Gender equality: a pause to reflect on progress
Committee member Alina Jipa summarises thoughts from our recent event
Alina Jipa, head of analytics, insight and reporting at RSA Group and GIN committee member
We often hear the negative stories when it comes to gender equality – how it will take over 200 years to closer the pay gap, the hidden labour of women and how it’s still challenging to “have it all” when it comes to balancing careers and personal lives. As with all challenges though, we sometimes forget to look back down the mountain and see how far we’ve climbed.
Earlier in the year GIN members decided to take a moment to do exactly that – pause and reflect. Here are some of the key reflections from our event:
The Gender Pay Gap
All of us want to work in a world where we are paid and valued the same, regardless of our gender, but we recognise that this will take a huge cultural shift, and that takes take. Transparently reporting on gender pay gaps across the insurance industry has started to drive progress in a positive direction, with companies reporting increased in female representation in management roles, and small reductions in the gap.
It was obviously disappointing to see that most insurance firms haven’t made huge progress in closing the pay gap, but securing a female talent pipeline will ensure female voices are heard at the top, and ultimately that will translate into pay.
Parental leave
We can’t have a conversation about gender equality without discussing the implications of fair and robust parental leave policies. We’ve seen fantastic progress on this from big insurance players – Aviva and Zurich to name a couple – but other insurers and smaller broker firms aren’t yet at that stage.
We need men to be a part of the conversation on gender in order to drive real progress on this issue. Looking to our friends in Sweden we can see that creating a fairer society for all genders is achievable. Women in Sweden now represent 50% of the government’s cabinet and have much more equality on way. It would be great to learn from the countries that are challenging the status quo on these issues and apply those leanings in the City. At GIN we’re working hard to come up with ways to engage men in these conversations – any suggestions welcome!
Industry news
Over the last 12 months the reputation of our industry has come under scrutiny – and in some cases for valid reasons. We have seen several accounts of women speaking out against harassment in the workplace, experiencing unsolicited sexual advances and being put down in office environments. Everyone agreed that these behaviours are unacceptable, and although it’s disappointing to see that women have had these experiences at work – it’s a positive step to see people talking about their experiences openly.
We all need to be brave in calling out inappropriate behaviour and taking the appropriate steps to report harassment of any kind. If you’ve experienced any behaviours that have made you uncomfortable, always seek the advice of your HR or management team.
“Although the sexual harassment coverage in the industry press was a disappointment, it’s good to see women speaking out more about their experiences. The more we speak out against any kind of harassment, the more we challenge its existence in our industry.”
Creating a safe and secure environment for everyone in the industry should remain a priority as we move forwards. It’s also been great to see the industry starting to actively promote mentoring across the industry – we should be encouraging knowledge and best practice sharing of any of these schemes that work well in our own organisations so we can all benefit.
Looking to the future - how we can drive change
Overall we know we have far to go, but we have also seen things improve over the last 12 months. Our GIN members spoke about some key initiatives that could help drive even further progress in the industry, including:
Supporting women in talent programmes, cross-industry collaboration and mentoring;
Challenging businesses on offering more equal parental leave policies and flexible working environments;
Encouraging men to act as advocates for gender equality and speak up against inappropriate behaviours and ‘locker room’ talk;
A narrowing of the gender pay gap and equality in all roles across the industry;
And obviously bringing like-minded people from across the industry through GIN events!