5 Ways To Support Women Working In The Insurance Industry

With only 29% of senior executive roles and 15.7% of senior broker roles being held by women (Insurance Times), it's crucial for insurance companies to actively support women and their:

• Professional development

• Work-life balance

• Training into leadership roles

Most employers probably believe each person in their team has the equal ability to succeed in their insurance careers, but without effective processes, it's highly likely that there will be women feeling the disadvantage. 

IMPROVE TRAINING

And this isn't about training employees fairly to help with equal progression (although you definitely should do that), but this is about implementing training programmes to address unconscious bias... because there may be more than you think.

Training employees to start with is critical. The strength of a company's culture has so much power to dictate how comfortable and engaged a female employee feels. However, that's not where it should end.

In fact, training your managers and anyone in executive positions is where you'll get the most benefit because change starts from the top. 

REVAMP YOUR RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES

Considering that less than 7% of chief executives in the insurance industry are women (Insurance Times), there's a clear need to revamp recruitment strategies to attract a more diverse talent pool. This might involve:

• Re-evaluating job descriptions to remove gender bias

• Utilising diverse recruitment channels to reach underrepresented candidates

• Implementing blind CV screening processes to mitigate unconscious bias in hiring decisions

See here for enable's recruitment services.

INTRODUCE MENTORSHIP PROGRAMMES

Given the lack of women in senior leadership roles, mentorship and programmes can play a crucial role in supporting the career development of women in the insurance industry. 

Pairing junior female employees with experienced mentors can provide valuable guidance, advocacy and confidence to help them advance into leadership positions.

OFFER FLEXIBLE WORKING

A HiBob survey found that women in the UK are still struggling more than men to achieve a healthy work-life balance.

Given the decline in female staff in the insurance industry (Insurance Times), offering flexible work policies is essential in 2024 for attracting and retaining anyone, especially women who may have family responsibilities. 

This could include hybrid working options and flexible hours to ensure women feel valued and not 'less than' because of their personal responsibilities. 

ACKNOWLEDGE SUCCESSFUL WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE

Reward and recognition is a tool every employer should use for every employee. But for an industry that is clearly lacking in not just awareness of women but physical female staff, highlighting successful women can make a huge change. 

Outside of the fact that you should be verbally and financially rewarding hard work regardless, as an employer you could:

• Encourage people to attend industry events about women

• Get female leaders in your organisation to lead internal communications to showcase women in the company

• Demonstrate how diverse the career paths are within insurance

- Written by Ben Pope

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