Originally published at newsroom.cigna.com by Susan Stith, Cigna Foundation’s VP of diversity, equity and inclusion, civic affairs and corporate responsibility. Cigna ranked No. 33 on The Fair360, formerly DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list in 2021.
As Cigna continues its work in the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) space, we have a lot to be proud of – standing up our DEI Council, launching required unconscious bias training, leveraging the Cigna Foundation to provide grants to help eliminate barriers to health and improve access to care, and more. But we also know there is always more to be done.
To that end, we’re excited to share our first annual Diversity Scorecard Report, which focuses on our DEI work across three critical areas – colleagues, clinical, and communities. In June 2020, Cigna launched its Building Equity and Equality Program, a five-year initiative to expand and accelerate our efforts to support diversity, inclusion, equality and equity for communities of color. As part of that program, we committed to issuing an annual Diversity Scorecard, underscoring our commitment to our ongoing and transparent work in this important area.
In each section of the scorecard, we include a summary of our progress to date, using key data and metrics, and also provide a roadmap for where we hope to make additional progress going forward. This approach will not only help keep us accountable but share our progress externally with key stakeholders and partners. Knowing where we’re going and tracking progress along the way is a key step on the path toward delivering real, sustainable change. Here’s where we are:
- We’ve made meaningful progress on the issue of pay fairness, with a strong focus on competitive wages, driving fair pay decisions and educating employees about our pay practices. While there is still more work to do, we are proud of the steps we’ve taken to advance our commitment to fair, competitive and transparent pay practices.
- Our 2020 pay equity analysis showed that in the United States, female employees earn 99.9 cents for every dollar earned versus similarly situated male employees. Ethnic minority employees earn 99.7 cents for every dollar earned versus similarly situated white employees.
- We are continuing to improve ethnic minority representation and gender equity in our leadership pipeline through strong succession planning, leadership development programs such as our Advancing Talent Pathways initiative, leveraging our Employee Resource Groups, and strengthening our talent attraction efforts through partnerships with the Recruiting Alliance Council, Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), and more than 15 diverse recruiting organizations.
- 85% of Cigna employees feel people of all backgrounds can succeed at Cigna, and nearly 80% of employees feel positively about DEI at Cigna.
- We are requiring a diverse (balanced) slate for all senior advisor roles and above –meaning that at least one female and one racial/ethnic minority candidate must be in the slate in order to be presented to the hiring manager. 72% of external requisitions for these roles resulted in a diverse hire.
- We committed to double the number of social determinants of health screenings, assessments, and referrals with at-risk customers, ensuring that those in underserved areas are connected with community organizations that can help address key issues such as employment, education, food security and access, literacy, and more. We also committed to double the number of completed health equity actions year-over-year – such as delivering a COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy campaign aimed at reducing disparities in vulnerable populations and launching a Preterm Birth Pilot to reduce disparities among African American and Hispanic women and infants. As of September 2021, we are on track to meet both of these goals.
- We’re on track to meet our commitment to achieve $1 billion in diverse spending by 2025, ensuring that the businesses with which we work are representative of the communities we serve.
So where do we go from here?
- We will continue to work to improve our ethnic minority representation and reach gender parity in our leadership pipeline by working with diverse recruiting partners, institutions, and expanding the inclusion of diverse succession candidates in our leadership pipeline.
- We will collaborate with providers to integrate health equity and SDoH into value-based reimbursement models.
- We will address the root causes of health disparities through innovative and measurable interventions that are impactful and scalable.
- We will continue to work with diverse suppliers across the enterprise through our Diverse Supplier Mentor Protégé program.
As we often say, true commitment and progress on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion must be comprehensive, sustained, and reflective. With more to be done, we aren’t resting on our laurels. We are continually challenging ourselves to lead differently, act inclusively and support and enhance a culture in which everyone is able to thrive and grow.
