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<\/p>\n\n After 12 years of Dive In, Aon and WTW inclusion leaders say AI is creating fresh questions around recruitment, bias and talent development\n <\/p>\n
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Dive In\u2019s final festival arrives at a moment when the insurance industry\u2019s inclusion debate is shifting again, with artificial intelligence beginning to reshape how firms recruit, develop and retain talent.<\/p>\n
For major brokers including Aon<\/a> and WTW<\/a>, the challenge is increasingly less about persuading leaders that workplace culture matters and more about ensuring new technology does not undo progress made over the past decade.<\/p>\n Katherine Conway (pictured on the right), head of inclusion at\u00a0Aon, and Jen Denby (pictured on the left), global head of inclusion & diversity at\u00a0WTW, both long-time participants in Dive In, said the industry has changed substantially since the festival began 12 years ago. Conversations that once centred heavily on gender and the basic business case for diversity have widened to include mental health, fertility, menopause, domestic abuse, disability and neurodiversity.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the way we\u2019ve tackled the difficult topics is something that I\u2019ve been really proud of, really opening conversations and opening mindsets to what you can talk about in the workplace and what\u2019s important,\u201d Conway said. “It\u2019s completely different talking to people around this work and its importance than it was 12 years ago.”<\/p>\n Denby said culture is now \u201crecognised as a business priority in its own right, not simply a people initiative that runs on the side.\u201d<\/p>\n Insurance still has a talent perception problem<\/p>\n While both executives acknowledged progress, they said the shift in perspective on diversity and inclusion (DEI) also has direct implications for brokerages competing for talent. Insurance still faces a persistent perception problem among younger workers, even as graduate and apprenticeship programmes have expanded.<\/p>\n \u201cInsurance doesn\u2019t have the visibility with young people that other sectors do,\u201d Denby said. \u201cI\u2019m still surprised when I hear people talk about their journeys and why they joined insurance. So many people stumble into insurance.\u201d<\/p>\n Conway said the industry still \u201cfeels a bit of a secret,\u201d despite the breadth of careers available across insurance and risk management. Aon has sought to reach potential recruits earlier, including through a programme for 16- and 17-year-olds, while the wider sector has placed greater emphasis on apprenticeships and alternative entry routes.<\/p>\n AI puts recruitment processes under scrutiny<\/p>\n