Booth: I think that diversity - or rather diversity as a nation’s core value - is one of the most important characteristics of dynamic and winning societies.

At a time when integration in South Africa was blocked by the apartheid regime, I was privileged to lead a company that was representative of the entire nation, not only the white part. We were the largest and most profitable operation in our market and I think that was to no small measure because we attracted talent from all communities. I learnt just how strong diverse teams can become if there are common goals and the will to search for consensus.

Booth: Actually, diversity is nothing new to Allianz, nor, for the most part, to the financial services industry. Allianz is a highly international company so we are not starting out on the diversity path from zero, we are already well along the way. But the important point is that being international and being diverse are two different things.

Booth: We live in a world that is constantly changing. People are migrating within the global village like never before and multi-cultural societies are the norm these days. This has opened up opportunities to acquire new customers, colleagues, and shareholders.

And many examples show that there is a clear link between diversity and performance. Apart from being a valuable thing in itself, reflecting all groups in society is key to being a successful company. For us, this is the essence of diversity.

Booth: Basically, diversity is about all groups that are underrepresented, and about those who have been there all the time but whose potential still needs to be tapped: Logic tells you, for instance, that if more than 50 percent of your customers are women, it makes sense to check their point of view. The same applies to other customer groups, such as, for example, gay people or the disabled.

So the question for me is to say, let’s take a reality check of where we are right now and where do we want to be. The company must be representative of its clients and the communities it is responsible to.

Booth: In several markets, we offer Sharia products for Muslims. We also have special assistance products for the older generation, for example in Germany. In the US, Allianz Life is marketing specifically to Hispanic, Asian, and African American customers.

Booth: If you take entries into the workforce, the gender split is about 50:50. On the other end of the hierarchy, which of course has fewer people, there are not so many women. And this also varies country by country. What we have to find out is whether there are issues that retard progress. There is no one saying we rather want men in senior positions, it is often just practical issues and if you solve them that should make a difference.

Booth: In general, I don’t think we need to change our culture as much as nurture and encourage what we already have. There isn’t anyone saying that the promotion of diversity is a bad idea. The support for diversity has been very positive from the outset.

What we’d like to do now is give a further impulse to what’s already happening. It's important to source people from 100 percent of the talent pool, but it’s also about retention and tapping into the resources we already have. And it’s also about fighting discrimination and stereotypes, where they exist. We should remind ourselves from time to time that everybody is a minority somewhere.

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