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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Charter

1.0 Introduction

Lareau Insurance Brokers (hereinafter “Lareau”) aims to provide a healthy, inclusive work environment where everyone can fully thrive. Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Charter (hereinafter “Charter”) is designed to promote Lareau’s stance on diversity, equity, and inclusion (hereinafter “DEI”) to strengthen its commitment to the well-being and care of its team members. The values of kindness and closeness are at the heart of our Charter. Lareau firmly believes that implementing DEI guidelines enriches both the company and its employees. We are committed to being forward-thinking and proactive in addressing the needs of our team members and the various social challenges, in order to remain a socially responsible company.

2.0 Scope

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Charter applies to all team members, consultants, and business partners of the company. The Charter is an integral part of the company’s decision-making process. Additionally, Lareau is committed to collaborating with suppliers and partners who prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion. A supplier and partner management policy has been implemented, taking these aspects into account.

3.0 Definitions

In order to fully understand what DEI entails, it is important to clearly define these terms and outline how we intend to implement them at Lareau.

  • Diversity : It refers to the set of qualities and unique characteristics that each individual possesses. At Lareau, we aim for diversity to be reflected in the variety and differences in all their forms, always with respect and the utmost open-mindedness.
  • Equity: It refers to the principle of fairness, ensuring that individuals, regardless of their identity, are treated equitably. At Lareau, we strive to be impartial and apply the company’s practices and policies with absolute respect for the differences and characteristics of our team members.
  • Inclusion: Inclusion pertains to the community. It involves fostering or creating a culture that promotes equity and accepts, celebrates, and respects the differences among individuals. At Lareau, we aim to foster an environment where all team members feel valued and recognized, while sharing the certainty of being an integral part of the organization.

4.0 Themes

DEI encompasses several themes. These will be highlighted in societal issues or workplace challenges. Thus, the framework is quite broad. To assist in this effort, the company focuses on the themes mentioned below. Since DEI is everyone’s responsibility, all team members must respect the differences among individuals, which includes, but is not limited to:

  • Race
  • Religion
  • Age
  • Color
  • Gender
  • Gender identity or expression
  • National origin
  • Language
  • Pregnancy
  • Sexual orientation
  • Marital status
  • Social status
  • Disability (including accommodations for the disability)
  • Body image
  • Different personalities

5.0 Our DEI Pillars

5.1 Company Documentation

For several years, Lareau has ensured the use of inclusive writing, also known as gender-neutral writing, across all its documents. Utilizing this style of writing helps avoid any signs of gender-based discrimination. Therefore, Lareau ensures that its policies, procedures, internal and external presentations, and all external documentation utilize gender-neutral writing. The company aims to ensure that all individuals affected by its documentation feel addressed, regardless of the gender they identify with. Lareau is fortunate to have a multilingual team. To enable all team members to fully understand Lareau’s documentation, the company is committed to providing documentation in both French and English by the end of its action plan in 2025. Until now, the company’s procedures and policies were available only in French. With Lareau’s growth and the establishment of a predominantly English-speaking IT team, the need to offer policies and procedures in English has become essential. By providing documentation in both languages, the company will meet the demands of team members and enable them to better understand the company’s operations. This translation initiative also applies to our presence on various social networks. It allows and will continue to allow us to better reach our current and future clients, as well as our future colleagues. By being present on social media in both French and English, we position Lareau as a company open to diverse cultures while ensuring we meet our obligations regarding the languages in which we offer insurance services.

5.2 Internal Awareness

To create a healthy and inclusive environment where team members can be themselves, Lareau must develop knowledges of the team about DEI. To enhance openness toward others and understanding of differences, it is essential to raise awareness and educate all team members on various DEI topics. The goal is not to take a position on these issues but rather to learn more about them. This process of awareness and openness should begin as soon as a new team member is welcomed by implementing training during the onboarding process. Various initiatives will be put in place to ensure that new team members, as well as current members, feel comfortable and can be themselves at work without fear of judgment from others. Articles will also be published in the Lareaubase to raise awareness among the team. We believe that individual differences are an asset to the company, and it is important to share this wealth with our colleagues, always with respect.

5.3 External Awareness

Awareness should not only be conducted internally but also externally. It is important to raise awareness and educate our current, potential, and future clients about DEI issues. This awareness needs to be implemented for several reasons, particularly to ensure that current and future team members can work in a customer service environment that is collaborative and free from discrimination. We want to cultivate a clientele that is open to team members, allowing services to be provided in a courteous and respectful environment. To achieve this, we make posts on social media. Awareness should also be directed toward our business partners, collaborators, and suppliers. The company aims to partner with individuals and organizations that share similar values to Lareau, in order to positively enhance social and environmental impact. In this regard, a supplier and partner selection policy has been implemented to collaborate with businesses that prioritize social responsibility, including DEI.

