Social Responsibility

For more information about MetLife’s current efforts, visit the latest Sustainability Report or download MetLife’s full Policies & Benefits and Medical plan information for U.S. employees. 

MetLife plays an important role in communities as one of the world’s leading financial services companies. We strive to be a force for good in the communities where we operate through the work of MetLife Foundation and our corporate efforts such as grant-making, employee volunteering and pro bono services.

DEI is a global business, sustainability and workforce imperative. As a driver of trust between and among leadership and employees and accelerator of Our Purpose, our DEI Strategic Priorities allow us to:

• Champion Inclusion—Cultivate an inclusive workplace culture with the right behaviors and actions;
  
• Strengthen Our Diversity—Increase representation and leverage, develop and grow current workforce diversity to innovate for the future; and
• Grow Our Impact—Make a difference as a leading company for DEI.

At MetLife, we are intentionally cultivating a purpose-driven and inclusive culture that builds and values a diversity of talent to innovate for today, tomorrow and the future so that we fulfill our promise to our customers in the communities we serve around the world. To deliver on our purpose, we are always searching for the best talent to join MetLife. We deeply value and endorse the inclusion of intercultural diversity (race, ethnicity, culture, disabilities, generations, religion, gender, sexual orientation), work experiences, skills, perspectives and thinking styles.

We support the development, performance and progression of a robust talent pipeline by taking actions designed to increase diversity across geographies, departments and positions, from entry-level to management to our chief executive office. Through our talent management practices, we actively assess the dynamic needs of our global business. This includes an expectation of diverse slates of candidates in our recruitment and hiring for senior leader hires and pipeline roles—and holding hiring managers accountable for inclusion. To foster inclusion and diversity of talent, we train recruiters (internally and externally) and managers to be mindful of potential biases in the hiring, review and career development process. To track our progress, we monitor and evaluate our talent practices and how we make hiring decisions, including succession planning for critical senior roles.

Additionally, we strongly consider multiple dimensions of diversity throughout the succession planning process and in evaluating the effectiveness of the Board. For more information about diversity on our Board and information about our Directors, see our latest Proxy Statement.

Explore our global DEI strategy, DEI Commitments, list of products and services and recent DEI efforts and progress in our latest Sustainability Report.

MetLife employees live our purpose by lending their time, skills and enthusiasm to their communities through support for pro bono initiatives, mentoring and coaching and hands-on volunteer projects that support communities and the environment. As part of our 2030 DEI Commitments, MetLife has committed 800,000 employee volunteer hours with a focus on DEI and underserved communities. Read more about our employees’ efforts to build economic inclusion, financial health and resilient communities in our latest Sustainability Report.

Many of our products and services help support ESG priorities. This chart showcases the MetLife products and services that incorporate considerations and solutions for environmental and social issues, such as planning for natural disasters or obtaining equal access to financial services, that our customers across the globe face in their everyday lives.

MetLife’s Financial Wellness Products help our customers manage their personal finances and feel emotionally in control of their financial futures. MetLife’s Financial Wellness and Engagement group is responsible for powering long-term solutions that bring financial wellness and education to individuals while strengthening our relationship with employers.

In addition to our financial wellness-focused insurance and benefits program, we also invest in the financial wellness of communities through MetLife Foundation and our impact investing portfolio. Through these programs, we aim to build a more prosperous future for all.

We believe that a person’s potential and well-being are inseparable. We aim to care for the holistic wellness of our workforce and our customers through thoughtful benefits, programs and support that meets diverse needs.

For Our Colleagues
MetLife’s BeWell program is a global platform that provides resources to help employees with resilience and coping, staying balanced, maintaining physical and financial well-being and building healthy relationships. The program includes leadership engagement and outreach, virtual programs and the provision of relevant resources and tools.

Our healthy office amenities also help our employees thrive. We prioritize natural light, ergonomic seating and healthy dining options, and we offer sit-stand desks, fitness centers and wellness rooms in many locations. In 2019, MetLife became the first life insurance company to earn healthy workplaces certifications for our commitment to healthy workplaces. Fitwel is a joint initiative of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the General Services Administration.

For Our Customers
In addition, we aim to improve the health and wellness of our customers. Building a more confident future for customers means helping reduce stress during difficult times. We focus on improving and evolving our health and benefits products and services based on local market and customer needs. Our latest Sustainability Report and our ESG Products list provides additional details and recent results.

MetLife’s corporate values include a deep commitment to DEI and human rights at our workplace and within our businesses. As a UN Global Compact (UNGC) signatory and in alignment with the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, MetLife encourages respect for human rights and prioritizes compliance with policies and regulations designed to prevent any abuses of human rights such as human trafficking or slavery, forced labor and child labor.

Our complete MetLife Statement on Human Rights describes the ethical business practices and codes we uphold and mechanisms for reporting issues or concerns.

