Aviva’s Pride network for LGBT staff and allies: Proud, visible and ever-evolving

We’ve been talking to the experts at Aviva about building an inclusive, diverse workplace. For the team behind the insurance giant this is not some optional extra or tick box exercise - it’s an absolute necessity.

They’ve established six global employee resource groups, known as communities, which help make sure everyone can have a fair share of voice. We talked to Marco Corrado about the “Pride” group. It supports employees who identify as LGBT, and those that want to actively support them.

Stonewall-friendly employers

“Aviva was the only insurance company to appear in Stonewall’s top 100 organisations in the Workplace Equality Index in 2018,” Marco explains. “That’s a significant shift from just eleven years ago when a handful of colleagues came together to form Aviva Pride. At that time, they were told it would be ‘too provocative’ to publish details of their network on the company intranet.”

The network did not falter - they were resilient and persistent and persuasive. Today, that network has 1,500 active members of the Aviva Pride Network in the UK and Ireland, with more activists in France and Italy, in Poland and Canada. Alongside these members the group has worked hard to create visibility for allies. There are now 5,000 visible Pride Allies in the business, signing up to wear a rainbow lanyard and do ‘one small thing’ to show their support for LGBT colleagues.

This type of visibility is important. Aviva is also a founding member of Rainbow Laces, the campaign run by LGBT charity Stonewall to promote LGBT inclusion in sport. As part of this commitment, “Aviva wanted to encourage fans to challenge traditional stereotypes, strengthen local communities, and show that we are an inclusive and diverse company. We wanted to show that inclusion and diversity is hardwired into everything we do from the top down,” Marco explains.

Trans persons employment policies

Supporting trans colleagues is also a priority adds Aviva colleague, Joanne Clifton. She comes from a legal background and was touched to discover the challenges that trans people face in the workplace. She’s engaged with senior leaders to put in place supportive, practical support to those she works with. This has become an integral part of the solutions Aviva offers in building a community, and an environment, that everyone can enjoy.

We’re proud to support Aviva’s team in finding talented, ambitious people that are keen to contribute to a healthy, open workplace. Search their latest vacancies here.