This report sets out our 2023 Gender Pay Gap reporting information for McGill and Partners UK. 2023 marked our fourth full year of trading and we have continued to build the business at pace, in accordance with our core principles of the Contract of Trust and being intentionally inclusive.
We are mindful of our Gender Pay Gap and that we need to continually work towards having greater female presence in senior roles within our firm. As mentioned in our report we will do this through recruitment, career progression and development.
We have set out to be intentionally inclusive, whether that’s in life experience, background, race, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or neurodiversity and are proud of the work we are doing in this space.
Recognising that sameness breeds sameness and that there is strength in breadth, we are committed to having a diverse and engaged workforce.
This report sets out our 2022 Gender Pay Gap reporting information for McGill and Partners UK. 2022 marked our third full year of trading and we have continued to build the business at pace, in accordance with our core principles of the Contract of Trust and being intentionally inclusive.
We are mindful of our Gender Pay Gap and that we need to continually work towards having greater female presence in senior roles within our firm. We are proud to have won the Insurance Insider Honours Award for Diversity and Inclusion in 2022 and are committed to continuing to be Changemakers in 2023.
At McGill and Partners, we are proud of our inclusive culture and celebrate the unique strengths each of our colleagues bring to both their professional and personal lives.
Over the last year, we have run the McGill and Partners Lived Experience campaign to provide all colleagues with a deeper appreciation of the unique set of challenges some of our colleagues’ face or have faced in their lives. The aim was to increase openness; to drive discussion and continue to build a company based on inclusivity. We recognise that, as a new broker, we have an opportunity to be different by design and ensure that our commitment to diversity and inclusion goes beyond lip service or empty promises. As part of this commitment, we are proud that we have built a culture where colleagues feel comfortable enough to volunteer and to be filmed telling their stories for the entire company to watch. These videos are shortened versions of the full-length videos.
We would like to thank every colleague involved.
They are our Changemakers.
Our Campaign
First Episode: It’s OK not to be OK
Chris Stevenson talks candidly about his personal experience of mental health and the support he has found along the way.
Second Episode: But where are you really from?
Rebecca Mason talks about living with everyday racism and its associated microaggressions. She speaks powerfully about the need for the insurance industry and beyond, to adapt and recognise the importance of a diverse workforce.
Third Episode: Thank God it happened in 2016
Claire Powell talks about her cancer journey and how the culture at McGill and Partners has enabled her to find the right work-life balance post cancer.
Fourth Episode: Creating a long-lasting legacy
Harry Watkins talks about losing his twin brother and how he and his family hope to help others through the Charlie Watkins Foundation.
Fifth Episode: Grief never leaves, it just evolves
Shannan Fort talks about her love for her brother and how his death made her examine everything she thought she knew about grief and how she has learned to live with it. Shannan advocates being authentic at work and how McGill and Partners enables this.
Sixth Episode: Abuse doesn’t need to be physical
A colleague bravely talks about being in a coercive, controlling relationship and the sanctuary that work can bring to people in such relationships.
A year ago we wrote ‘Whilst there are some clear examples of success, overall the (re)insurance industry has failed in its attempt to attract and retain a diverse talent pool at all levels.’ We are pleased to say, since then, we have actively seen positive change at McGill and Partners.
As we develop as a business our core ethos remains unchanged, we believe that a diverse and engaged colleague base brings fresh perspectives that help us to deliver innovative solutions for our clients.
We continue to build a business that attracts and retains the most talented and creative minds in (re)insurance broking industry and beyond, and inclusivity is key to our growth ambitions. We have recruited over 154 new colleagues in the past year alone and are proud to see our colleague base grow and develop; working as one team to deliver to our clients, our partners and one another.
Our diversity statistics
We don’t treat D&I as a tick box exercise, instead we see diversity as core to the growth of our business. To show our commitment we promised to be completely transparent and publicise our diversity statistics. We stand by this.
