Insurance. Isn’t that a dry, dusty old business for nice chaps in grey suits?
Not at all, old bean. Insurance is actually one of the most dynamic and fast-changing sectors of business and one way it’s throwing off its old image is by clearing seats at board level to make way for women.
Earlier this year HM Treasury threw a stiletto through the glass ceiling when it launched Women in Finance, an initiative aimed at making insurance an appealing choice for females.
There are plenty of women at entry and mid-level in this business, but now the barriers to getting right to the top are being swept away.
One of the organisations signed up to lead the change is the Association of British Insurers. It’s pledged to achieve at least a 45% to 55% female to male gender split across management positions by the summer of 2019.
That date’s not far away so the industry is gearing up to make positive changes quickly through recruiting new staff and encouraging experienced talent to return to insurance jobs after parental leave.
“Encouraging diversity is a priority issue,” says ABI Director General, Huw Evans, and you can’t get clearer than that.
So if you’re a school leaver, a graduate, an employee in a different business environment looking for fresh challenges, or a mum at home with a new baby and planning your return to the workplace, insurance is a hot spot to target.
Geraldine Morrison has worked her way up from office junior to a senior level in the business.
“By the age of 16 I was married with a baby. Mine wasn’t the typical route into career success, but I found in insurance I really flourished. So I made one career move after another until I achieved a senior management position,” she says.
The good news is there are lots of exciting opportunities in insurance on s1jobs, both at entry level and for more senior positions.
Many provide active career development that can put you on track to reaching the highest levels of the business, where salaries are extremely healthy.
And another sign women can make an impact is the emergence in the past few years of a number of professional networking associations for women in insurance.
Joining one of these is a good way to get to know other women in the business and begin forging your way to the top.
For all the latest Insurance vacancies visit s1jobs