Diversity & Inclusion

Travelers values the unique abilities and talents each individual brings to our organization and recognizes that we benefit in numerous ways from our differences. We benefit from our differences in culture, ethnicity, national origin, race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information and sexual orientation. In that regard, as regularly reinforced by our Chairman and CEO and other senior leaders, diversity and inclusion is a business imperative for us.

As part of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, we aim to:

• Foster an inclusive environment where all employees can reach their full potential.
• Provide learning and development opportunities to advance diverse leaders.
• Employ a diverse workforce to maintain our talent advantage.
• Explore diverse markets today to tap into tomorrow’s opportunities.

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Our Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer leads our diversity and inclusion efforts. We also have a Diversity Council that is chaired by our Chairman and CEO and composed of the 40 members of the company’s Operating Committee. The council directs diversity initiatives such as:

• Raising awareness about the value of a diverse workforce.
• Partnering with business units to drive diversity strategies and goals, develop business unit-specific tactics, report outcomes and celebrate successes.
• Promoting key internal and external diversity programs and determining accountability for recruiting, training, developing and retaining diverse talent.
• Raising awareness about the importance of community outreach and the inclusion of diverse suppliers in our procurement process.

We have three additional working councils that focus more extensively on implementing diversity and inclusion priorities: the Business Heads Working Council, the Diversity Networks Executive Sponsor Working Council and the Field Leadership Working Council.

• The Business Heads Working Council is focused on identifying emerging trends impacting the diversity and inclusion agenda and partners with our Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer to identify, agree upon and implement solutions to mitigate the adverse impacts.
• The Diversity Networks Executive Sponsor Working Council provides strategic direction and coaching to the leaders of our employee-led Diversity Networks.
• The Field Leadership Working Council ensures our diversity and inclusion strategy is successfully executed in our field office locations, where approximately 70% of our employees are based.

This year’s tragic reminders of racial inequity in America have moved us to reaffirm and strengthen our conviction to ensure an equitable and inclusive work environment. We find ourselves in the midst of an opportunity: to listen and learn from each other as we move forward to further strengthen a culture where all our employees feel valued, respected and supported. To that end, in 2020, we partnered with a leading diversity and inclusion consulting firm to facilitate conversations across the company to support us all in our commitment to become better allies. These conversations – conducted through our Diversity Networks – started with our Operating Committee members and Human Resources organization. Additionally, as a means of safeguarding fairness and equity and to ensure that our colleagues have the opportunity to be heard and to feel heard when it comes to decisions impacting their employment, we’ve created a new position – Vice President of Workforce Solutions – to serve as an “equity ambassador” for Travelers employees. The Vice President of Workforce Solutions and his team offer another safe avenue for employees to share candid and real-time feedback about their experiences at Travelers. This team partners with Human Resources and business areas to develop action plans and respond to workplace and culture-related concerns.

In addition to the numerous programs and initiatives we describe in further detail in this section, we have policies that encourage an inclusive culture and protect all employees from workplace harassment and discrimination. We use the results of our employee engagement survey, as well as periodic “pulse” surveys and focus groups, to inform our diversity and inclusion strategy and evaluate our progress. We also use metrics and analytics to measure, evaluate and act upon programs that impact the success of our people, our most important asset.

We collect data – including data aligned with EEO-1 gender and race categories – to evaluate the progress of our diversity and inclusion initiatives. This data includes employee census data regarding women and people of color, promotions, voluntary terminations and employee turnover. Our data demonstrates that we have made significant progress over the past decade. In each of the last 10 years, we have increased the percentage of people of color (as defined by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s EEO-1 race and ethnicity categories for the United States) in our workforce. As of December 31, 2020, women and people of color represent approximately 55% and 25% of our U.S. workforce, respectively. We also continue to make year-over-year progress in promoting women and people of color. In each of the last 10 years, we have increased the percentage of women and people of color in U.S. management-level positions.

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Board Oversight

Our Board of Directors encourages diversity and inclusion within Travelers – including within the Board itself – and oversees our diversity and inclusion efforts. Pursuant to its charter, the Nominating and Governance Committee of the Board meets regularly with senior management, including our Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, to review and discuss our strategies to encourage diversity and inclusion within our company. In addition, the Board receives regular updates from senior management regarding the data we collect and oversees our progress. For information about the diversity of our Board of Directors, see the Governance Practices section of this site.

Starting with our Chairman and CEO, we expect our leaders to actively demonstrate their commitment to diversity and inclusion through their actions. Inclusive Leadership goals are included in all managers’ annual performance objectives. This Inclusive Leadership performance objective drives leader accountability, recognition and reward. On an annual basis, managers are assessed and held accountable for meeting these objectives to reinforce the business relevance of diversity and inclusion and foster a work environment where all employees are included and appreciated. This further helps us attract, retain, engage and develop employees from all cultures and backgrounds.