While they show positive changes, of which we are very proud, we will not stop. We will continue to do more.
This data below is based on our colleague base as at 31st December 2021. As we have done this year, we will update these statistics on an annual basis and look forward to demonstrating significant improvements over the next few years and beyond. We have set clear internal metrics on where we want our diversity mix to be.
1. Gender
2. Ethnicity
3. Sexual Orientation
Our key initiatives
We believe our culture and strengths are what set us apart in the market and what drives our extraordinary talent to join, and to stay with us. Our culture is represented in the initiatives we have implemented to improve diversity and inclusion at McGill and Partners for 2022 and beyond:
1. Flexible working structures
We have established a ‘Contract of Trust’ with all our colleagues which allows us to apply leading-edge practice with regards to maternity/paternity leave as well as fully flexible working hours and holidays without set limits.
2. Executive leadership bonus risk
Our Exec team have agreed to put an element of their individual bonus at risk on an annual basis which will be dependent on the improvement of our annual company diversity stats. This demonstrates that we intend to profoundly improve our stats year-on-year.
3.Being bold in recruitment
We are committed to increasing social mobility within the insurance broking sector and have successfully partnered with a social mobility charity, which has led to our very successful McGill and Partners Apprentice programme. We have also introduced a number of core principles for our recruitment process which focuses on diversity of shortlist.
4. Introduction of Colleague Resource Groups (CRGs)
We have now established 5 Colleague Resource Groups across the firm: Pride at McGill, EDGE (Ethnically Diverse Group of Employees) at McGill, WISE (Women in Search of Equality) at McGill, McGill Minds (Mental Health First Aid Group), and The Collagen Club (Menopause Support). These groups help to foster awareness, respect and inclusion and promote the causes of the diverse groups they represent.
5. Partnering with purpose
We partner with The Steelers, the world’s first gay-inclusive rugby union club and their affiliated club The Vixens, and a social mobility charity, The Brokerage to run our highly successful Apprenticeship programme. As part of our focus on social mobility and digital poverty we engaged with local schools to provide laptops and IT equipment. We are currently engaging with charities to help with the Ukrainian refugee crisis. Every colleague is expected to take personal responsibility and ensure we build a truly diverse and intentionally inclusive business.
If you would like to explore opportunities to work at McGill and Partners, please apply here.
We have set out to be intentionally inclusive, whether that’s in life experience, background, race, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or neurodiversity and are proud of the work we are doing in this space.
Recognising that sameness breeds sameness and that there is strength in breadth, we are committed to having a diverse and engaged workforce
This report details our 2021 Gender Pay Gap at McGill and Partners Limited. The Gender Pay gap reflects the fact that we are a new business in a sector that has historically not been known for its diversity. We have recruited market leading talent, and this has set us up for success. We are very proud of what we have achieved, however, as we build out our business, we need to ensure that we continually invest in talent that is diverse in order to maximise the potential of the firm.
The insurance industry hasn’t always been recognised for having a diverse and inclusive workforce, especially when it comes to members of the LGBTQ+ community.
As a new broker, set to do things differently, McGill and Partners want to be a catalyst for positive change, addressing this issue as a vocal ally in the sector.
We’re creating a safe and inclusive environment and we want all our colleagues to feel confident bringing their whole identity to work. The most important asset in our firm is our people and we’re committed to empowering everyone to achieve their full potential, regardless of their sexuality or gender identity.
We’re also joining Link – the LGBTQ+ Insurance Network – on their mission to make the insurance industry the employer of choice for the LGBTQ+ community, highlighting needs and issues and raising money for LGBTQ+ charities. We’re delighted to be sponsoring this year’s Link Insurance Pride 2021.
