Guardian has announced its corporate membership with the Group for Autism, Insurance, Investment and Neurodiversity (GAIN), marking its commitment to improve support for neurodivergent people in the financial services sector.
According to GAIN, one in seven people in the UK identifies as neurodivergent. The group highlights a lack of awareness and opportunities, which often results in these individuals struggling to find meaningful, long-term work. GAIN believes inclusive practices can help address talent gaps in the financial services industry.
As a part of the membership, GAIN will assist Guardian in a benchmarking exercise to provide recommendations for making the firm’s facilities, policies and processes more inclusive for neurodivergent employees. Guardian employees are also encouraged to sign up for GAIN membership for access to a broader neurodiverse community and additional support.
“Our decision to partner with GAIN came as a result of some initial conversations with a number of dyslexic members of our team,” said Duncan Mosely, Guardian’s COO. “What this quickly highlighted was that within most businesses there is significant scope for improvement to better support the neurodivergent mind.”
Laurie Edmans CBE, co-chair, GAIN, said, “We’re delighted to welcome Guardian to our growing membership base of forward-thinking companies seeking to improve the employment prospects of neurodivergent people in insurance, investment and related areas of financial services.”
Improvements benefiting neurodivergent individuals may include thoughtful office design, such as the provision of quiet spaces and headphones, as well as support for interviews, onboarding, and performance reviews.
Guardian’s membership of GAIN complements the work of its disability and neurodivergent employee group. This operates alongside two other employee groups focused on diversity and inclusion for LGBTQ+ colleagues and those experiencing menopause, allowing colleagues to bring their whole selves to work.
