Lloyd’s has launched a comprehensive initiative aimed at fostering greater inclusivity and advancement opportunities for Black and ethnically diverse individuals, spanning from educational settings to corporate boardrooms.
Dubbed “Inclusive Futures”, the programme is a direct response to research conducted by Black Beyond Data, an initiative affiliated with Johns Hopkins University.
The research delves into Lloyd’s historical connections to the transatlantic slave trade, presenting a nuanced perspective through an interactive digital exhibit titled “Underwriting Souls.”
The programme, backed by a coalition of Lloyd’s market firms, has been shaped in consultation with Black experts and diverse colleagues across our market in order to deliver meaningful, sustainable change towards a more inclusive marketplace and society.
It includes important interventions from our hiring and development to our investments and charitable giving, spanning the next decade and beyond, to respond to our historical links to the transatlantic slave trade and the legacy impacts still seen today.
Independently funded by the Mellon Foundation, it’s crucial to note that Lloyd’s exercised no editorial influence over the research findings.
Black Beyond Data’s investigation sheds light on Lloyd’s pivotal role in facilitating the transatlantic slave trade and its impact on the economy.
We’re deeply sorry for this period of our history and the enormous suffering caused to individuals and communities both then and today
Bruce Carnegie-Brown, Chairman of Lloyd’s
“We’re resolved to take action by addressing the inequalities still seen and experienced by Black and ethnically diverse individuals: which is why we’ve launched Inclusive Futures, a comprehensive programme of initiatives to help these individuals and communities progress from the classroom to the boardroom”, – Bruce Carnegie-Brown says.
The venerable institution, with a history spanning over three centuries, emerges as a key player in a sophisticated network of financial interests and activities that underpinned these historical practices.
Inclusive Futures includes a series of active interventions covering Lloyd’s recruitment, research, investments, charitable giving and more, spanning the next decade and beyond.
Lloyd’s programme is a starting point, and the proof will be in its impact – but we believe these interventions will make lasting, sustainable change in how the Lloyd’s market looks and feels for generations to come
Mark Lomas, Head of Culture at Lloyd’s
The programme was shaped in consultation with Black experts and ethnically diverse colleagues across the Lloyd’s market to deliver meaningful, sustainable change in building a more inclusive marketplace and society.
