A recent UK study showed that despite an overall industry gender balance, top jobs belong mainly to men.
Of every five top insurance industry jobs four are filled by men and only one is filled by a woman. This, according to a recent study in the United Kingdom.
This reveals a gender imbalance within this industry that was not entirely obvious to spot.
The reason is that when looking at the employment data across the entire insurance industry, women and men fill nearly the same total number of jobs. However, when looking more closely at the top insurance industry jobs, that situation changes completely.
The data was revealed in an Association of British Insurers (ABI) report on workplace diversity. The report also looked at the various ethnicities employed by insurers. They found that 16 percent of workers within this sector are from ethnic minority backgrounds. That figure is actually higher than that of the general working age population, which is 14 percent.
Moreover, aside from top insurance industry jobs, inclusion and diversity strategies are commonplace.
In fact, 78 percent of insurance companies have developed their own diversity and inclusion strategies.
“Most firms are not just talking about change but are taking practical steps to make a difference, whether that is for LGBT+ staff or those from ethnic minorities,” said Huw Evans, director general of the ABI. “But warm words and good intentions are not enough when it comes to addressing a lack of diversity within the insurance and long-term savings industry.”
Evans underscored this point with the fact that while the sector as a whole sees a solid gender balance, that is not the same when it comes to the top insurance industry jobs. Board and executive positions are held by men in four out of five cases, regardless of inclusion and diversity strategies.
When looking beyond the lack of women in top positions, the ABI’s report showed 73 percent of insurance companies have a management or executive development program giving priority to a balance between the genders. Moreover, among members of the ABI, 29 have enrolled in the Women in Finance Charter from the federal government. Its goal is to strengthen the path for qualified women to follow into leadership positions.
