Firms operating within the Lloyd’s of London insurance market are making strides to improve workplace diversity and inclusion, but there is still work to be done, according to a study published Tuesday.

Inclusion@Lloyd’s, a steering group for diversity and inclusion strategy, governance and best practice within the Lloyd’s market, surveyed human resources executives from 40 Lloyd’s market organizations to measure how advanced their diversity and inclusions practices are and to identify areas where support was needed.

The study, “Holding up the Mirror,” in which results were anonymized, also sought to identify current barriers to improving diversity and inclusion in the Lloyd’s market.

The study found that 13 of the 40 organizations interviewed currently have an established D&I policy.

A further four respondents said that their organizations have an equal opportunities policy.

Only 15% of respondents said that their business has a diversity council, while 17% said they have at least one employee resource group.

And more than half — 57.5% — said there were external D&I groups to which their employees belong.

More than half — 52.5% — of respondents said their organization had a positive D&I culture, while 37.5% said the D&I culture was improving, 7.5% said their business did not have a positive D&I culture, and 2.5% did not respond.

About a third — 35% — of respondents said their leaders were very engaged in the D&I agenda, while 32.5% said their senior leaders were quite engaged. But a further 32.5% said their senior leaders were hardly engaged with the D&I agenda.

Almost two-thirds — 65% — said their senior leaders “very much” understood the importance of creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace, while 25% said the understanding was “mixed,” 2.5% said it was “not much” understood, and 7.5% responded “not at all.”

Respondents were asked to identify areas in which their organizations’ policies go beyond legal requirements.

Almost half — 19 of 40 — said their companies went beyond legal requirements on parental leave and adoption, 18 said they went beyond on flexible working, six said they went beyond on religious observations, and five said they went beyond on gender reassignment.

On average, 18% of leadership positions are occupied by women, the study found.

About 60% of those surveyed said their business currently captures some D&I data, while about half offer some training and development related to diversity.

But 85% said their companies did not measure inclusion.

More than a quarter — 27.5% — of respondents said they were aware of D&I issues arising in their dealing with clients as a supplier requirement.

Barriers to D&I cited by respondents included the traditional image and outlook of the insurance industry and a continued tendency to recruit from personal networks, among other things.

Respondents were asked to identify ways in which Lloyd’s can help to enhance the diversity agenda.

Ideas cited included: providing resources and case studies; giving presentations; publicizing what Lloyd’s is doing; emphasizing a focus on D&I, not just “women’s issues”; educating business leaders; and updating the image of Lloyd’s to attract younger, more diverse talent.

More than half — 57.5% — of respondents said their organizations planned to increase training on diversity and inclusion, 47.5% said they plan to start capturing demographic data, 42.% said they plan to revise recruitment policies to incorporate diversity and inclusion, 25% said they would carry out role model activity, and 12.5% said they plan to establish employee resource groups.

“In an increasingly complex and competitive global insurance market, Inclusion@Lloyd’s understands that we need to do more as an industry to attract and retain world-class talent in order to adapt and thrive,” Dominic Christian, chair of Inclusion@LLoyd’s and executive chair of Aon Benfield International and CEO of Aon U.K. Ltd., both units of London-based Aon P.L.C., said in the report.

He added that 60 organizations have now signed a Diversity & Inclusion Charter.