The FSU has responded to the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries’ (IFoA) consultation on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). Like many other professional and supervisory bodies, the IFoA is proposing to update its Code of Conduct to get its members to comply with EDI orthodoxy. We are concerned this will result in further suppression of members’ free speech, especially as the IFoA’s Code of Conduct has very broad application and applies to members’ private lives, i.e., their behaviour outside of work.
In our response, we highlight how the existing IFoA Code already contains extensive EDI provisions. If these new proposals were to be implemented, we fear the IFoA would be adopting an approach to EDI that risks scope creep and threatens to punish anyone who dissents from woke orthodoxy. Our experience at the FSU is that changing professional codes of conduct to prioritise EDI, while no doubt well-intentioned, leads to people being put through unnecessary and stressful disciplinary procedures.
You can read our response in full here.
