RSA joins iCAN as a Silver Sponsor

RSA insurance, a leading global insurance provider, has joined the Insurance Cultural Awareness Network (iCAN) as a Silver Sponsor, demonstrating its commitment to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). iCAN is the first UK independent network that supports multicultural inclusion and career development across the insurance sector.

As sponsors RSA will benefit from the network’s three key initiatives: iCAN ‘Apply, Inspire and Connect’.

• Through iCAN ‘Apply’, RSA will be able to advertise vacancies to a substantial pool of talent to increase the diversity of its candidacy
• With ’Inspire’, RSA can expand on its internal mentoring and sponsorship programmes, opening the door to mentoring for colleagues from diverse ethnic backgrounds of all levels
• Through ‘Connect’, RSA can take advantage of the wisdom and experience of a vast network of DEI practitioners from across the industry

RSA has an ambition to lead the sector in DEI by 2026 and has been establishing powerful partnerships with not-for-profits and charities like iCAN, EIDA and GAIN to ensure cutting edge best practice and under-represented pools of talent are brought into the organisation.

The company will be encouraging its REACH (Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage) employee resource group to get involved with iCAN initiatives to contribute to the advancement of inclusive practices and create a more equitable environment for everyone.

One of the first initiatives will be to roll out a cultural competency campaign for leaders and colleagues to help increase awareness of unconscious bias and of the need for all colleagues to contribute to an inclusive culture of curiosity and authenticity.

Gemma Jackson, Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at RSA Insurance said:

“It's no secret that insurance needs to do more to attract and retain ethnically diverse talent. There’s been broad consensus on this for some time, yet with all this positive intent, the change of pace requires us to make bolder actions if we want to see results. That’s why we’ve joined iCAN as a Silver Sponsor. The access to a vast pool of talent is unmatched and we’re excited to see our business benefit from an ever-broader range of lived experiences and perspectives.

“At RSA we’re also aware that fostering a truly inclusive environment is a separate discipline- there’s more to be done than simply getting more people from ethnically diverse backgrounds through the door. So, we’re thrilled to be able to benefit from the rich experience and knowledge of its DE&I network and mentoring offering. I’ve been a mentor with iCAN since March 2023 and have first-hand experience of the two-way benefit of mentoring.”

Ajay Mistry, iCAN Co-Founder commented:

“Everyone at iCAN is delighted to be working with RSA throughout 2024 as we continue our ongoing work to promote diversity, equality and inclusion in the insurance industry. RSA is a well-known and hugely trusted organisation, and we are sure this partnership will bring a host of benefits to RSA as well as to our rapidly growing member base.

“Our aim is to promote multicultural inclusion and progression in the insurance sector, so we are particularly looking forward to working more with RSA’s employee resource group REACH and helping to create a more inclusive and equitable environment for everyone.”

ENDS 

Notes to editors

EIDA are the Employer Initiative on Domestic Abuse

GAIN are the Group for Autism, Insurance, Investment and Neurodiversity

About ICAN

iCAN was founded in 2017 by a group of insurance professionals who came together as volunteers to consider some of the challenges facing ethnic minorities and those from outside of the UK working in the insurance industry, progression into senior roles and attracting a diverse talent pool to the sector.

An opportunity arose to work together to face these challenges around multicultural inclusion: a focus on diverse leadership within organisations, the inequalities that exist throughout all job levels and lack of visible role models. By establishing a network, which would allow us to work with colleagues across the industry, we have been able to create partnership opportunities for existing Employee Resource Groups and Champions, provide a platform from which to highlight the importance of multicultural inclusion, and promote concepts such as intersectionality and commonality, all crucial aspects of successful inclusion.

Media enquiries

David Stewart

Email: David.Stewart@uk.rsagroup.com

Tel: +44 (0)7971 182 813