The theme of International Women’s Day - #AccelerateAction is one likely to resonate with many across the insurance market. But what does the theme of this year’s IWD mean to those working in the sector – and how do they plan to mark the day itself?
For Caroline Dunn (pictured left), chief underwriting perspective Zurich UK, action is the keyword of the tagline, noting that International Women’s Day has been in place since the early 1900s. As the old adage goes, she said, ‘you can’t manage what you can’t measure’. As a naturally data-driven person, Dunn said she always looks for data points to get a clear picture of any given situation. “Collectively, we need to make sure we take action that not only has the right impact also moves us towards where we want to get to,” she said.
Sharing her perspective Elaine Lennox (pictured centre left), regional MD of the Midlands at Gallagher, said IWD is all about promoting equality and fostering a feeling of empowerment among women. “It is a brilliant opportunity to recognise the female talent we have, and celebrating their success and the impact they have on driving our business, while identifying where we need to go further,” she said.
#AccelerateAction means thinking more about what can be done by each individual to break down the systemic barriers and biases women face in their professional lives, according to Joanna Browning (pictured centre right), senior MD – people experience at Markel. It’s that thinking that will bring the industry another step forward to achieving gender equality within the workplace.
“An important part of this objective is to ensure that we consider all stages of women’s lives and tailor our support and development programmes to their specific needs by ensuring they have access to all our support services and professional development opportunities,” she said. “[…] We understand the significance of having reliable resources available and [our] frameworks are crafted to offer guidance where it’s needed most. As a standard protocol, we’re always making sure our policies are updated regularly and reflective of our employees’ needs.”
At ISC Group, #AccelerateAction is about driving real, tangible progress for women in re/insurance. Speaking with Insurance Business, Carmen Powell (pictured right), CEO of ISC Group noted that it’s not just about conversations but about creating opportunities that help women thrive at every stage of their careers.
“From leadership development to business integration, our focus is on ensuring that a growing recognition leads to tangible and measurable outcomes towards gender balance,” she said. “Recent research from the FTSE Women Leaders Review and the Achieving Gender Balance Review shows the number of women in roles, such as chair, finance director, and senior independent director has increased over the past year, which is encouraging for gender balance.
“However, the number of women CEOs has decreased, which is concerning and has the potential to affect the pipeline of senior women progressing. Now is the time to accelerate efforts to reverse this decline. We must not only commit to supporting women but also identify the gaps and actively dismantle the barriers holding them back, ensuring that women of all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds, at every stage of their careers, are given the opportunity to thrive.”
What’s good for women is also good for business. Evidence clearly shows that gender-balanced companies benefit from higher rates of ROA and higher levels of talent retention. It’s through leadership programs, cross-industry initiatives, and strategic partnerships that companies can turn their commitments into action. “By accelerating efforts to retain, advance, and elevate women, we are moving the dial for all women working in insurance and enabling the industry to reap the benefits,” Powell said.
There’s no one way to celebrate IWD – as evidenced by the range of activities arranged across the insurance industry to mark the special occasion. For Dunn and her team, this looked like an IWD ‘tea break’ involving the whole senior underwriting team which is around 100 people, and included all male colleagues.
“It’s a great time to take stock and discuss what we’re doing to support equality alongside what we can do to advance it for everyone,” she said. “Paternity leave is a great example of this, we introduced it in 2019 and last year alone 92 new dads enjoyed 35,504 hours with their families.
“We’ve had several members of our team enjoy paternity leave. Without initiatives such as this how are we ever going to create a level playing field for both men and women? It’s something we’d really like to see the rest of the industry embrace in some form or another.”
