Athene – 2023 Catalysts Honoree
Building Bridges and Breaking Down Barriers
In recent years, Athene has made a significant commitment to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion within the workplace. They’ve done so through three lofty goals.
At the 2023 Catalysts Live event on July 18th, Angela Jackson and Anchit Sharma shared the stage to discuss these goals and the initiatives implemented within the organization to achieve them.
When Athene began its DEI journey, a central question came to mind: What does diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) truly mean?
Angela Jackson, senior vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion at Athene, shared that the organization came up with three goals to address this question and make long-lasting, sustainable changes: (1) deepening education, (2) increasing workforce diversity, and (3) building a culture of inclusion and belonging. To align with these goals, Athene focused their 2023 DEI efforts on building bridges and breaking down barriers.
Goal 1: Deepening Education
The first goal is deepening education — building a common language and understanding of critical issues surrounding DEI. Athene’s CEO signed a pledge to show his commitment to the organization’s goals, and one part of it was making sure the things the company does are sustainable. One result was the introduction of Days of Understanding, which Athene has celebrated for three years. This initiative fosters discussion on the importance of being intentional about inclusion across all Athene locations and business units.
You can learn about your peers, you can learn about their culture, you can learn about their language, and you can learn about their experiences. Then you’re able to break down those barriers and build those bridges.”
Athene also launched a Diversity Day and a Diversity Week, through which the company tries to lean into people’s interests and topics they want to learn more about. She shared that the celebrations increase awareness and encourage participation in employee resource groups (ERGs). ERG participation has increased by 25 percent.
As part of the deepening education goal, Athene introduced workshops about microaggressions and pronouns, too.
Goal 2: Increase Workforce Diversity
The organization’s second DEI goal is to increase the diversity of its workforce. Jackson explained that this is about attracting talent from diverse backgrounds and reengineering the talent pipeline at all levels.
One new initiative that stems from this is the Aviator Program, through which Athene aims to develop internal talent. This is important, Jackson said, because there are a lot of entry-level employees within the organization.
“Some of these young professionals come to work every day, and they work hard, but they don’t think about the long trajectory,” she shared. “They don’t know where they can go in the organization or the opportunities out there, so we give them peer mentors, we give them communication skills, and we help them cultivate their strong talent and map out a career projection.”
Jackson is excited to continue with the Aviator Program, as it’s a way to truly retain and develop talented employees. The program has also resulted in an annual pay equity analysis and helped increase ethnic minority hiring to 28 percent.
We know there are a couple ways you can grow your workforce: you can purchase it, or you can grow it. We like those seeds that are in the ground. We like to cultivate them, and we like to make sure they feel that it’s a place they can grow.
The organization also recently launched Athene at Work — a “tremendous catalyst for the organization to lean in and launch more opportunities for individuals with disabilities and who are neurodiverse,” said Jackson.
She noted that many people living with disabilities are unemployed, underemployed or completely disregarded.
“We wanted to make a long-lasting change, so we scoured the earth,” Jackson said. “We went from one part of the country to another — from New York to California — and we did our research. We found there was nothing in Iowa that was similar to what other organizations were doing.”
So, Athene partnered with Easterseals Iowa, an organization that provides support services to individuals with disabilities to promote independence and opportunities. Together, they created an opportunity for six individuals to develop their skill sets – everything from communication to technical skills.
The paid training program is hosted at Athene with the goal of transitioning participants to full-time employment at the company upon completion. A vital component of the program is building a peer network, including introducing participants to Athene leadership.
Goal 3: Build a Culture of Inclusion & Belonging
Athene’s third DEI goal focuses on building a culture of inclusion and belonging. One big way they do so is through the Navigator Program, which was created to help develop and retain high-potential talent from underrepresented populations through a structured framework. The program gives participants access to executive leadership, helps them expand their business acumen, enables them to build leadership and collaboration skills, and much more.
Anchit Sharma, director of software quality, is a protege of the Navigator Program and feels it’s a fantastic experience. He especially appreciates the opportunity to speak with senior leadership. Sharma recalled during one of his first conversations with Athene’s CIO, he was asked about what he desires from his career. Sharma jotted down his goals and a 5-year plan and was able to get feedback from the CIO, which he appreciated.
The best part of the program for Sharma, though, is the camaraderie. He explained there are six “proteges” from different backgrounds who all share their experiences and backgrounds and work together to do better.
Overall, I think this program has had a very positive impact on my career, as well as my personal life
Sharma concluded the presentation with a forward-thinking message on new technology initiatives, sharing Athene’s exciting new effort to enhance its cloud posture. Cloud Innovate is Athene’s tagline for the movement to and use of cloud innovating technology. Sharma explained the objective is to provide direction to allow the organization to be agile and support its dynamic business needs.
“Cloud impacts all of us — from streaming videos on Netflix to uploading photos from a phone,” Sharma said. “As technologists, we need to continue to evolve and learn in the world of cloud computing.”