Lloyd’s of London, the world’s oldest insurance market, has revealed that 8 per cent of its workforce – some 480 people – reported having either seen or suffered sexual harassment at work in the past 12 months, a statistic described by the chief executive as “truly terrible”.
The survey of more than 6,000 employees, conducted by the Banking Standards Board, was commissioned by Lloyd’s to uncover the scale of cultural problems within the organisation after allegations that harassment was rife within the firm surfaced earlier this year.
The findings showed that less than half (45 per cent) of respondents would feel comfortable raising a concern about harassment or bullying in the workplace, while 22 per cent said they had seen other people in the organisation turn a bind eye.
In reaction to the findings Lloyd’s has set out a number of measures to tackle the problems within its organisation including a gender balance plan, a new set of business conduct standards and a promotional campaign to encourage staff to speak up about bullying and harassment. The aim is to eradicate the cultural problems at Lloyd’s within the next three to five years, with an immediate target of making significant progress in the next 12 months.
