Empowering Women in Insurance Leadership

Women leaders are not only good for insurance, but they’re also good at it. They’re also uniquely positioned to guide the London insurance market through periods of significant change, like Blueprint Two. In this blog we’ll be analysing the representation of women in leadership roles within the insurance industry, identifying the specific barriers they face in the insurance sector, exploring the significance of mentorship programmes and discussing how gender-diverse leadership contributes towards improved business performance.

Women in insurance leadership roles

Back in 2018 McKinsey’s ‘Women in the Workplace’ study reported that across all industries women constituted almost 48% of entry-level employees but only 23% of C-suite roles. Fast forward to 2024 and an EY study dispiritingly reports that the number of women being appointed as financial services directors had almost halved during 2023, from 61% to 33%. When we examine the figures specifically for women in insurance, we observe that despite women making up 66% of entry-level positions, and 60% of the total workforce, only 7% of CEOs are women, meaning that they hold only 29 out of 431 CEO positions.

So while progress is being made, it’s slow and considerably more work is needed.

The barriers women face

Women still face numerous barriers to becoming empowered leaders within the insurance sector. These include:

• Unconscious bias – the internal assumptions that many people are not aware they hold, such as that women are incapable of holding senior positions, that they will prioritise their family ‘duties’, and that they provide a poorer ROI than men, still hold sway.
• Discrimination – sexism is still prevalent in an industry where men previously dominated. Many women still face gender-based discrimination and harassment and have been subject to inappropriate comments, bullying or even sexual assault.
• Inflexibility – more organisations within the insurance industry must offer flexible working arrangements such as part-time work or job-sharing to enable women to balance their family responsibilities and work commitments.
• Lack of access to mentoring and networks – women are frequently excluded from the informal network of contacts that men develop and maintain, and which can lead to promotion. This can result in a lack of opportunity to grow professional relationships with leaders in more senior positions who can offer guidance and become mentors.

Overcoming these barriers

There are a range of strategies that insurance organisations can implement in order to overcome the barriers that women face and create an inclusive workplace culture. These include investment in training designed to address unconscious bias, policies which embed Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) into a company’s culture, diversity training, leadership development programs, as well as initiatives for recruiting, retaining and developing women in the industry such as building a talent pipeline and encouraging learning and development.

However, one of the most powerful methods of ensuring women reach their full potential is mentorship.

Mentorship

We’ve looked at the role of mentorship previously and examined the benefits it brings to women in insurance. It’s one of the most effective ways that early-career women can advance and one of the most rewarding things more senior women can do to assist others in their rise. Organisations should be developing mentoring programs that are both cross-departmental, and experience-led. However, for this to happen, more needs to be done about allowing women time to mentor and be mentored, encouraging women to pass on their expertise, not just in their specialist area but also in core leadership skills, and developing a culture of mentorship in order that women can support other women. 

Yvonne Hill-Planter, a pioneering women in insurance, and currently Director of Claims – Programs & Captives at Skyward Specialty Insurance, has written eloquently about the importance of mentorship and how the empowerment of women benefits everyone.

Why does all this matter?

Gender-diverse leadership contributes to more than just improved corporate performance. The business case for empowering women in insurance leadership includes the following:

• Improved financial performance – leadership teams that include women outperform those that don’t. They make more incisive strategic decisions and identify new market opportunities which leads to higher profitability.
• Innovation – women offer different perspectives from men and offer new ways to solve challenges. By having women in leadership positions insurance businesses can maximise performance and meet and exceed financial targets.
• Employee satisfaction – organisations that have women leaders are not only more attractive to potential employees but also offer greater levels of satisfaction to current employees. Diversity contributes much to a healthy, happy working environment, and to making employees feel valued. 

By all metrics women leaders in the insurance industry offer the sector an advantage which a homogenous approach clearly lacks. Diverse leadership teams can drive organisational adaptability and champion cultural shifts within the industry, creating much-needed change that sets the tone for a bright future for the industry.

For more information about how your organisation can implement the changes it needs to ensure a brighter future, contact us here.