Just over a year ago, the editorial team at InsuranceERM decided to instigate a simple guideline: every feature should include commentary from at least one woman.
Amid growing awareness of the lack of gender balance in the industry, we thought it was a straightforward, easily assessed rule that would help reinforce the fact that many talented women work in our sector and avoid the stereotype of insurance being a man’s business.
So how have we been doing? Our hardworking intern, Cherise Veerasawmy, examined 106 analysis articles published between August 2019 and 2020.
She found 47% (50) of our analysis articles included at least one woman. Of the 106, 33 were “single source” articles – typically an interview with one person – and 30% of those were with females.
Overall, there is definitely room for improvement.
Analysis of the “all male” articles reveals some where we obviously did not try hard enough to find a female voice.
But they also reflect that many of the powerful positions in the industry remain held by men, and in some areas we are struggling against the odds. Our reports from the reinsurance industry’s Rendez-Vous de Septembre, for example, were badly lacking in female representation.
I acknowledge the target for “one woman” is modest: if we were to count every man and woman we quoted, the ratio would be very tilted. I’m also aware we risk creating an environment where we seek a “token female” to comment in our articles.
But I’m proud we are taking positive steps and I welcome your feedback on what we could be doing on this issue. Send me a message at [email protected]
Cherise comments: “As an aspiring female actuary, I have always thought the insurance industry is typically male-dominated.
“However, my actuarial course is balanced in gender and led me to think the findings may not be because of a large gender gap, but for other reasons, such as women trying to have a better work-life balance and focusing on their core work rather than spending time talking to the media.
“I feel it is important we recognise there is a lack of spokeswomen and make a conscious effort to speak.”
Channels:People
