Gender diversity in insurance improving
Following the release of its annual talent and diversity survey results, The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has revealed that gender diversity within the insurance industry has improved, but the change is minimal at a senior level, and more work is required to ensure the gender gap decreases and ensure ‘the future success of the industry’.
The ABI’s survey, which interviewed 103,000 insurance employees (although it did not cover insurance brokers), found that the proportion of women on executive teams increased in 2018, but overall the number of women remained low – totalling 27 per cent. This was also shown to be true at management level: 39 per cent of people at management level are female (though this marks an impressive 36-per-cent increase on 2017’s figures).
Though the number of women at an entry level position excels that of men, the ABI felt that representation at board level was ‘negligible’, rising only one per cent. Amanda Blanc, Chair of the ABI and CEO EMEA for Zurich Insurance Group, said: “The vast majority of adults in this country are customers of the insurance and long-term savings industry in some way. Matching the diversity of our workforce to the diversity of the communities we serve is essential to our industry’s future success. Such a change takes time, but the last few years have seen a real shift in commitment at the highest levels of the industry, and at last there are signs the dial is starting to shift.”
Indeed, employers are putting in efforts to drive change – the survey highlighted that 88 per cent of firms had an executive sponsor for diversity and inclusion in 2018 compared to 74 per cent the previous year; there has also been an increase in the number of employers now using diverse interview panels for recruitment (an 11-per-cent increase to 78 per cent), and there is a greater implementation of blind CVs and gender balanced shortlists.
In addition, 61 per cent of companies surveyed noted that, in an effort to increase diversity, they had a mentoring programme for groups who are underrepresented in the company. However, the survey also uncovered that the proportion of black and minority ethnic people working in the sector fell from 15 per cent to 13 per cent in 2018.
Blanc said: “Gender equality is only one aspect of diversity, but I am encouraged to see growth in female representation at manager and executive levels, and more women than men continue to join the industry. This progress needs to be repeated, year after year, if the industry is to become truly diverse. And where we make progress on gender, we must scrutinise what is working and why so we can improve diversity across the board – on sexuality, on ethnicity and more.”