Symetra Affirms Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with Expanded Commitments to Racial Equity and Social Justice

Pledges $500,000 through 2025 to community-based organizations — with an emphasis on those centering their work on racial equity and/or social justice — beginning with a $50,000 grant to the National Coalition of 100 Black Women

BELLEVUE, Wash.—(Oct. 12, 2020)—Following its June statement on systemic racism, Symetra Life Insurance Company today sharpened its Symetra Empowers Inclusion strategic pillar by outlining a broad list of commitments that builds on its diversity, equity and inclusion principles and more explicitly details the company’s goals to advance racial equity and address racial injustice. Symetra also announced a $50,000 donation to the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, part of a supporting initiative that will direct $500,000 through 2025 to community-based organizations with an emphasis on those that center their work on racial equity and/or social justice.

“Symetra remains committed to diversity, equity and inclusion — for our people, for our customers, for our communities — and to being clear and intentional about that commitment. We believe that facing racial issues, taking concrete steps to address them and leaning forward as a company to do our part is a corporate and civic imperative,” said Margaret Meister, president and CEO of Symetra Financial Corporation. “While we have made good progress on many of our DE&I goals, including achieving a gender-balanced leadership team, we have work to do on racial diversity. Symetra will continue to drive these critical issues forward, to find solutions within our own company, within our business and wherever possible within our larger industry. It’s good business, but more importantly it’s the right thing to do.”

Symetra’s Commitments to Promote Racial Equity and Support Social Justice span five core areas — People, Customers, Communities, Advocacy and Leadership — with multiple, specific commitments for each. These include:

• Our People — We will build long-lasting relationships with historically Black colleges and industry associations to provide better access to Symetra jobs.
• Our Customers — We will work to be the most inclusive insurance carrier in the country by offering products and solutions that help more Americans achieve financial freedom and build generational wealth.
• Our Communities — We will build a new, ongoing scholarship grant that specifically benefits Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) students starting in 2021.
• Our Advocacy — We will be a productive corporate voice on issues that disproportionately impact BIPOC communities, with a specific focus on housing and homelessness and federal level police reform and voter accessibility.
• Our Leadership — We will steadily and intentionally grow racial diversity throughout our enterprise, including at our senior leadership levels.

Symetra’s $50,000 donation to the National Coalition of 100 Black Women (NCBW) is part of an aligned initiative to invest in community organizations addressing racial equity and/or social justice issues.  Established in 1981, the NCBW’s mission is to advocate on behalf of Black women and girls to promote leadership development and gender equity in the areas of health, education and economic empowerment.

Symetra’s grant fulfills one of its Communities Commitments to “direct $100,000 to BIPOC organizations in 2020.” Last month, the company contributed $50,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund in support of the WNBA Seattle Storm’s “Kicks for Equality” auction.

To read the complete set of Symetra’s commitments on racial equity and social justice, click here.

About Symetra

Symetra Life Insurance Company is a subsidiary of Symetra Financial Corporation, a diversified financial services company based in Bellevue, Washington. In business since 1957, Symetra provides employee benefits, annuities and life insurance through a national network of benefit consultants, financial institutions, and independent financial professionals and insurance producers. For more information, visit www.symetra.com.