The Blog Spot: Female insurance bosses wanted

This week marks one hundred years since women in the UK got the right to vote.

Thanks to my suffragette sisters paving the way for the rest of us we have come a long way in our quest for gender equality over the past hundred years. But we’re not quite there yet are we? Especially not in insurance.

I’m not denying that the gender balance within the insurance sector has significantly improved, however it is quite obvious that the industry has not come far enough.

Looking around the room at any insurance industry event the majority of those attending will be male.

And while it is always easy to make a joke about there at least being no need to queue for the ladies, I’m happy to give this luxury up to see more women on broker and insurer executive teams.

Effort
So I’m calling on you now to make an effort to rub off the “pale, male and stale” stamp that insurance has been branded with, because it will be of benefit to everyone involved to have a more diverse management team.

For the February edition of Insurance Age I met with Aon Risk Solutions’s chief executive officer Julie Page.

She told me that when she got started as a broker in the mid-1980s there were no female client managers owning their own client portfolios.

And while the industry’s gender inclusion has improved massively compared to then, it is clear that there is more to be done.

As an example, insurer reports show gaps between what men and women are paid with females getting less. What sort of message does that send?

I’d be interested to see if the women who have reached board level are earning the same as equivalent men.

Professionalism
As with any change this requires the sector to acknowledge the problem and actively challenge itself to tackle the issue of gender diversity and inclusion.

One step in the right direction is [email protected]’s annual Dive In Festival held in London.

A survey published at the start of last year’s festival revealed that 71% of insurance professionals believe the culture in their company needs to change to attract and retain top talent.

So my wish is that we will see a stronger focus on inclusion and diversity in the sector in order to improve not just its image but also its quality and professionalism.

It is up to you.

Ida Axling is a senior reporter at Insurance Age.

Further reading:

Profile: Julie Page, Aon Risk Solutions’ CEO

Dive In: 71% of insurance workers want culture change

In-depth - diversity: Diversity, opportunity and the future