Company Overview
Tower is a New Zealand-bred and owned insurance that has been around for 155 years, starting off in 1869 as Government Life Insurance Office (Government Life), with its initial capital provided by the New Zealand government. The company became a separate statutory body with the passing of the Government Life Insurance Act in 1953 where it was renamed Tower Corporation in 1987 and in 1990 ownership was conferred to its policyholders with the passing of the Tower Corporation Act, allowing Tower to be owned as a mutual association. It operates across Aotearoa and the Pacific in Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, American Samoa and the Cook Islands, supporting our customers with cover for their houses, cars, contents, businesses and more.
Woke Rating
We rate Tower Insurance as moderately woke.
Woke Summary
- Virtue Signalling – very little evidence of virtue signalling.
- Gender Ideology & LGBTQ – is Rainbow Tick Certified and makes donations to Pride events.
- Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI) – has DEI and ESG policies. Applies gender-based recruitment targets. Tower offers unconscious bias training.
- Climate Change – has a Climate Change strategy that aligns with goals from the Paris Agreement.
Woke Policies
Wokeness and virtue signalling distracts a company from its core business, which is to make a profit for shareholders while delivering excellent, affordable products and services to its customers. Businesses should not be distracted from this core purpose, otherwise there will be unnecessary costs which are ultimately passed onto consumers. Woke ideologies are typically unfriendly towards the traditional family unit.
Below are some woke policies and initiatives from Tower Insurance…
Gender Ideology & LGBTQ+
Tower Insurance is Rainbow Tick Certified and prides itself on being an LGQBT+ inclusive workplace that also offers Gender Affirmation leave. The company raised over $10,800 for Sweat with Pride in 2024 (making the top 10 highest contributions by a workplace in NZ).
**********************************************
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
Tower has DEI policies and initiatives.
“Diversity and inclusion – We recognise that a lack of diversity excludes minority groups which limits diverse thinking and impacts mental health and
emotional wellbeing. Diversity is also an important part of customer innovation. We are committed to having a diverse and inclusive workplace that builds people’s physical and emotional wellbeing.”
Part of Tower’s strategic focus on DEI also includes carrying out internal inclusive and diversity surveys with staff and offering unconscious bias training.
Source: https://www.tower.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Tower-2024-Material-Impacts.pdf
Climate Change
Tower has emissions reduction targets and ESG policies. It supports the Paris Agreement.
“Climate change is not just an environmental issue; it is a fundamental challenge to Tower’s operations as a general insurer.”
Source: https://www.tower.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Tower-2024-Climate-Statement.pdf
Tower has set greenhouse emissions reduction targets based on the Paris Agreement goal to limit global warming to 1.5°C. The Paris Agreement goal (UNFCCC 2015) requires emissions to peak before 2025 at the latest and decline 43% by 2030. In taking responsibility for its emissions, Tower’s approach is to invest in initiatives to reduce gross emissions as much as possible. Some of these initiatives include celebrating World EV day.
Since establishing a Climate Change Statement in 2022, the company has also developed specific climate change competencies carried out via a training program on climate change science for its employees and management who work specifically within the climate change areas of the organisation.
Positive Policies & Activities
Here are some positive policies and activities:
- Domestic Violence certified
- Is a Living Wage Employer
- One of NZ’s first companies to join the parental leave register
- Offers employees 16 weeks full pay parental leave for primary carers and 4 weeks full pay parental leave for partners
- For employees, Tower offers a range of contemporary benefits plus, flexible working, wellbeing leave for proactively managing personal or family wellness, the ability to purchase extra annual leave, and an additional paid day off for people on their birthdays.
Note – This page was updated as of 28th March 2025. Please contact us if you’ve discovered other relevant information about Tower Insurance or other businesses pushing woke agendas. You should also contact us if you discover some positively woke-free businesses.