ITIJ celebrates International Women’s Day
In recognition of International Women’s Day 2024, ITIJ spoke to some of the industry’s highest flying female executives to find out more about their experiences in the travel and health insurance sectors
Bilge Bora, CEO, marm assistance
How has our industry changed in recent years with regard to seeing more women in leadership roles?
In recent years, the travel assistance industry has undergone a significant transformation, marked by a notable increase in the presence of women in leadership roles. This shift reflects a broader global movement towards gender diversity and inclusivity in the workplace, with the travel sector emerging as a prime example of progress in this regard. One key driver of change has been the recognition of the immense value that diversity brings to organisational success. Companies within the travel assistance sector have increasingly embraced the idea that diverse leadership teams lead to better decision-making, increased innovation, and enhanced overall performance.
One key driver of change has been the recognition of the immense value that diversity brings to organisational success
Overall, while challenges persist, the travel assistance industry has made significant strides toward achieving greater gender diversity in leadership roles, signalling a positive and promising trend for the future of the industry.
On a personal note, I’m incredibly proud of two significant achievements that have shaped my journey. Firstly, my promotion to CEO reflects years of dedication and hard work in my professional pursuits and the great vision of the shareholders of marm assistance. Additionally, witnessing my son and daughter excel academically fills me with immense joy as a parent. These milestones highlight the importance of dedication, support, and personal growth, both in my career and family life. Grateful for the opportunities and lessons learned, I'm propelled forward with renewed determination and purpose.
As I look to the future, I'm hopeful that we can continue to break down barriers and create more opportunities for women to thrive professionally. I'm committed to playing my part in this journey and to supporting the advancement of women in our industry.
What do you see as the most significant challenge facing women in the workplace today?
The most significant challenge facing women in the workplace today is the persistent presence of gender bias and systemic discrimination. Despite progress, women continue to face obstacles in their careers, including unequal pay, limited opportunities for advancement into leadership positions, and the prevalence of stereotypes and unconscious biases.
One major barrier is the pervasive ‘glass ceiling’ phenomenon, where women encounter invisible barriers that prevent them from reaching top leadership roles. Additionally, women often experience a lack of support and mentorship, as well as workplace cultures that may not fully value their contributions or perspectives.
What has your greatest achievement been professionally (to date), and what are your hopes for the future?
My greatest achievement professionally has been leading the company through a challenging period and orchestrating the team harmoniously, creating value for shareholders, and introducing groundbreaking products, services and business models that disrupt the industry. Looking ahead, my hopes for the future are spearheading initiatives that have a positive impact on society, whether through corporate social responsibility programmes, sustainability efforts or philanthropic endeavours; attracting and retaining top talent, developing future leaders within the organisation, and creating a pipeline of skilled professionals who drive the company’s success; building strong customer relationships and delivering exceptional value and service that lead to high levels of customer and employee experience, loyalty and advocacy; and to continue combining factors that contribute to the overall success, growth and positive impact of the company, its stakeholders, and society at large. Overall, I am committed to leading by example, inspiring and empowering others, and coaching to support the professional growth and development of colleagues and team members, and I look forward to contributing to the continued advancement of women in our industry.
Nurit Lamy, Head of Data, Faye
How has our industry changed in recent years with regard to seeing more women in leadership roles?
The pandemic normalised more conversations in the workplace (or while working remote) around family and work-life balance. For many of us working moms, we have always been great multitaskers and leaders, and in my opinion the shift in how we view the importance of working to fit your lifestyle was helpful to women, and women in tech, who struggle to fit into a cookie-cutter, traditional workplace that is less flexible.
As a woman in STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] for over a decade, I’ve also noticed in the past few years women in leadership roles, but I think it’s safe to say there are still not enough of us in C-level roles. That said, we’re on our way there. At Faye specifically I’m incredibly proud to work in an environment that is 60% women.
We must be confident in our abilities, articulate what we feel we deserve, and educate young women to do the same
What do you see as the most significant challenge facing women in the workplace today?
Speaking on behalf of myself, I’ll touch on an internal one. By internal, I mean that we as women tend to be hard on ourselves when it comes to our career. Perhaps this takes shape in not applying for a job that doesn’t seem like a perfect match on paper instead of giving it a shot. Or perhaps it comes to life by not asking for that bonus we deserve or pushing hard enough for it. We must be confident in our abilities, articulate what we feel we deserve, and educate young women in tech (and outside of it) to do the same.
What has your greatest achievement been professionally (to date), and what are your hopes for the future?
My greatest professional achievement has been challenging myself with roles of building data teams from scratch. This includes mapping crucial business needs, designing architecture, implementing the tools and connecting all the dots from a record to a dashboard and from raw data to insights. Seeing this come to life and the impact it has on a company is super exciting and makes me feel proud. And doing this for a brand like Faye, which is built for all American travellers and travel advisers as they adventure all over the world and plan trips, is pretty darn cool.
Dr Jermine Nabil, Chief Medical Officer and Network Manager, MSH International
How has our industry changed in recent years with regard to seeing more women in leadership roles?
Recently there has been a positive trend toward increased representation of women in leadership roles across various industries. Companies are recognising the importance of diversity and are making efforts to promote gender equality in leadership positions.
However, challenges still face women in the workplace today, as the persistence of gender biases that can impact hiring decisions, career advancement opportunities, and overall workplace dynamics is still present.
What do you see as the most significant challenge facing women in the workplace today?
