Manulife makes $3.5 million investment in diversity, equity and inclusion

Two-year plan focuses on employment opportunities, training and community support

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TORONTO, June 25, 2020 /CNW/ - Manulife and John Hancock are investing more than $3.5 million over the next two years to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace and the communities we serve. The goals of these focused investments are three-fold: to increase the representation of diverse talent at all levels in the organization; create greater inclusion across the company through enhanced training; and to support organizations helping Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) communities.

"We recognize that driving change means taking action, which is why we are making these important investments in building greater diversity on our team, and a deeper awareness of the role we can all play in being an ally and supporter of inclusion," said Manulife President and CEO Roy Gori. "Through candid discussions with our team, we've developed this plan based on their feedback, focusing on areas they see as the most critical levers to helping us create long-lasting change."

This comprehensive program covers three pillars of initiatives: 

1.  Building representation of BIPOC professionals through graduate programs, focused leadership recruitment efforts and accelerated mid-career development.

• Focused recruitment efforts from diverse post-secondary schools across North America.
• Partnerships with Career Edge in Canada and the MLK Scholars Program in the U.S. to hire youth.
• Accelerated development program for high potential mid-career BIPOC leaders.
• Diverse leadership hiring goals through focused recruitment.

2.  Programs designed to educate and train all employees that go beyond our mandatory unconscious bias training. This will encompass regular listening forums to foster conversations that will enable building a greater understanding of inclusion and connection across our global team, allyship training and targeted training for all managers on leading inclusively.

3.  Supporting communities through donations and volunteerism focused on financial education and career mentorship.

• Organizations that will be initially supported include: NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Equal Justice Initiative, ICON Talent Partners, Canadian Association of Urban Financial Professionals and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation.

Manulife's diversity, equity and inclusion strategy focuses on practices to support employees at many points throughout their careers, such as recruitment, development, career progression, and leadership effectiveness and accountability. In addition to the company's objective of developing a diverse workforce, we are equally focused on fostering an environment where all employees can truly thrive and feel a strong sense of belonging.

Manulife is proud to have been recognized as one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers, one of Canada's Top Employers for Young People, scored 100% on Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index, and named an Outstanding Equal Opportunity Employers Award at the Hong Kong Insurance Awards.

To learn more about Manulife's Sustainability and Community Investment Strategies, visit manulife.com/sustainability.

About Manulife
Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we operate as Manulife across our offices in Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. We provide financial advice, insurance, and wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2019, we had more than 35,000 employees, over 98,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving almost 30 million customers. As of March 31, 2020, we had $1.2 trillion (US$0.8 trillion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made $30.4 billion in payments to our customers. Our principal operations are in Asia, Canada and the United States where we have served customers for more than 155 years. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong.

SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation