TPR on why D&I should sit at 'heart' of pensions industry

The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) director of communications has shared what could be achieved with the body’s equality, diversity and inclusion (D&I) strategy.

Liz Hickey has also looked forward to 2025 and what the world of work may look like when it comes to equality in the workplace.

Reflecting on novels such as Brave New World or 1984, Hickey shared that they lacked diversity, but were full of “oppression and exclusion”.

With this in mind, she noted that the body wants to be “part of building a fairer, better future, working together with industry to make it a reality”.

While the strategy was published as the UK emerged from the global pandemic, where restrictions were still in place, Hickey said that she told pensions professionals that the TPR would:

• Be a fairer, more diverse and more inclusive employer.
• Influence the reduction of pension inequality within our regulatory remit.
• Promote high standards of equality, diversity and inclusion among our regulated community.

She continued: “We wanted the strategy to be ambitious, significant and inspire change.”

Hickey explained that the pressure of coronavirus highlighted social inequalities. She shared that automatic enrolment was driving positive saving trends, but that there was a growing diversity among pensions savers and the importance of meeting each of their needs.

The 2025 world

Looking forward to the year 2025, Hickey said that TPR will have maintained its strong gender balance at senior leadership level, while also improving on its black and ethnic minority and LGBT+ representation.

“Recruiting practices were changed to ensure more diversity among our non-executive directors,” Hickey said.

“Across TPR, remuneration policies have successfully reduced pay gaps for under-represented groups (such as between white colleagues and those from an ethnic minority background, or relating to other factors such as gender, disability and sexual orientation).”

She added that in 2025, those groups make up 15% of the body’s executive committee and senior leadership team.

Pensions industry thrives

Hickey wrote that in 2025 the pensions industry, alongside TPR, is thriving when it comes to boosting its diverse and inclusivity offering. She stated that this reflects the savers who trust their retirement pots within it.

She added: “Savers benefit from the more robust decision making diverse and inclusive boards bring. More diverse schemes found better ways to communicate with their diverse membership and this has boosted pension engagement.”

Hickey concluded by enthusing the importance of driving a diverse and inclusive pensions industry because it “underpins good governance and decision-making, and therefore sits at the very heart of achieving good outcomes for savers”.