At L&G we're committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels comfortable and confident to be themselves. We're strong supporters of LGBT Great, an initiative aimed at improving LGBT+ diversity in the savings and investment industry.

As part of this, we are participating in their role models projects, which sees people from across the industry committing to become LGBT Great Role Models and Allies.

Today marks the launch of LGBT Great's #50For50 campaign which features Richard Lee, Laura Mason and Helena Morrissey from Legal and General. As well as these three role models, 28 people from across Legal & General have signed up to support the initiative. You can find out more here: www.lgbtgreat.com/50For50

'LGBT Great has achieved so much in such a short amount of time, accelerating the prominence of the LGBTQ+ community across the financial services sector and illustrating just how important collective action is to achieving equal representation. I'm delighted that there will be so many participants from the industry at Pride. The #50for50 campaign is leading the way in ensuring everyone has a voice and we recognise those who are helping us to progress towards the day when we won't need any campaigns - people will be simply valued as human beings'.

Helena Morrissey, Head of Personal investing, Legal & General Investment Management

'There are huge opportunities for companies that embrace diversity, and that businesses should focus on ensuring everyone, regardless of background or identify feels confident to be themselves in the workplace. Allowing people to feel themselves, to be authentic and happy is when you get the best out of people and build a positive culture. This gives both: good business results but also makes work an enjoyable place for people to be - important when we all spend a lot of our waking hours at work!'

Laura Mason. Chief Executive Officer, Legal & General Retirement, Institutional

'I am a strong believer in the importance of diverse teams - one of the most common pitfalls when people recruit is that they have an unconscious bias towards people like themselves. Through the eyes of my three young children, I am very mindful of the potential barriers that could stand in the way of them progressing in life, and unless these barriers are tackled, talented people and great leaders could be stifled to the detriment of their own progression and all those around them.'

Richard Lee, Chief Financial Officer, Legal & General Investment Management

'Diversity is firmly on the agenda. In its broadest sense, this is the right thing to do for our clients, employees, investors and society. We take our role as a role model very seriously, that means individually and collectively leading by example through our own behaviours to build on our inclusive culture, having a respectful environment where people can be themselves and their differences are our strength.'

Michelle Scrimgeour, Chief Executive Officer, Legal & General Investment Management

'I am proud to work for a company - and in an industry - that increasingly recognises that diversity and equality of opportunity for all is both the right thing to do, and makes for a better business. By being a visible LGBT+ ally, I hope I can help everyone see that the industry is an open and welcoming place for them to build their careers.'

Rhodri Mason, Chief of Staff, Legal & General Investment Management

'Legislation and social views in the UK have changed enormously in the last two decades, and we should celebrate the fact that the opportunities for LGBT+ people are greater than they have ever been. Nonetheless, there are still many areas where LGBT+ people may not be able to be themselves at work, and we have to work tirelessly to change this. Why would we not want to live and work in a world where we value and respect everyone?'

Phil Anderson, Chief Operating Officer Legal & General Retirement, Institutional

'Diversity is not just right, it also works by delivering better informed decisions and a better workplace. A workplace that fails to be diverse and inclusive is a failed workplace.'

John Godfrey, Corporate Affairs Director, Legal & General

'Role models and allies are vital to improving diversity. By demonstrating that difference in the workplace is welcome, businesses can create environments where people feel they can be themselves at work. We need to harness different ways of doing things that can create positive commercial benefits, ensure businesses are more relevant and effective to customers, and, crucially, make employees feel more engaged and empowered.'

Emma Hardaker-Jones, Group HR Director, Legal & General

'Every single person is different to the next. We want employees to have the courage to be themselves every day, rather than what they think they should be or what others think they should be. They need to be surrounded by a culture that supports that in everything they do to contribute to the business' success. Cheryl believes that encouraging role models to share their experiences helps to show others that they too can be themselves, and be proud of what they achieve.'

Cheryl Agius, Chief Executive Officer, General Insurance, Legal & General

'The road to LGBT+ equality has been long and is one we are still travelling. However, the scale of the changes which have taken place in recent years, not just to laws but to hearts and minds, has been incredible. I'm proud to work for a company, and in an industry, that has assisted with driving these changes. There is still much to be done to ensure that LGBT+ people can achieve their potential in the workplace but, with maintained focus, I'm optimistic this can be achieved.'

Michael Harrats, Senior Counsel, Legal & General Investment Management

'Bringing together people with different perspectives, backgrounds and experiences helps us fulfil our purpose. Creating an environment where differences are appreciated and leveraged leads to a better understanding of our clients' needs, fuels innovation and better decision making. This is key to our purpose of helping our clients achieve their long term financial goals by making a difference in their lives, our industry and the wider community. This is why Diversity is one of our core values.'

Aaron Meder, Chief Executive Officer of Legal & General Investment Management America

To find out more about this initiative, please visit: https://www.lgbtgreat.com/50For50