Overcoming these biases requires continued efforts such as mentorship programmes, diversity training, and targeted recruitment that are being implemented in some places to support the advancement of women in leadership.
Many organisations are also adopting inclusive policies to create a work environment that fosters equal opportunities. While progress has been made, continued awareness and commitment are essential for sustained improvements in gender diversity at the leadership level.
Another notable challenge is the work-life balance dilemma, where women often face societal expectations related to caregiving roles.
Balancing professional responsibilities with family demands can pose challenges and affect career progression. Companies adopting flexible work policies and promoting a supportive work culture can help address this issue and create an environment suitable to women’s success in the workplace.
A notable challenge is the work-life balance dilemma, where women often face societal expectations related to caregiving roles
What has your greatest achievement been professionally (to date), and what are your hopes for the future?
My greatest achievement is that I made a career shift 13 years back by joining the international insurance field after being a clinical doctor for seven years. Since then, I’m leading many projects related to case management, insured members’ satisfaction, streamlining the processes, building a network of providers delivering a smooth members’ healthcare journey… etc.
Also I have been in charge of handling three teams , executing many initiatives and meeting deadlines along with maintaining good work-life balance, so time management was crucial.
The key for achieving the above is because I’m enjoying what I’m doing.
My hopes for the future are to implement more and more effective changes related to improving our clients’ healthcare experience as it is very sensitive when it comes to dealing with health-related services.
Sharon Solomon, Head of Medical Assistance, Allianz Partners UK
How has our industry changed in recent years with regard to seeing more women in leadership roles?
Previously, women in the travel and medical assistance industry could often be found in lower and middle management roles. This is definitely no longer the case and far more senior leaders and business owners are now women, which is fantastic. Opportunities for women have increased across the globe. I genuinely feel that nothing is beyond our grasp! At Allianz Partners UK and Ireland, our senior leadership team is tipped firmly in favour of female executives; being a woman definitely isn’t a disadvantage.
What do you see as the most significant challenge facing women in the workplace today?
While flexible and hybrid working arrangements have enabled more women to return to and continue working, I think the most significant challenge is neglecting to take care of yourself. Balancing family obligations with professional responsibilities can be a difficult line to walk. As we navigate life, your focus will change constantly between family and work, so my advice to women is look after yourselves so you can look after the others in your life – personal and professional. Sound advice for everyone!
Also – women not being supportive to each other – we need to do better at this!
Opportunities for women have increased across the globe. I genuinely feel that nothing is beyond our grasp!
What has your greatest achievement been professionally (to date), and what are your hopes for the future?
My current role as Head of Medical Assistance at Allianz Partners UK is a culmination of many, many years in the industry spent in a variety of roles. Being empowered to combine my skill, knowledge and experience to achieve positive outcomes for our customers makes me feel very proud, and I’m very happy every time we help a customer in a difficult situation. Allianz Partners UK is the number one travel insurer provider in the UK – a huge responsibility, but also a huge privilege.
Eve Jokel, International Patient Services Director, Luz Saúde
How has our industry changed in recent years with regard to seeing more women in leadership roles?
Without a doubt, there remains a lot of work to do in order to make more significant, widespread, faster and lasting progress in supporting women’s access to senior leadership roles. Healthcare providers have a greater participation of women in their workforce and initial leadership positions than many other industries, but the higher you go in the leadership ladder, the percentage of women occupying these roles declines significantly. This has always been the case. At least, I enjoy working for the only hospital group in Portugal with a woman as CEO, Isabel Vaz. Her dynamism, emotional intelligence, vision and perseverance exudes a unique and fierce type of loyalty to her and the company from all professional categories. Women hold 70% of all positions at Luz Saúde, and when considering all leadership positions in the company, women hold 60% of those positions. Still, the percentage of women in leadership roles declines in our company as well for positions close to the top. One reason is that those are few positions with very little changeover, but in the few that opened recently, women have assumed those positions.
What do you see as the most significant challenge facing women in the workplace today?
Women are still running many of the family responsibilities, often are the default carer, and good childcare is not easy to find nor easily affordable. It is the compounding of pressures from all angles, coupled with the fact that women often believe it is necessary to behave as if these external pressures do not exist, that may influence how hard she competes or how seriously she is considered for advancement by her superiors. In Portugal, there are some labour laws and a culture that supports the need of both men and women to attend to all their responsibilities with less stress, and this helps, but inside companies, overstaying the workday in the office still elicits a (sometimes false) image of productivity and dedication that working mothers/carers often do not have the luxury to promote.
Healthcare providers have a greater participation of women in their workforce and initial leadership positions than many other industries
What has your greatest achievement been professionally (to date), and what are your hopes for the future?
We were the first hospital group in Portugal to make significant strides in approaching the international client group by incorporating a communication support program into our services, contracting with international payers, and promoting to local residents. We are the only group with a corporate center for International Patient Services, run under the COO, and with dedicated staff in several units. I am proud to have established the department 15 years ago and led the example in Portugal, as well as to see our international clients in our flagship hospital, Hospital da Luz Lisboa, grow from 5,000 in 2009 when I began to 35,000 in 2023, while also winning our second consecutive ITIJ Medical Provider of the Year award in the same year.
My hope for women in the future is that society and business will continue to actively find ways to involve and maintain women in the workforce at all professional levels and all stages of life. And I hope that gender parity may be achieved before five more generations (current prediction).