As part of MetLife’s commitment to corporate sustainability, in 1984, MetLife established the Impact Investment Program (IIP) to provide flexible investment capital to organizations that strengthen low- and moderate-income communities where MetLife operates. Impact investments are defined as investments made with the intention to generate positive, measurable, social and environmental impact alongside a financial return (according to the Global Impact Investment Network (GIIN)) definition.

Over the program’s nearly 40-year history, MetLife and the MetLife Foundation have provided commitments to more than 230 transactions totaling over $1 billion across a range of sectors and regions.² These investments have provided much-needed support to organizations that address the critical needs of underserved households in affordable housing, health, community infrastructure³ and economic development.⁴ In alignment with MetLife’s climate commitments, impact investments also focus on making low-income communities resilient to physical changes related to climate change and allowing low-income communities to benefit from the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Learn more about MetLife’s Impact Investment Program. Please visit MetLife Foundation’s site to learn more about MetLife Foundation’s Impact Investing portfolio. 

MetLife Foundation is focused on driving inclusive economic mobility by addressing the needs of underserved and underrepresented people and communities around the globe. MetLife Foundation has a multi-pronged strategy that builds upon MetLife’s 2030 DEI Commitments and is aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). The Foundation partners with nonprofit organizations to co-create programs and initiatives through three strategic focus areas:

1. Economic Inclusion: Upskilling and reskilling talent to be competitive in a new economy, establish a career and earn family-sustaining wages to achieve intergenerational economic mobility;
   
2. Financial Health: Efforts focused on building financial resiliency through the enablement of budget management, savings, access to credit and public/private benefits; and
3. Resilient Communities: Efforts that open up and expand access to physical and mental well-being resources, support for a more resilient planet through climate-focused partnerships and promote resiliency through arts and culture.

Learn more about MetLife Foundation

As a standard and consistent practice, MetLife annually reviews employee pay to ensure it is both competitive with the external market and internally equitable. When we hire or promote talent, we take into consideration each candidate’s qualifications and experience in connection with the market-aligned range for the job and relative to peers. We also review our pay practices for any potential disparities that are not explainable by objective factors such as performance, experience level, credentials or location, and are committed to correcting any issues and reviewing practices for unintended outcomes.

MetLife conducts a pay equity review in the U.S. on an annual basis to examine whether there are differences in pay between persons of different genders, races and ethnicities that are not explainable by objective, business related factors, and has made appropriate adjustments across genders, races and ethnicities. In the U.S. and elsewhere, we also review employees’ pay and our pay practices annually to ensure we incent the right behaviors and are providing equal pay for equal work.

Globally, MetLife has robust processes for reviewing employees’ performance and pay with common timing on performance. We also provide manager training on making compensation recommendations with a focus on performance, as well as positioning in the market-aligned range relative to peers.

Please refer to MetLife’s Sustainability Report for our commitment and progress toward advancing diversity and inclusion with our workforce and Pay Equity Statement.

Through MetLife’s Supplier Inclusion & Development program, our goal is to grow partnerships with diverse suppliers to promote their economic growth. Supplier Inclusion & Development is integrated within Global Procurement so we can interact with sourcing professionals and business stakeholders to include diverse suppliers in our supply chain. As part of our 2030 DEI Commitments, MetLife has committed to spending $5 billion with diverse suppliers by 2030 and to annually report the economic impact of MetLife’s diverse supply chain, where data and methodologies are available. See 2030 DEI Commitments for more information, and read more about our Supplier Inclusion & Development program.

We’re committed to achieving face-to-face involvement that fosters a direct connection with diverse suppliers supported by our membership in national advocacy organizations, including Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, National Minority Supplier Development Council, National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, Disability:IN and National Veteran Business Development Council. Supplier Inclusion & Development is integrated within Global Procurement so that we can closely interact with sourcing professionals and business stakeholders to include diverse suppliers in our supply chain.

At MetLife, we aim to create a culture of continuous learning and work to provide employees with access to tools and resources for their unique and purpose-driven growth. Our latest Sustainability Report provides detail on our internal talent marketplace and learning opportunities for our employees.

Employees can leverage our digitally enabled learning platform to continuously develop and build the core skills they need in a dynamic environment. Launched in the U.S. in 2021, My Path, our internal talent marketplace, supports mobility by connecting employees to projects and opportunities based on their skills, experiences and ambitions. Employees can unleash their potential and unlock capacity as we are able to source talent quickly based on the skills needed to get critical work done.

MetLife’s learning and development platform—MyLearning—offers employees an expansive suite of learning programs, equipping them with the tools to foster their own development opportunities. It is a valuable source of learning content, including articles, books, videos and webinars, that employees can access to personalize their learning to help achieve their career objectives.

Learn about responsible investments in MetLife's general account portfolio intended to achieve both a market financial return and promote social and/or environmental benefits.