"Social mobility is the linchpin of shifting the dial on multiple diversity characteristics"
- Steve Collinson, Chief HR Officer at Zurich UK
The first insurer - and one of only a handful of UK companies - to publish the data, Zurich hopes that the initiatives set out will help tackle barriers to career progression for employees from lower socio-economic backgrounds, which make up 23% of its workforce. This number is lower than the average financial services workforce, which comprises 45% from a professional background, 21% intermediate and 34% from a lower socio-economic background, according to the Social Mobility Commission data.
Analysis of Zurich data showed that, across 73% of its over 5000 employees showed a median -4.2% gap between employees from professional and lower-socioeconomic background. In comparison, the mean average pay gap at the insurer is 10.5% between those from professional and lower socio-economic backgrounds.
As well as publishing this data, the firm has set out eight initiatives for social equity - including a social mobility ambassadors' group, skills-based hiring which removes the need for extensive work experience, removing unnecessary qualifications from job requirements, awareness training for managers to help them understand social mobility barriers, and internal upskilling programmes.
Additionally, the firm will work with the Bridge Group/Progress Together data report to contribute towards the largest ever study into socio-economic diversity and progression in financial services, and will donate clothes to Suited & Booted London, which provides interview clothing and support to vulnerable, unemployed or low-income men.
Steve Collinson, Chief HR Officer at Zurich UK said: “Today’s announcement represents a firm commitment from us to understand and implement social equity drivers within our organisation. Sharing these pay gaps, alongside the measures implemented to enable social mobility, is a great way to shine a light on what is currently the best kept secret in DEI; social mobility is the linchpin of shifting the dial on multiple diversity characteristics.
“Whilst 'chipping away’ at the class ceiling is certainly a step in the right direction, smashing it is the ultimate goal. Social mobility is the next step in achieving a truly diverse workplace and I'm proud to say that at Zurich, your socio-economic start in life doesn’t determine your future career.”
Sarah Atkinson, CEO of Social Mobility Foundation said: “It’s great to see companies like Zurich UK taking the lead by voluntarily publishing their socio-economic pay gap and taking steps to ensure that your background doesn’t determine your pay or career progression. We hope this will encourage more employers to act on social mobility, including by taking part in our Social Mobility Employer Index.
“No matter your background, being fairly rewarded for your work is what we all expect. But our research shows that in professional occupations people from working-class backgrounds are paid less than their peers from higher socio-economic backgrounds – effectively working 1 in 8 days for free. This is holding both brilliant people and the UK economy back.
“The upcoming Equality (Race and Disability) Bill plans to make ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting compulsory for all large employers. We’re calling on the government to introduce mandatory socio-economic background reporting at the same time. This small change could make a huge difference to our understanding of the barriers to opportunity, meaning we can then break them down.”
