The boss of Lloyd’s of London has vowed to reform its culture after “ugly, stark and unacceptable” results of a survey revealed nearly one in 10 of its workers have witnessed sexual harassment in the past year.
Chief executive John Neal said the findings of the poll of more than 6,000 staff across the 333-year-old insurance market was far worse than expected, and laid bare the scale of the toxic culture that has “for too long gone unspoken”.
The damning report found 8 per cent - nearly 500 people – had seen some form of sexual harassment in the past 12 months, and 22 per cent said they had seen people in their organisation turn a blind eye to inappropriate behaviour.
The survey, which is the largest of its kind by Lloyd’s, also discovered that nearly a quarter – 24 per cent – have seen excessive drinking of alcohol in the market in the past year.
And of those questioned, one in five do not feel staff have equal opportunities, with Lloyd’s admitting that for every question, women’s answers reflected a more negative experience than men’s.
Speaking to the PA news agency, Mr Neal said: “The results are ugly. They are stark. They are unacceptable.”
He said there were “no easy answers”, but hoped the findings would mark a turning point for the organisation.
“By being very transparent and stark about the way in which we represent the numbers, it will shock people into action,” he said.
The survey, which was independently conducted by the Banking Standards Board, comes after the group was rocked earlier this year by reports of a pervasive culture of sexual harassment.
Mr Neal added: “The results of this survey have highlighted the urgency with which we must address the negative actions and behaviours that have for too long gone unspoken and with impunity.
“Although the change we need to see will take time, I know that the vast majority of people in our market are as committed as I am to taking action.”
It has set out a series of long-term measures to tackle inappropriate behaviour, which build on its five-point action plan drawn up in March.