Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Driving Innovation and Growth at Ping An

At Ping An, the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are keystones of the organization's culture. For this conglomerate, which spans insurance, banking, investment, healthcare, and eldercare, DEI are drivers of performance and growth. They help foster an environment where innovation thrives. In a world facing challenges such as aging populations, climate change, and technological leaps in artificial intelligence (AI), Ping An's commitment to DEI is critical. The diversity in its workforce enables the company to identify and address a broad spectrum of customer needs, anticipate market shifts, and uphold the highest standards of service quality.

“Ping An truly values diversity. No matter where an individual comes from, we bring together different perspectives and nurture an environment where everyone can grow,” says Michael Guo, Co-CEO of Ping An Group.

The Board of Directors has an internal Board Diversity Policy, which provides guidelines to ensure that the board maintains an optimal balance of skills. That balance -- across corporate management, law, investment, actuarial science, insurance, banking, finance, accounting, technology, and economics – also aims to reflect both domestic and international perspectives. These guidelines are designed to enhance board effectiveness and uphold the highest standards of corporate governance.

In terms of employee demographics, Ping An has achieved gender parity with a 50/50 ratio across the total workforce of nearly 345,000. The company also provides opportunities for all employees to grow and advance their careers through promotion and training opportunities.  Female executives accounted for 42% of the group's senior executives. Women represented 44% of senior managers, and 51% of junior managers.

Talent development enables Ping An to embed DEI in the workplace. Ping An offers a variety of training programs focused on DEI. Courses include: "Why Diverse Teams are Important for Organizational Success", "Women's Growth Series" and "Managing Cross-Cultural Teams". These programs are available through Ping An’s self-developed Zhi Niao App for online learning, and Ping An University for in-person sessions. This ensures every employee has access to learning opportunities for personal and professional growth.

"Our self-developed people assessment tool, 8Q Plus TEL, allows each individual to identify their strengths and areas for improvement," says Mr. Guo. "We also offer job rotation plans, enabling staff to experience different roles within Ping An and stimulate innovation across the company."

Zhang Zhi Chun, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Ping An Group, exemplifies the company's commitment to talent development. During her 25-year tenure at Ping An, she has taken on multiple critical roles within the company. She began her career in the planning and actuarial departments of life insurance before moving to the Group planning department. From December 2017 to December 2022, she successively held the positions of Assistant President, Chief Investment Officer, Person-in-Charge of Finance, and Board Secretary of Ping An P&C. Ms. Zhang became CFO of the Group in 2023, continuing to build on her varied experiences and participation in training programs, such as the Women’s Growth Series. These opportunities enabled her to acquire a broad range of sector-specific knowledge, continuously enhancing her skills and value to the company.

Entrepreneurship is the cornerstone of our spirit at Ping An. We strive to attract talent from diverse backgrounds, focusing on  key attributes, including:

• Professionalism and strong adaptability to learning new things
• Aiming high while starting with grounded steps
• Being principled and inclusive

Ping An’s talent strategy is rooted in the values of integrity and innovation, and ensuring continuous growth of talent within the organization. This growth contributes to sustained business innovation and evolution. Since launching our proprietary technology research, Ping An has been at the vanguard of the technology-driven “integrated finance + healthcare” strategies, continually advancing its approach to meet customer needs with high-quality services. To achieve this, Ping An has sought out professionals from industries outside of financial services to help drive this research and development. Today, we are proud to have over 110,000 tech professionals, including nearly 30,000 developers and more than 3,500 scientists. We lead globally in fintech and digital health tech patent applications, underlining our commitment to innovation.

Dr. Xie Guo Tong, Chief Healthcare Scientist of Ping An Group, joined the company in 2017 after working in IBM Research China's cognitive healthcare department and co-leading IBM's global healthcare strategy. With more than 20 years of experience in AI, especially in its application to healthcare, Dr. Xie has extensive knowledge in the field. “Jumping into the healthcare industry from a pure technology background takes years to understand. Both healthcare and IT are two fast-changing industries. So, I think Ping An is offering a unique opportunity to work with enormous amounts of real-world data and real use cases, and more importantly, users for our technologies,” says Dr. Xie. “I couldn’t have imagined six years ago that we could achieve so much.”

Ping An believes that inclusion in the workplace is imperative, helping our employees to achieve a sense of belonging. By fostering a community experience, the company not only recognize and celebrate everyone's differences, but also deepens collaboration through a shared vision.

In 2022, Ping An launched a new corporate culture program called the "New Value Culture Talk Show", a stand-up comedy competition created by employees. The series aims to inspire employees to creatively express the company's core values and culture across different business contexts, from customer service to agency work and volunteer efforts. The program started at the member companies level, and after several rounds of selection, the final winners will present their performances at the Group level. The program is shared across various internal communication platforms, including email, Ping An TV, the HR app, the internal website, and the company’s WeChat account, among others.

Since its launch, the program has successfully engaged a diverse workforce, with thousands of employees participating across more than 10 member companies. Our employee audience engagement has been significant: the program so far has amassed over 300,000 video views and gained a readership of more than 40,000.

In an ongoing effort to understand and enhance the employees’ workplace experience, Ping An collaborated with Nielsen in 2022 to conduct an Employee Satisfaction and Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey. This survey examined various facets of employment, including job satisfaction, a sense of fulfilment, the likelihood of recommending the company, and overall job perception. The findings were notable: a 95% voluntary participation rate in the survey and an overall employee satisfaction score of 85 out of a possible 100.

To ensure employees’ development, and safeguard their rights, interests and welfare, Ping An has formulated Policy Statement on Employee Rights, which encourages employees to express their opinions through various channels.

As Ping An forges ahead, it is committed to nurturing an inclusive environment where every employee can thrive and contribute to the organization’s business growth through its technology-driven integrated finance and healthcare strategy. Guided by the values of integrity and innovation, this commitment cements Ping An's role as a leader not only in market solutions but also in creating a workplace that values each individual and their unique contributions to the company's dynamic future.