Making Strides for Gender Equality

During IICF’s 3rd Annual Women in Insurance Conference in New York, more than 650 insurance professionals gathered for insight and discussions regarding gender diversity in the industry. The themes and lessons shared throughout the conference focused on leadership topics as well as best practices for organizations to unlock the full potential of their workforce by championing and achieving better gender diversity.

Besides serving as a learning and networking opportunity for industry representatives from more than 30 states and nine countries, the conference served another purpose – as a barometer for progress on issues of gender diversity. Three hundred women – nearly half of the conference’s participants – took part in an onsite survey held on the second day of the event in mid-June.

The survey’s goal was simple – to evaluate how much progress, if any, has been made in the championing of women’s leadership development in the industry. With all the talk and effort being put forth to enable gender diversity in the industry, what do the results look like?

The results are encouraging. The survey revealed that 72 percent of women in insurance believe their industry is making progress in gender equality. For the second year in a row, more than two-thirds (68 percent) of women said their company is working to promote gender diversity.

It’s a positive trend to see, and one that many companies are working tirelessly to continue.

“There are some incredibly talented women in the insurance industry, but too often they feel isolated in their businesses,” said Deborah Aldredge, chief administrative officer at Farmers Insurance and an IICF Inclusion Champion Award winner. “Establishing a women’s network and making sure that men are included is a positive step. Putting leadership programs in place to support emerging talent from diverse backgrounds is another. Looking at policies, practices and work environment in the company to make sure that they are meeting the needs of all leaders and that they support the workforce of the future so that talent is retained is also important.”

Other areas for improvement were also noted. When asked what is the greatest challenge women face in ascending to leadership, 39 percent cited limited opportunities for upward mobility within their company. Another 30 percent of respondents stated that the greatest challenge is women not promoting themselves effectively.

While most conference speakers and attendees agreed that more work needs to be done, changes are already being noticed. Thirty-seven percent of respondents believe that the industry’s biggest improvement toward gender diversity is seen via shifts in corporate culture. The benefit of networking opportunities were seen as well, with 24 percent naming this the most important step toward gender diversity (up from just 9 percent last year).

External barriers still exist for women who seek leadership positions in their company. However, the percentage of women who named “biases in advancement” and “lack of opportunities for professional advancement” as the chief barriers fell to 68 percent, from 76 percent in 2014. This suggests that businesses in the industry are seeing the value that can come from a diverse leadership group.

Companies are clearly recognizing the need for a more gender inclusive workplace. At the same time, women themselves are realizing new opportunities to affect change for themselves and their colleagues. There is an observable trend of individuals launching their own women’s networks and mentorship programs to foster the advancement of women in their organizations – and these result in measureable engagement and change.