We provide training, development and cultural events to encourage an inclusive culture among all of our employees, including the company’s leadership. For example, managers and leaders of all levels attend our leadership workshop, where they receive a 360-degree assessment from supervisors, co-workers and direct reports on how successful they are at fostering an inclusive culture within their teams. In addition, in 2020, we updated the content of our “Appreciating Differences” diversity education program and renamed it “Conscious Inclusion and Unconscious Bias,” consistent with its new material and focus. This new two-part program, which all employees are expected to complete, explores biases and their impact in the workplace and how we can influence behaviors. The course also demonstrates how to be more intentionally inclusive in our day-to-day interactions.

We have never tolerated workplace harassment or discrimination in our inclusive environment. To make clear that these behaviors have no place at Travelers, we require harassment awareness training. This training not only covers legal definitions and our company policy but also takes a broader approach that explores ways to ensure a respectful work environment and sustain an “if you see something, say something” culture. To learn more about our overall approach to business conduct, see the Ethics & Values section of this site.

Beyond training, we host an ongoing series of events for all employees designed to encourage a culture that embraces the power of differences, where individuality is honored and diverse perspectives are celebrated, to benefit our employees, customers, agents and communities. Called Diversity Speaks, these events feature guest speakers who share personal stories and provide different experiences and viewpoints. Since 2008, Travelers has hosted 71 Diversity Speaks events. In 2020, our events delved deeper into the many aspects of building inclusion, equity and allyship. Due to COVID-19 limitations, our live events quickly pivoted to virtual engagements. Over the course of the year, there were approximately 24,000 employee views of our nine virtual Diversity Speaks events:

In 2019, our Community Relations and Enterprise Diversity and Inclusion groups partnered to create Art Speaks – an ongoing series of cultural and art experiences followed by discussions in the workplace that help strengthen an inclusive work environment. When art speaks, it can have a powerful impact; this program uses arts experiences – theater, visual arts, dance, film and music – to drive dialogue among employees about diversity and inclusion. For example, Travelers is the National Presenting Sponsor of the Norman Rockwell Museum’s traveling exhibit, titled “Four Freedoms.” The exhibit visited several communities before returning to its home in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in 2020. Through the sponsorship, more than 600 Travelers employees learned about some of Norman Rockwell’s most iconic artwork and other illustrators’ works while discussing social justice, racial equity and women’s rights. For more information on Art Speaks, see our illustrative initiative.

As part of our efforts to foster a fair and equitable workplace, we continue to enhance our diverse talent pipeline. We provide learning and development opportunities, including career planning and mentoring assistance, to help employees with career development and preparation for potential advancement. We regularly monitor diverse representation in these programs. Additionally, we have established deliberate recruiting, retention and development practices that are tailored to deepen diverse talent pools and broaden advancement opportunities. These practices include matching upcoming leaders with mentors within the organization and offering workshops to advance their careers within Travelers. We also use talent acquisition strategies, including sourcing strategies and diverse slate requirements for management-level positions, to help us create a pipeline of diverse candidates. Our diverse slate process requires that we interview at least one qualified, interested female or person of color candidate before an offer is made. In 2020, we made changes to our succession planning and talent management processes to be even more intentional about identifying people of color who may be qualified internal candidates for promotion, as well as to attract others from outside the company.

In 2018, Travelers launched an initiative to help women advance and grow in all phases of their insurance careers. Called SHE Travels® – named to highlight Travelers' support of the positive momentum of women in our business – it is one of many efforts at Travelers to lead the industry in advocating for women in all parts of the insurance industry.

We also sponsor a number of external opportunities to support the professional development of all of our employees, including opportunities specific to nurturing diversity. Conferences attended by Travelers employees include the Hispanic IT Executive Council Summit; the Management Leadership for Tomorrow Career Advancement Program; the Mid-Level Managers’ Symposium; the Out & Equal Workplace Summit; Linkage, Inc.’s Women in Leadership Institute™; the Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit; and the Springboard Disability Matters Conference.

We have numerous initiatives and partner with many college diversity groups and other organizations to cultivate our pipeline of talent.

