Highlights of IICF’s Autumn Breakfast Briefing
16th December 2024
IICF runs an ESG Breakfast Briefing series to bring industry leaders together to hear inspirational speakers, network and exchange ideas on specific topics of social impact within the broader theme of ESG. Our collaboration on sight loss was the focus of our latest event on 21st November.
This collaboration, between IICF, insurers and sight loss charities, aims to create career pathways in insurance for people with sight loss while equipping companies with the knowledge and tools to create more inclusive workplaces.
At the event, we heard from guest speakers Monica Smith and Josh Feehan, who inspired attendees with their lived experience and stories of their career journeys. Josh encouraged participants to “have an open mind and give someone an opportunity. You can change someone’s life.”
Recommendations and insights shared during the interactive discussion include:
- The sight-loss community represents tremendous untapped opportunity, with only 1 in 4 visually impaired people in employment, each offering unique skills, different ways of thinking and solving problems and great resilience. It’s time for companies to challenge assumptions about the value people with different abilities can bring to an organisation.
- We should challenge what are often lazy assumptions as to what someone with sight loss can do and what support they might have, many of which are very easily accommodated.
- Technology is important; yet creating an inclusive culture and sense of belonging is often more important and too easily overlooked. One of the biggest barriers to securing and growing in a role is confidence and self-belief rather than sight-loss itself.
- A simple first step for companies is to recruitment practices: How accessible is your website? Do you outline what support is available? Are you openly welcoming to talent of all abilities?
- To reflect words of encouragement from Josh: “Companies can and should make changes – and shouldn’t wait for perfection!”
Josh also recommended the Government’s Access to Work scheme as a resource for companies and introduced Thomas Pocklington Trust’s internship programme, which forms part of our plans to improve accessibility and help people with sight-loss to access and lead successful careers within our industry.
