MetLife Australia has retained its status as a Diversity Council Australia (DCA) Inclusive Employer for the 2025–26 period, marking its third consecutive designation under the national inclusion benchmark and making it the only life insurer currently listed among DCA’s recognised organisations. The recognition follows results from the latest Inclusive Employer Index survey, in which the insurer scored above the national benchmark across measures including awareness, engagement, inclusive organisational climate, and inclusive leadership.
DCA’s Inclusive Employer Index is an annual survey administered by participating organisations to their employees. It assesses workplace diversity demographics and experiences of inclusion and exclusion, then compares results against both national workforce data and DCA member benchmarks. To qualify for Inclusive Employer status, organisations must exceed the national benchmark in at least five of six categories: awareness, engagement, inclusive organisational climate, inclusive leadership, inclusive team, and exclusion. The designation is awarded for a two-year period.
MetLife Australia has held the status continuously since 2021, with its latest results again meeting DCA’s criteria across most metrics. CEO Richard Nunn said the recognition reflects the insurer’s people strategy. He noted that employee inclusion underpins customer outcomes and described the designation as validation of a workplace culture focused on acceptance, support, and belonging, adding that inclusion is not only a social priority but a commercial one.
Across the Australian insurance sector, diversity benchmarking and external validation have become increasingly prominent as carriers respond to regulatory focus on governance, culture, and non-financial risk. Participation in independent indices such as DCA’s is often used alongside internal metrics to demonstrate progress, support talent retention, and provide boards with measurable indicators of organisational health. While many insurers publish diversity commitments or targets, fewer submit to externally benchmarked assessments, making recognised designations comparatively scarce.
MetLife’s recent policy changes illustrate how firms are linking inclusion strategies to tangible employment benefits. In April 2024, the insurer introduced up to 10 days of menopause leave, up to five days of fertility leave, and up to four weeks of gender affirmation leave, each supported by structured return-to-work planning. Paid parental leave was also extended from 16 weeks in 2024 to 18 weeks in 2025. The changes followed consultation with the company’s employee-led diversity, equity, and inclusion committee and drew on internal research as well as external insights, including findings from MetLife’s Employee Benefits Trends Study, which identified additional paid leave as a leading driver of engagement.
Chief People and culture officer Alex Sosnov said the index serves both as recognition and as a diagnostic tool, providing data that helps refine benefits design and workplace initiatives. Internally, the new leave categories are positioned as measures to support both physical and mental health by giving employees structured time to manage treatment, symptoms, or recovery, alongside guidance for managers overseeing absences and returns.
The insurer has also expanded partnerships intended to strengthen inclusion capability. It works with Hidden Disabilities to provide training on neurodivergence and non-visible conditions, aimed at improving organisational understanding and informing workplace adjustments. It also collaborates with Pride in Diversity and InsurePride to support LGBTQ+ employees and customers and to contribute to industry-wide initiatives focused on accessibility and equitable outcomes.
For insurers, the DCA index offers granular data on how different employee groups experience workplace culture. It measures inclusion at team, manager, and organisational levels and analyses variations by characteristics such as disability status, caring responsibilities, cultural background, and sexual orientation. It also examines correlations between inclusion and indicators such as team effectiveness, innovation, customer service, job satisfaction, discretionary effort, and turnover intentions. These insights can inform workforce planning, people-risk oversight, and broader talent strategy - areas that regulators and investors increasingly view as material to long-term performance.
