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Link’s Mission

is to make the insurance industry the employer of choice for the LGBTQ+ community.

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We will do this by;

  • Supporting the attraction and development of LGBTQ+ talent into, and within, the insurance industry
  • Engaging and collaborating with market participants, the LGBTQ+ community and diversity networks to drive inclusion and acceptance within the workplace
  • Working cross-industry to support and champion new and innovative products and services for LGBTQ+ customers

Link Up North

Testimonials

History

Achievements

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To get involved or just keep in touch with LGBTQ+ inclusion in the insurance industry sign-up to our mailing list today by filling out the form below.
You can also follow us on social media.

Link’s Achievements

Link engages with insurers, reinsurers, brokers and industry bodies to support firms and the market to become more attractive for LGBTQ+ talent.  Link has supported the establishment of several new LGBTQ+ employee resource groups in the insurance sector and will always offer support and guidance to other firms looking to do the same. Link has been integral to many market initiatives and supports DiveIn – the annual Insurance Diversity & Inclusion Festival, organised by Inclusion@Lloyd’s.

We at Link realise the importance of promoting the insurance industry more widely, and the work that we and others are undertaking to improve D&I. We have raised the profile of LGBTQ+ talent through media coverage in Insurance Day, Post Magazine, Intelligent Insurer, Insurance Insider and other trade press. Our members and committee regularly attend and speak on industry panels about LGBTQ+ topics and wider diversity issues.

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History

Link was formed in summer 2012 with the establishment of a Steering Committee. This was followed by a formal launch of the network in March 2013 with an event at the Chartered Insurance Institute.

Since its launch, Link has gone from strength to strength. Link has run many fantastic events and collaborated with a huge number of firms across the industry. Link’s work was formally recognised in 2019 with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award given to volunteer groups across the UK.

Link has supported the establishment of numerous LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Groups in the insurance sector and has supported the industry on its journey towards making insurance a more attractive sector for all talent, not just LGBTQ+ talent.

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Link Up North

Link Up North was founded in 2014 by Lauren Peel, Lindsay Lerigo and Steven Copsey.

After seeing the amazing work that Link was doing in London, they reached out to Link founder Theresa Farrenson with the question “what are you doing for the LGBTQ+ population outside of London?”

Theresa’s answer: “what are YOU doing for the LGBTQ+ population outside London?” – point taken!

After a successful launch event targeting the professional sector in Leeds and surroundings, the three were invited to join Link’s national steering committee and Link Up North began to form.

Over the last six years Link Up North have had a vital voice in not only the Leeds professional services scene but also within the wider Link strategy. Despite Leeds having one of the biggest insurance centres outside of London, it didn’t quite operate in the same way as the City – so Link Up North actively worked with and welcomed those from the accountancy, banking, legal and telecoms sectors, amongst many others!

Link Up North have been actively involved in Dive In since its inception, with former National Co-Chair Steven Copsey organising and running some of the first Dive In events outside of London.

The team up north has continued to grow and evolve, stretching beyond Leeds to Manchester, Liverpool and York, attracting an incredible group of passionate individuals across the region.

If you’re up north and are interested in working with Link Up North, get in touch at…

Testimonials

We are delighted to have received testimonials and impact statements from some of our members.  
Here are a few examples.

After working within the industry for 28 years, the Link Insurance Network has been a revelation. In an age where diversity is perceived to be given, Link Up North has given me a fresh focus and pride in who I am, enabling me to bring my whole-self to my workplace. The north, especially Leeds, is such an important hub for insurance, second only to London. This is reflected by the strong support for Link Up North and its passionate leadership team. The quality of the presentations and speakers is exemplary and has lead me to challenge my own views. A definite must.

Link events have provided me with unique networking opportunities where I have absolute confidence in sharing details of my personal life outside of work. This has allowed me to practice networking techniques in a safe environment which in turn, has increased my confidence at other (non-LGBTQ+ focussed) networking events.

I made a conscious decision to be ‘out’ at work from day one but at the time, there were no visible LGBTQ+ role models in my company so I still felt uncomfortable talking about my sexuality and the challenges faced by the wider LGBTQ+ community. Link has provided me with role models who have done a fantastic job of raising LGBTQ+ awareness, not only in their own companies but also in the wider insurance market.

Link members have inspired me to raise LGBTQ+ awareness in my own company where I believe I am now a visible LGBTQ+ role model. By representing my company at D&I events and then sharing my experiences on our intranet, I have been contacted by colleagues from across the business who identify as LGBTQ+(or allies) and who either want to be involved with future events or just appreciate having an informal internal network of colleagues for support and advice

Having recently left school to begin my career in insurance, I was anxious about telling my colleagues I was gay and wondered whether there would be anybody else like me in the office. During my first week, my manager (a Link member) mentioned his boyfriend in a conversation we were having amongst the team and this made me realise that it was ok for me to be open and honest with my colleagues about my sexuality.

My manager told me about the Link network and I have since attended one of their monthly networking events. It was great to find out that there were so many people who identify as LGBTQ+ working in the insurance sector and it’s really helped me to quickly build up a network of people I can go to for support and advice. I was pleasantly surprised by how well established the network was and will definitely be taking part in future events.

Join link

To get involved or just keep in touch with LGBTQ+ inclusion in the insurance industry sign-up to our mailing list today by filling out the form below.
You can also follow us on social media.