Celebrating Pride 2021
Diversity is critical for any strong team, and we’re taking every opportunity to be supportive allies of the LGBTQ+ community. To celebrate Pride month, we’re hosting unique events for our clients and colleagues to highlight the invaluable contributions of LGBTQ+ people to society:
Equality in sport: A conversation with Anita Asante
3rd June, 4.30-5.30pm BST
Anita Asante is the former England football defender and 2012 GB Olympian with 71 international caps. Anita is both a sportsperson and seasoned academic, using her voice to advocate for minority groups as an Ambassador for Show Racism the Red Card and Amnesty International UK.
We invited Anita to talk about leadership, the importance of diversity to high performing teams, and challenging perceptions.
LGBTQ+ arts: A conversation with Clare Barlow
June 30th, 4:30-5.30pm BST
Clare Barlow is the curator of the Tate’s acclaimed exhibition: Queer British Art 1861-1967.
Clare will be talking about how the LGBTQ+ community found itself, found each other and fought for their freedoms in the years before decriminalization – despite setbacks, the queer past is ultimately a story of self-discovery, community and liberation.
Whilst there are some clear examples of success, overall the (re)insurance industry has failed in its attempt to attract and retain a diverse talent pool at all levels.
As an entrepreneurial new business, we are determined to change this – not for change’s sake but because we believe that a diverse and engaged colleague base with fresh perspectives is crucial to help us deliver innovative solutions for our clients.
We’re proud to be building a business that attracts and retains the most professional, creative minds in (re)insurance broking and inclusivity is key to our ambition.
No more empty words, let the numbers speak.
Our diversity statistics
Paying lip service to diversity changes nothing – to show our commitment we will be completely transparent and publicise our diversity statistics.
They don’t look good. We intend to do better.
This data is based on our colleague base as at 31st December 2020. We will update these statistics on an annual basis and look forward to demonstrating significant improvements over the next few years and beyond. We have set clear internal metrics on where we want our diversity mix to be.
1. Gender
2. Ethnicity
3. Sexual Orientation
4. Social Mobility
We also looked at social mobility and the social-economic background of our colleagues. Only 5% of our colleagues were entitled to free school meals. Supporting social mobility is one of our firm’s inclusion priorities and we want to attract the best talent, regardless of their background. Our social mobility statistics have helped us shape our approach to the way we recruit. We’re focusing our social mobility efforts on entry level/2nd job roles and we will work hard to ensure future work placements and apprenticeship programmes are totally inclusive.
Our key initiatives
We have introduced a number of initiatives to improve our diversity and inclusion at McGill and Partners for 2021 and beyond:
1. Flexible working structures
We have established a ‘Contract of Trust’ with all our colleagues which allows us to apply leading-edge practice with regards to maternity/paternity leave as well as fully flexible working hours and holidays without set limits.
2. Executive leadership bonus risk
Our Exec team have agreed to put 10% of their individual bonus at risk on an annual basis which will be dependent on the improvement of our annual company diversity stats. This demonstrates that we intend to profoundly improve our stats year-on-year.
3.Being bold in recruitment
We have introduced a number of core frameworks for our recruitment process which include committing to a diverse shortlist for all vacancies as well as mandating a diverse interview ‘panel’ for every role.
4. Introduction of Colleague Resource Groups (CRGs)
We have now established 3 Colleague Resource Groups across the firm: Pride at McGill, EDGE (Ethnically Diverse Group of Employees) at McGill and Women at McGill. These groups will help to foster awareness, respect and inclusion and promote the causes of the diverse groups they represent.
5. Partnering with purpose
We have partnered with The Brokerage to launch our Apprenticeship programme which will begin in Q4 2021. We will continue to partner with other firms to support our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion to bring in diverse talent to McGill and Partners and support the broader community.
We acknowledge we have much more work to do. Every colleague at McGill and Partners is expected to do their part in ensuring we build a truly diverse and inclusive business. Each colleague will take personal responsibility for creating change hire by hire, month by month, increment by increment. We are making inclusivity personal.
If you would like to explore opportunities to work at McGill and Partners, please apply here.