5.4 Life at Lareau

For this pillar, Lareau aims to consider DEI in all its daily actions to create a harmonious and healthy work environment. This involves integrating DEI thinking into our internal and external communications, activities, and social and business events. DEI is therefore an integral part of the company’s identity and its decisions.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Charter.To align with the needs of team members, it is also important to survey them annually on DEI, job satisfaction, and engagement. This way, we can measure various themes, implement actions, assess their impacts, and continuously improve. Ultimately, it involves establishing both small and large initiatives to meet the needs of the team. When we say that DEI is an integral part of the company, this extends to the installation of signage in our branches, where we ensure that we have inclusive pictograms.

6.0 Our Commitment to DEI

6.1 The Role and Responsibilities of the Employer

  • Promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.
  • Foster an inclusive culture where every individual is encouraged to express themselves freely and contribute to the organization.
  • Encourage behaviors and attitudes that promote openness toward others.
  • Emphasize respect for the dignity of each individual, regardless of their ethnicity, citizenship, beliefs, place of origin, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, family situation, disability, age, or any other dimension of diversity.
  • Promote inclusive conduct and openness toward clients, suppliers, and business partners.
  • Implement best practices in DEI.
  • Be an employer of choice for current and future team members.
  • Provide a healthy, inclusive work environment free from discrimination.
  • Make organizational decisions that consider DEI aspects.
  • Collaborate with suppliers that prioritize social responsibility, including DEI
  • Daily apply our donation and sponsorship policy, reflecting our values of closeness and diversity.
  • Enforce a zero-tolerance policy toward discriminatory behavior or remarks.
  • Be proactive in DEI-related actions and awareness initiatives.

6.2 The Role and Responsibilities of Our Management

Lareau’s managers must lead by example through their behavior and relationships with team members and other collaborators. They are the ambassadors of the company and are encouraged to keep this in mind while applying the company’s values in their work.

  • Be ambassadors of DEI among their team members and colleagues.
  • Maintain an open-door policy and welcome suggestions and/or concerns from their team regarding DEI.
  • Show genuine interest in DEI principles.
  • Intervene in situations that do not respect the DEI values promoted by the company.
  • Adopt open behaviors toward team members regarding their differences.
  • Disclose any issues or conflicts related to DEI.
  • Raise awareness among team members about DEI principles.

6.3 The Role and Responsibilities of Team Members

All team members are also ambassadors. We want them to be proud to work here and to recommend Lareau. To achieve this, team members must adopt certain behaviors to make Lareau a healthy and respectful workplace.

  • Show openness toward their colleagues and their differences.
  • Report any situation that does not respect DEI values.
  • Collaborate with human resources when a report is made.
  • Treat others with respect, courtesy, and professionalism.
  • Avoid any discriminatory and/or offensive remarks in the workplace and at work-related events.
  • Be sensitive to DEI principles.

6.4 The Role and Responsibilities of the Human Resources Department

The members of the human resources team strive to make Lareau an employer of choice through numerous actions. They work toward the well-being of team members and aim to foster a work environment characterized by respect and openness. They are able to do this by.

  • Advocate for an open-door policy by welcoming suggestions and listening to the concerns of various stakeholders. This allows for open discussions about DEI-related issues without discomfort.
  • Provide equal opportunities to all employees by eliminating biases and discrimination in recruitment, promotion, and professional development processes.
  • Disclose any discriminatory situations or those that do not comply with equity or inclusiveness within the company.
  • Be responsible for enforcing this policy.
  • Participate in training on DEI topics to stay updated on best practices.
  • Review this policy by applying DEI best practices.
  • Ensure that every team member is aware of this policy.
  • Implement recruitment practices that minimize biases by frequently reviewing our methods.
  • Monitor our talent turnover rate to identify any barriers in our onboarding process
  • Promote local recruitment practices to support the development of the regions where we operate.

7.0 Reporting a Situation Contrary to DEI

If a team member becomes aware of a situation that contradicts DEI principles, they must notify the Human Resources department as soon as possible. The attached form should be completed and emailed to the Human Resources department ([email protected]). In some cases, the Human Resources department may require additional information to analyze the situation effectively. It is the responsibility of the team member and all involved parties to collaborate with the Human Resources department. If the manager needs to be involved, the Human Resources department will facilitate this. All individuals encountered during an investigation must maintain confidentiality regarding the discussions. Once the investigation results are known, the Human Resources team will contact the concerned individual to outline the measures to address the situation. Follow-up will also be conducted to ensure that the issue has been resolved.

8.0 Communication of Our Charter

The Human Resources team will communicate this Charter to all individuals mentioned in Section 2. Any modifications to this policy will be communicated through appropriate channels.

9.0 Improving Our DEI Practices

DEI topics are always in motion and evolving. As we continue to refine our knowledge on the subject, this policy will be reviewed annually based on a survey conducted with all team members. This will ensure that the policy reflects the best practices in DEI as well as the needs of the team. A report will also be presented biannually to the team to provide transparency regarding our progress.