Diversity, equity and inclusion

Commitments

Great-West Lifeco and IGM Financial, two of our publicly traded operating companies, have formalized their respective commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) through the adoption of board and senior management diversity policies as well as several policies and statements catering to DE&I within their respective workforce.

GBL has also developed a Diversity & Inclusion Policy which supports and facilitates a diverse and inclusive environment that embraces differences and recognizes their benefits. These differences can be notably age, gender, sexual identity and orientation, disability, ethnicity, and cultural and religious background.

In addition, Mackenzie Investments and IG Wealth Management, as well as Canada Life and Wealthsimple, have all signed the BlackNorth Initiative’s pledge, which objective is to combat anti-Black systemic racism in corporate Canada. Furthermore, both IG Wealth Management and Canada Life are signatories of Winnipeg’s Indigenous Accord, committing to acting on one goal each year for three years to help advance a specific Call to Action of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

DE&I Strategy and Targets

Great-West Lifeco is putting in place the building blocks to meet the needs of a diverse and multicultural employee population, reflective of its customers. At the end of 2024, Lifeco had 42% of its management roles filled by women, making the company on track to grow representation of women in management roles to 50% across its business segments by 2030. It is also working to increase representation of underrepresented minorities in management roles to 25% by 2030. At the end of 2024, the company had 23% of management roles filled by underrepresented minorities. 

Canada Life, a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco, continued fostering a culture of belonging and through the support of its executive leaders and the commitment of its employee resource groups, the company is building a culture and workplace that’s inclusive and welcoming, where our employees can be their best version of themselves. Canada Life's strategic support of local and national organizations enable them to connect and create a positive impact with diverse communities. Throughout 2024, the company leveraged relationships with inclusive recruitment organizations and have met prospective employees from diverse communities and welcomed them to the team; the Talent Acquisition team has participated in specialized training sessions focused on embracing and understanding cultural differences during the recruitment process; and invested in their physical spaces by making them more inclusive and accessible. 

IGM Financial aims to embed inclusion into everything they do to ensure that its employees and advisors across Canada feel seen, heard and supported. The company's volunteer, employee-led BRGs were created to help foster an inclusive work environment. Their work is focused on career development, mentoring, networking and business impact. They support six BRGs to advance our inclusion goals (Women, Black, Pan Asian, Pride, diverseABILITIES, Indigenous) and the Green BRG to support our environmental efforts. As of 2024, 20% of IGM employees belonged to their seven BRGs, a percentage that has increased substantially in recent years. 

Mentorship plays a crucial role in fostering inclusive work environments, increasing employee engagement and retention, and facilitating career growth and leadership development. Following a successful inaugural program in 2023, which included 17 pairs of mentors and mentees, IGM's Black BRG and Black Advisory Council launched their second cohort in 2024. IGM also makes a concerted effort to ensure that everyone understands their role in creating a more inclusive workplace. Over 90% of its workforce (more than 3,700 people) has participated in team-based inclusive behaviours workshops since 2020. These sessions continue to be offered to new employees. The company has also taken steps to increase accessibility across its group of companies. After completing an organizational needs assessment, IGM created an Accessibility Action Plan to address areas that required attention and made annual accessibility training mandatory for all employees. They also revamped their Accessible Emergency Response Plan to accommodate a hybrid work model and ensure employee safety and accessibility remain top priorities. Their partner, Disability:IN, helps them advance accessibility processes, policies and knowledge, and they are represented on its global committees.

In 2024, 87% of IGM Financial’s employees – up from 84% in 2023 – and 48% of its IG Wealth Management advisors and associates voluntarily provided diversity information through its Count me in! initiative. The initiative helps direct the company’s inclusion strategies, resources and programs to ensure they are meeting the needs of all advisors and employees and creating an equitable workforce for all. 

In addition, to drive continued progress, IGM Financial has a goal to increase representation of women at all levels of the organization, particularly those from equity-deserving communities. Its targets include no less than 30% women on the Board of Directors, at least 40% women at the assistant vide-president level or above and 35% women at the vice-president level or above. At the end of 2024, women occupied 33% of vice-president level positions or above and 40% of assistant vice-president level positions or above.  Moreover, IGM Financial also has a goal to provide access to meaningful employment opportunities for equity-deserving communities, including targets of having 3.5% Black executive and Board roles by 2025, and 5% Black hiring in the student workforce. At the end of 2024, the company had already exceeded its target of having more than 3.5% Black executive and Board roles (at 3.7%) and had also met its target of 5% Black hiring in its student workforce.