“Progress Has Not Removed the Need for Visibility”
Lockton’s Louis Stevenson shares how the firm’s Pride network is driving business change
Six months after joining Lockton’s Pride network, chair Louis Stevenson and the team have new plans to influence recruitment, review policies, and build a stronger presence in the market.
Lockton Pride recently encountered an unusual logistical problem: “We had to change rooms because the boardroom didn’t fit us all in!” Stevenson says.
He joined the group in March 2026, taking on the role of group chair shortly after. Having drawn more members to the group from around Lockton’s London business (including Lockton Re and Omnyy), Stevenson has now organised Lockton Pride around two pillars: business change and community engagement.
Changing the business: not just holding events
The group’s first action at the time of writing is to review the business, including examining policies, recruitment, and how they engage with everyone who interacts with Lockton.
“We need a clear picture of where we are as a business to understand where we are great, and where we can improve. Then we can continue to make meaningful change.”
That includes reviewing whether vacancies are promoted through networks such as Link and considering what job descriptions communicate about inclusion. making sure candidates can see that Lockton has an active Pride network in addition to other Associate Resource Groups (ARGs – Lockton’s name for ERGs).
The second pillar is around building community, which can take multiple forms. “Some may just want to go for coffee or need that kind of support,” Louis says.
Lockton Pride intends to act not just as an organiser of LGBTQ-themed events, but also as a community and support group, driving real change.
This closely reflects a wider challenge identified in Link’s recent research. Insurance leaders readily endorse the value of different perspectives, but effective inclusion requires changes to hiring, management, governance and the structure of opportunity, not just positive intent.
Support from the top – and across the organisation
The network has a new partner-level executive sponsor who’s been at Lockton for 25 years. There’s also a DEI steering committee who supports the company’s ARGs, while ARG chairs meet monthly to exchange ideas and identify opportunities to collaborate.
For Lockton Pride, that may include joint activity with Women at Lockton or the company’s cultural network, including possible work around Black Pride.
Stevenson welcomes a shift away from isolated activity towards clearer objectives. “I think about the Pride group as a marketing plan,” he says, reflecting his senior marketing manager mindset. “Lockton Pride’s objective is to ensure that everyone in the business can thrive.”
In other words, he believes it should be clear what the intended impact of each activity should be: awareness, participation, recruitment, policy, employee support, or wider business engagement.
Building a network for everyone who needs it
Stevenson’s commitment to the work is rooted in his own experience of entering insurance.
He was not openly gay when he joined Miller Insurance Services in 2018. But during his first weeks there, visible Pride activity instantly created a safe space, making him feel he could lower his guard.
He now wants someone joining Lockton to see colleagues being authentically themselves at work and think: “Lockton is a place where I can be myself and thrive.” But he also wants Lockton Pride’s audience to extend beyond employees who identify as LGBTQ+.
A manager may want to support a team member but be unsure how to initiate a conversation. A colleague may have a gay niece or a trans child and have questions they are too nervous about asking. Stevenson wants the network to create opportunities for open, well-intentioned conversations.
“It’s fine if you don’t know,” he says. “Lockton Pride is full of wonderful people you can chat to and get advice. Just have an open mind.”
That wider approach also creates room for learning within the LGBTQ+ community itself. No individual understands every identity or experience represented by the initials. A strong network should allow people to ask questions, make good-faith mistakes, and learn from those whose experiences differ from their own.
Reconnecting with the wider insurance community
Lockton Pride also intends to renew its relationship with Link and increase its visibility in the insurance market.
Stevenson sees value in Link’s events, research, market connections and experience of supporting different insurance employers. The relationship could help Lockton avoid operating in isolation.
“Even if it is just bouncing ideas off peers” he says, “Link has worked with so many different businesses, driving positive change, which Lockton Pride can benefit from.”
The immediate task is to convert the committee’s new energy into wider engagement. Stevenson recognises that some people believe Pride networks have already served their purpose because social attitudes have changed.
His answer is that progress “has not removed the need for visibility, that instant safe space.” LGBTQ+ employees may still enter unfamiliar environments and wonder how safe it is to be open.
“I was quickly able to be my authentic self when I joined Lockton because we do have an inclusive culture with fantastic people, but you just never know, so that apprehension is often there. That is why even the smallest signals can be so significant.”
The new group may have outgrown its first meeting room. Its ambition is to ensure that the network’s influence now grows with it.
Read our report:
Diversity & Innovation: Perspectives from insurance industry leaders at Insurtech Insights Europe, 2026
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