I joined Phoenix Group on September 5^th 2022, six days before my 50^th birthday. During my mid-30s to mid-40s I combined working with raising my two children, the eldest of whom was diagnosed as being Autistic and having ADHD in November 2018.

I had moved into DEI in 2013 after a (very) squiggly career covering roles in IT, Operations, Business Process redesign and CEO Office support and have been very privileged to have roles in DEI spanning several insurance companies. However, I would be lying if I said that combining work and responsibilities as a parent and carer allowed much time to consider my mid to longer term career development.

Time to reassess

Fast forward to 2021, with my eldest child settling in well at secondary school (not a given as any parent of a neurodivergent child will tell you) my thoughts turned to my career and what I wanted to do for the next 15 years. I started to look around in the industry I was in, disappointingly I didn’t see many older female role models or roles that I could take as the next step and so I broadened my search.

As I began to look around I found Phoenix Group and a newly created role of Head of DEI Transformation and Programme Management. I knew little of Phoenix or the pensions industry so started to do my research and saw that Phoenix Group was an equal opportunity employer, committed to leading through action.

A perfect role in an age friendly organisation, could it be true?

In 2019, I had interviewed at a large social media company for a DEI lead role and been told quite categorically by the recruiter that I wouldn’t be getting the role as I "didn’t reflect their target audience", a euphuism perhaps for 'too old'?

Thankfully, in 2022 my application to Phoenix was well received, I was offered an interview and had several conversations with an array of women in a similar age bracket to myself, in very senior roles. These examples of female senior leadership, proof points of both gender equity and age diversity, enabled me to see how my career could progress and I wanted the job. 

To my delight, I received an offer of employment in July 2022 and started in September, once the school holidays were over.

Phoenix Group’s commitment to real age equity for its colleagues

Our age inclusion initiatives do not stop with recruitment and career development though. The range of workplace benefits that it offers creates real age equity in the workplace, enabling colleagues to balance a fulfilling career alongside responsibilities at home, and why, people like me, stay at the organisation. These include:

• Phoenix flex: The Phoenix Flex policy looks across all aspects of flexibility; when you work, how you work and where you work. Phoenix Group values people over places and prizes performance over hours spent. They also have dedicated colleague networks for age inclusion, families and carers run by people who really do care.
• 10 days fully paid carers leave per year with the option for further unpaid leave.
• A fully funded care concierge service that supports colleagues navigating the caring journey.
• The possibility for colleagues to take a career break of one month up to one year to allow them to, for example, take time out for caring responsibilities, while remaining employed by Phoenix Group.

Phoenix Group are also one of the front runners in supporting the age inclusion agenda across the insurance and long-term savings industries, as well as wider UK society. As founding signatories of the Centre for Ageing Better’s Age Friendly Employer pledge in 2022 and launch partners of the UK’s first age diversity benchmarking – All Generations Engaged, alongside Aviva in November 2023, Phoenix continues its sustained commitment to not just advocate for ageless employment, but walk the walk as well.

Why does becoming an age inclusive employer matter?

Firstly it’s the right thing to do, but more importantly one in three employees will be over 50 by 2025 and if you aren’t actively welcoming over 50s you will be restricting your talent pipeline, talent that can not only contribute greatly to your organisation as individuals but also help you to grow and develop your future generations of talent.