Aviva's former group enterprise risk director Chika Aghadiuno has challenged the insurance sector to appeal to as wide a talent pool as possible.
Speaking to InsuranceERM as part of its series of conversations with senior female risk professionals on gender diversity in the insurance market, Aghadiuno said her observation is that entry-level intake in the sector is increasingly more balanced in gender.
She said: “There is a general challenge to appeal to as wide a talent pool as possible, irrespective of gender - cutting across race and ethnicity, social mobility groups and visible and invisible differences. I believe the insurance sector should be an attractive proposition, but has not done enough to increase and demonstrate its appeal.”
“Once we attract more women and more diverse talent there is a more specific challenge of how we keep that talent,” added Aghadiuno.
Aghadiuno said a wealth of practical initiatives can and should be put in place to ensure a flexible and inclusive workplace and cited a strong parental leave offering for male and female employees as an example.
She also noted it should not be assumed all women or men want to climb the ladder, “but what we need to ensure is that there are no structural barriers in place for those that want to progress upwards or for those who feel unable to progress however they define that progress”.
In November 2022, Aghadiuno and Mudi Ugono, an insurance specialist at the Bank of England, told InsuranceERM about their roles in launching the UK Black Actuaries Network.