Empowering our communities

Empower’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity, and Belonging initiatives aim to build an inclusive, diverse, and equitable workplace where everyone belongs. We elevate the associate experience further through Business Resource Groups and Corporate Social Responsibility programs in pursuit of deepening and strengthening the relationships between our associates and their communities.

Our volunteer impact

In 2023, associates across Empower's footprint volunteered thousands of hours in their communities. The number in each state on the below map represents the number of hours associates based in that state volunteered last year.

Our 2023 impact

$4.1M

Donated to nonprofits

1,904

Nonprofits supported

36,104

Volunteer hours

19%

Percentage of associates that volunteered

49%

Corporate sponsorship recipients serving under-represented communities

2,403

Number of associates in Business Resource Groups

88

Number of events hosted by BRGs

24%

Percentage of associates that belong to a BRG

Highlight stories

Business Resource Groups (BRGs) are an integral component of our Diversity, Equity and Belonging strategy and are driven by the passion and energy of Empower associates who lead them. In December, the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) Council gathered the National Chairs and Vice Chairs of every BRG to celebrate accomplishments and inspire momentum in 2024.

For the second year, Empower continued the Neurodiversity at Work program in partnership with Horace Mann Educational Associates. Since launching the program in 2022, 17 people have participated, resulting in 9 apprentices being offered a full-time position. All apprentices that accepted a position still work at Empower.

In 2023, Empower officially launched a Supplier Diversity Program to diversify the suppliers that we work with across the company. As of the end of the year, 11% of company spend is with diverse suppliers and small businesses.

Paul Dewey and Teresa Manago received Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA) Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Awards for their contributions in 2022. Paul led the neurodiversity apprenticeship program for the IT department. Teresa piloted focus groups across Empower to understand how different demographics view financial wellness.

Empower associates volunteer with and serve on the boards of hundreds of nonprofits. Many associates gravitate towards working with their local Junior Achievement chapters. Whether in Dubuque, Hartford, or Greenwood Village, hundreds of Empower associates leverage their knowledge and passion for financial education to set students up for success.

To celebrate World Environment Month, 80 Empower India associates helped plant 500 species of herbs and plants to restore water level and enhance the biodiversity around the lake. During the year, they also distributed 812 backpacks to local students, made seedballs to plant native plants, and painted a mural at the newly inaugurated Primary Health Centre in Bangalore.

Empower received a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index, the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality. Empower joins the ranks of 545 major U.S. businesses that also earned top marks last year.

In mid-2023, Empower hired Tonya Horn as the first Talent Acquisition Diversity Program Manager, dedicated to overseeing the company’s efforts to increase the diversity of applicants and new hires. In a few short months, she has established new partnerships that allow Empower to reach more veterans, early career professionals, college students from HBCUs, MSIs, HSIs, and experienced professionals.³

Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Neurodiversity @ Work

Sustainability

In 2023, Empower Annuity Insurance Company of America, Empower Annuity Insurance Company, and Empower Life & Annuity Insurance Company of New York publicly disclosed information in line with the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). This occurred through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Climate Risk Disclosure Surveys. The 2023 highlights are displayed below in alignment with the four pillars of the TCFD.

Sustainability Governance

Empower Life & Annuity Insurance Company of New York, a subsidiary of Empower has adopted a written Climate Risk Policy in compliance with regulations from the New York Department of Financial Services.

Strategy

Relevant ESG factors are analyzed as a part of Empower’s credit investment process, enabling identification of potential risks and opportunities that may have an impact on the overall value of Empower’s investments.

Risk Management

Empower included in its Own Risk & Solvency Assessment report (ORSA) an industry standard set of climate change scenarios. The purpose of the ORSA is to coherently link the risk profile and capital position of the Company with its business plan, strategy, and capital management. One component in the ORSA report is the stress and scenario testing which tested a wide range of scenarios, including climate change scenarios.

Measuring our progress

Empower tracks Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions from its facilities, has this data assured by PwC every year, and reports it through its parent company Great-West Lifeco Inc,'s Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) response. In addition, Empower saved the equivalent of 2,998 trees and conserved nearly 1.2 million gallons of water through the volume of paper shredded and recycled in 2023.

What's Next

Recruiting and developing diverse talent

With the expansion of the Talent Acquisition team to include a Diversity Program Manager, Empower aspires to continue to recruit talent that represents the diversity of clients we serve and communities where we operate. In 2024 and beyond, we plan to grow partnerships with organizations such as Wall Street Bound, HACE, and the Association for Wholesaling Diversity. Empower has the aspirational goals to achieve 50% women and 25% underrepresented groups in management roles, and is on track to achieve those goals by 2030.^1,3

Broadening BRG Impact

In 2023, the percentage of associates that belonged to a BRG grew from 21% to 24%. As Empower’s Business Resource Groups (BRGs) continue to grow, more associates seek opportunities to get involved in support of their colleagues and communities. Since many associates identify with multiple BRGs, leadership will be focusing on increasing collaboration across groups to elevate shared experiences through meaningful programming. In addition, BRGs are also working closely with CSR programs to bolster community service, one of their main pillars.

Volunteering Expansion

As Empower expands its offerings and footprint, the company has associates working in almost every state. In 2023, associates volunteered 24% more hours than the previous year. Moving forward, Empower will expand opportunities for associates to connect with each other and their communities whether they are near an office or working fully remotely, focusing on skills-based and virtual volunteering. CSR team will also focus on growing Action Committees, associate-led groups that focus on bringing meaningful volunteer and community support events to their colleagues.

Growing Supplier Diversity

As Empower continues to diversify its suppliers, the Supplier Diversity team plans to build and grow partnerships with national organizations like the National Minority Supplier Development Council, National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, and Disability:IN. The supplier diversity program is less than two years old, and setting goals as processes and partnerships are established is an additional key focus for the program.

Socially Responsible Investing Strategy

As environmental, social, and governance capabilities evolve, and new investment opportunities come to market, retirement savers expect their own options to also evolve. As of December 31, 2023, Empower has more than 450 ESG funds² available on the broad Empower platform and more than 200 on its Empower Select™ platform for plan sponsors to choose from. Empower also offers a professionally managed socially responsible portfolio directly to individual investors—a strategy incorporating both inclusive and exclusive ESG filters to screen individual stocks and ETFs. As of December 31, 2023, this SRI (Socially Responsible Investing) Strategy had an AUM of $3.376 billion.

View previous years' impact reports

1 Great-West Lifeco Inc.'s goals are aspirational and may be recalibrated. For additional important cautionary statements, see Advancing Inclusive Growth: Impact, Inclusion, and Citizenship (greatwestlifeco.com).

2 ESG Funds as designated by Morningstar. Morningstar’s definition of an ESG Fund is: An indication whether the investment product uses ESG criteria as a central part or binding factors of their security-selection and portfolio-construction process. Strategies that incorporate ESG factors typically have explicit sustainable criteria that invested companies must meet. These strategies generally use some combination of positive screening, negative screening, and active engagement with the investee company or holding. These strategies endeavor to promote sustainability and reduce negative impact, without focusing on a specific theme or area of action.

3 Empower's DEIB goals are aspirational and achieved through outreach, education, and recruiting efforts. All employment decisions are made without consideration of any protected status. Empower's use of % is solely to measure KPI progress. Compensation decisions for managers are unrelated to their attainment of DEIB goals.

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