09 Jun 2022
Prudential adopts United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles
Supporting these principles demonstrates Prudential’s commitment to promoting diversity and gender equality
London, Hong Kong, 09 June 2022 - Prudential plc (Prudential) has adopted the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs). This underscores the organisation’s commitment to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, and in the markets and communities in which it operates in.
Mark FitzPatrick, Interim Group Chief Executive, signed the WEPs on behalf of Prudential. He said, “We seek to build a culture where diversity of thinking, skills, identity and experience is celebrated, and inclusion assured for our people, customers, and partners. Women’s empowerment is at the heart of this strategy.”
The seven WEPs are:
1. High-Level Corporate Leadership
2. Treat all Women and Men Fairly at Work without Discrimination
3. Employee Health, Well-Being and Safety
4. Education and training for career advancement
5. Enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices
6. Community initiatives and advocacy
7. Measurement and Reporting
Prudential has made progress on each of these principles. Today, women make up close to 60 per cent of its total workforce and 35 per cent are in senior management1. As at May 2022, the representation of women on the Board is 33 per cent.
In 2020, the company formed the Global Diversity & Inclusion Council to empower employees and to create a sense of belonging through respecting and appreciating differences.
Prudential has also updated its policies to ensure expectations around diversity and inclusion are clear.
- Its Discrimination and Harassment Policy reflects the company’s commitment to creating and maintaining a welcoming and supportive culture in which all can thrive.
- Its Diversity and Inclusion Policy sets out how it ensures all employees are treated fairly and feel valued, and together have the diversity in thinking, skill sets, and backgrounds that enriches the organisation.
- Its Recruitment Policy ensures the company is fair in its hiring process and that all decisions are made without bias and with due consideration.
Earlier this year, the company was included in the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index (GEI) for the second year running. The GEI is a modified market capitalisation-weighted index that aims to track the performance of public companies committed to transparency in gender-data reporting.
Nurturing diverse talent
Prudential’s Global Talent Sponsorship Programme is aimed at nurturing diverse talent, particularly women, and matches senior executives as sponsors to select leaders and sponsees who have been identified through its talent review process. In 2022, over 60 per cent of sponsees are women. The company also launched myMentor, a platform to provide mentoring at scale, where employees can register as a mentor and/or search for a mentor across the entire organisation. Employees can also find Certified Mental Health First Aiders to support their mental wellbeing on myMentor.
Deepening belonging through employee connections
PRUCommunities, a platform for employee-led networks was launched in 2021 to provide a safe space for employees to form connections and to strengthen belonging. Through both physical and virtual engagements, employees share interests, and ideas, igniting the changes they would like to see at Prudential.
One of the first PRUCommunities formed was PRU Women Empowered (PRU WE). Its aim is to enrich social capital and intellectual diversity, as well as to help female employees realise their full potential through empowerment. Since the introduction of PRU WE, various initiatives have been organised, including a partnership with the Financial Times Women in Business Asia Forum (WiBAF) and its counterpart in the United Kingdom (WiBF). This partnership provide all employees across the Group an opportunity to attend events such as knowledge exchange workshops, panel discussions and participate in peer-to-peer networking.
View Prudential’s Statement of Support
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Media enquiries:
Tan Ping Ping | Email: tan.ping.ping@prudential.com.sg
Kho Hui-Yi | Email: kho.hui.yi@prudential.com.hk
About Prudential plc
Prudential plc provides life and health insurance and asset management in Asia and Africa. The business helps people get the most out of life, by making healthcare affordable and accessible and by promoting financial inclusion. Prudential protects people’s wealth, helps them grow their assets, and empowers them to save for their goals. The business has more than 18 million life customers and is listed on stock exchanges in London (PRU), Hong Kong (2378), Singapore (K6S) and New York (PUK).
Prudential is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential Financial, Inc. a company whose principal place of business is in the United States of America, nor with The Prudential Assurance Company Limited, a subsidiary of M&G plc, a company incorporated in the United Kingdom.
1 As at 31 December 2021. Prudential plc ESG 2021 report