The Gender Inclusion Network is changing
Since The Gender Inclusion Network launched in 2015, a lot has changed. In the UK we’ve been through three Prime-Ministers, exited the European Union, lived through a global pandemic and at one point the streets were filled with people hunting Pokémon. Remember that?
There’s been a lot of other milestones too. The #MeToo movement exploded again in 2017 with a New York Times article exposing long-running accusations of sexual harassment in Hollywood, empowering millions of people to come forward and share their experiences of sexual assault, harassment and sexism they'd been subjected to.
The tragic death of George Floyd saw the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement and a real wake-up call for the racism still present in our society today. Protests, marches and anti-racist activism dominated the news and challenged us all to think more about our actions.
And we've experienced real moments of progress, and hope. Kamala Harris became the first female, Black and Indian-American Vice President of the United States. We had our second female Prime Minister in the UK. And Eddie Izzard prompted an outpouring of love when she announced that she identifies as gender fluid and wants to be referred to with female pronouns.
And so it got us thinking - it's time we changed too. That's why we're so proud to launch a new, bolder, more inclusive Gender Inclusion Network. We hope you like it.
Creating an insurance industry inclusive to all, regardless of gender.
The Gender Inclusion Network – affectionately known as GIN – is an insurance industry network aiming to achieve gender balance for all. We use our position in the industry to offer insightful events, informative content and inspiring access to advocates, allies and mentors who work hard to promote inclusion.
GIN membership is free and open to anyone from across the insurance industry – regardless of gender – or anyone considering a career in the market. We want all our members to feel empowered to take positive action in improving gender balance within our industry.
This year we will be taking bigger, bolder actions towards achieving gender equality for all. This includes recognising that gender spans across a spectrum and goes way beyond identifying as strictly male or female. We will be encouraging members to become better allies by asking questions and being respectful.
We will also be working hard to drive progress in female inequality in the insurance industry and address the inequality that the data shows still exists. Why is our industry pay gap still at 30%, more than double the UK average? We want to support the recognition and remuneration of our incredible female colleagues and continue to live up to our recognition at the Women in Insurance awards.
And we want to support, empower and engage more of our male colleagues in the conversation too. For International Men’s Day 2020 we shone a light on some of the challenges our male peers face, particularly when it comes to mental health. We want to help foster an industry that allows men to be vulnerable and still be respected.
So we’re going to be busy. Very busy! We hope you’ll join us for our exciting next steps in our journey towards a truly gender inclusive insurance market.
Yours,
The Gender Inclusion Network committee