• Our signature career pipeline program, Travelers EDGE®, provides a unique, holistic approach to education for underrepresented students. Through partnerships with colleges, universities and community-based organizations, Travelers EDGE increases access to higher education and provides students with opportunities to excel, which helps broaden the diverse pool of talent seeking careers at Travelers or in the insurance industry.
• We regularly participate in diversity and inclusion-focused industry forums and career fairs such as the Howard University F.I.R.M. Symposium, the Grace Hopper Celebration and the Out & Equal Workplace Summit.
• The military community is important to Travelers, and we’re proud of our partnerships with organizations that assist veterans in transitioning to civilian life, including Syracuse University Institute for Veterans and Military Families, American Corporate Partners, Hiring our Heroes Military Fellowship Program, the Military Spouse Employment Partnership and AcademyWomen.
• We have a unique partnership with several organizations that provide opportunities for people with disabilities, including Rochester Institute of Technology’s Spectrum Support Program, Viability, Lifeworks, VIA, Disability Matters and Disability:IN.
• We also foster partnerships with and sponsor diverse professional organizations such as the National African American Insurance Association (NAAIA), Young Risk Professionals, Girls Who Code, the Ron Brown Scholar Program, Hartford Youth Scholars, Prospanica, the Grace Hopper Celebration and Dive In.

To learn more about our overall approach to talent development, see the Human Capital Management section of this site.

We have received various awards and recognition for our diversity efforts, including:

• Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality, Human Rights Campaign Foundation, 2016–2020, and scored 100% on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, Human Rights Campaign Foundation, 2016–2020.
• Military Friendly® Company, VIQTORY, 2018–2020.
• Military Friendly® Employer, VIQTORY, 2007–2020.
• Best for Vets, Military Times, 2014–2020.
• Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion, Disability:IN and American Association of People with Disabilities, 2018–2020, and scored 100% on the Disability Equality Index, 2018–2020.
• Disability:IN Connecticut Employer of the Year, 2020.
• America’s Best Employers for Women, Forbes, 2018–2020.
• America’s Best Employers for Diversity, Forbes, 2019–2020.
• Clear Assured Gold Status for Diversity and Inclusion (UK), 2020.
• Employer of the Year, Lifeworks, 2019.
• Top 100 Intern Programs, WayUp, 2017–2020.
• Gamma Iota Sigma Diversity & Inclusion Champion of the Year, 2019.

See our Awards and Recognition page for a full listing.

In 2008, we created Diversity Networks, which are voluntary groups led by employees dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. The networks help foster the retention, development and success of our employees through networking, mentorship and community volunteer opportunities. In addition, these groups are a resource for our business leaders, providing them with important insights and perspectives. Currently, we have eight Diversity Networks; more than 11,000 employees – over a third of our employees – are members of one or more of these Diversity Networks. Consistent with our view that diversity is a business imperative, the results of our recent employee engagement survey show that employees who are members of at least one Diversity Network are more engaged at work than those who are not members.

Each Diversity Network has a sponsor from our executive leadership team, who is responsible for the alignment of that Diversity Network’s vision, mission and objectives with our business goals and strategies. Executive sponsors serve two- to three-year terms as change champions and active advocates for the Diversity Network, making connections to people, resources and support across Travelers.

In addition to our eight Diversity Networks, we have professional business groups, such as Women in Actuarial & Analytics, which has fostered individual development and helped increase the representation of women in actuarial and analytic positions at Travelers for more than 10 years. In addition, EmpowHER+ inspires women in Technology & Operations to achieve their full career potential and drive positive business outcomes for Travelers. The group’s name embodies what the professional group is all about, with the plus sign emphasizing the importance of allies. EmpowHER+ partners with nonprofit organizations to mentor and attract the next generation of talent to Travelers, including Girls Who Code, AnitaB.org and UMass Amherst’s “Hack(H)er413.”

We're Travelers

By doing business with diverse suppliers, Travelers promotes the development of these enterprises, supports the growth of the communities in which we do business and aligns contractor diversity to our workforce and customer base. For these reasons, we remain committed to providing opportunities for qualified businesses owned by people of diverse backgrounds to participate in our bidding and procurement processes.

Our Procurement team tracks both Tier 1 Travelers spend with certified diverse suppliers and Tier 2 spend with diverse suppliers doing business with our prime suppliers, including subcontractors. These diverse suppliers are businesses owned by individuals from historically disadvantaged populations, such as women, racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities and veterans. We also maintain a database of diverse prospective bidders to feed our request for proposal (RFP) processes. In 2020, Travelers attributable spend was over $140 million with our Tier 1 and Tier 2 diverse suppliers. To learn more about the structure and goals of this program, visit the Supplier Diversity page on our corporate website.

Our community programs, such as Travelers Small Business Risk Education (SBRE) and our partnerships with the Minority Business Development Institute (MBDI) and the Metropolitan Economic Development Association (Meda), are also designed to encourage the development of diverse businesses. In 2020, Travelers joined the Ascend Twin Cities initiative as an anchor corporation. The program uses the three-M model – markets, management and money – to provide a tailored approach to drive diverse-owned small business growth and job opportunities within the community.