We use cookies to improve your experience and by using the site you agree to this. Read our cookie policy to find out more.

Close and Accept cookies

CII – Insuring Women’s Futures

Toggle menu

Careers in risk

Risk and insurance can be a highly rewarding career for women and men. Historically many have perceived insurance as a career more for men than for women – particularly at senior levels – but this is changing.

Our goal

To improve the profile of women in the sector, in particular increasing the number of women at senior levels and in business roles, building the pipeline of younger career women in the profession, and making the sector more attractive to new female talent

What we will do

  • Collaborate with the profession to better understand the barriers to gender balance in the sector, through dialogue, surveys and analysis
  • Provide education, training and support to the profession both to increase awareness of the value women can bring to insurance business in all roles, and to proactively support the development and pull through of the pipeline of women
  • Establish focus groups to develop and share good practice – such as returning to work, working practices, women in specific roles (e.g. underwriting), cultural change in line with research findings
  • Raise awareness of legal and regulatory obligations, and risk management considerations
  • Improve transparency of gender balance in the profession, and women’s careers in insurance, to support the sector to attract new and diverse female talent
  • Leveraging leading women’s insurance networks to provide support to women in the profession (such as peer to peer, and mentoring), and to positively profile the profession externally through wider cross sector collaboration and events participation

The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has launched an initiative to help women to return to work after a career break. The site includes advice, opportunities and case studies from other women who have successfully balanced a career in risk and caring for a family.

Go to www.women.cii-talent.com to find out more.

Progress of Women in
 the Insurance Profession

150 years of progress and counting...

1822
Earliest known female agent
1851
Sheffield Female Political Association
1855
Prudential employs women canvassers
1870
The Married Women's Property Act
1871
1871
First women employed as insurance clerks
1878
Women access University
1888
London matchgirls' strike
1902
1902
First ´lady typewriter´ is employed
1903
Women's Social and Political Union
1914–18
1914–18
Women clerks during World War I
1918
Representation of the People Act 1918
1918
First woman elected as an MP
1919
1919
CII bar on women sitting exams at the CII is lifted
1920
Sex Discrimination Removal Act
1920s - 1930s
Career vs Marriage
1921
First female Fellow of the CII
1922
First female prize-winner
1922
First woman to address the Insurance Institute of London
1922
Law of Property Act 1922
1928
Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928
1930s
1930s
Women relegated to administrative roles
1939 - 1945
Women fill the gap during World War II
1939 - 1945
First woman appointed to a senior post at the CII
1948
First woman to attend the CII members' annual dinner
1948
National Health Service (NHS)
1953
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
1957
First woman to win the Rutter medal
1957
First women Presidents of Local Institutes
1950s - 1960s
1950s - 1960s
Careers for boys and careers for girls
1961
Contraceptive pill available on the NHS
1966
Equal CII membership
1970
1970
Women underwriters at Lloyd's
1970
Equal Pay Act 1970
1971
Fathers spend 15 minutes a day on childcare
1973
Lloyd's first female broker
1975
Sex Discrimination Act 1975
1975
Employment Protection Act 1975
1977
Silver Jubilee
1979
First UK female Prime Minister
1981
A remarkable year for women prize-winners
1970s - 1980s
1970s - 1980s
Stereotyping in the workplace
1987
First black female MP
1990
Independent taxation for women
1999
The Maternity and Parental Leave, etc Regulations 1999
2001
2001
First female President of the CII
2002
Golden Jubilee
2003
Paternity Leave and Pay
1990s - 2000s
Women career up the insurance ladder
2007
2007
The Women in Insurance Network (TWIN) is established
2008
The Insurance Supper Club (ISC) is founded
2010
Equal Pay Act 2010 and Equality Act 2010
2011
First female clerk of the Worshipful Company of Insurers
2012
Diamond Jubilee
2012
2012
Second female President of the CII
2013
2013
First female CEO of Lloyd´s
2014
Shared Parental Leave and Pay
2014
Independent Women in Insurance Network (iWIN) launched
2014
Startling statistics
2014
BBC bans all-male panel shows
2015
2015
Job sharing
Present 2016
Recent initiatives
Present 2016
Present 2016
First female CEO of the CII
Present 2016
Women in Finance Charter
Present 2016
Women in politics
2018
Mandatory gender pay gap reporting
2020
BBC to have 50% female workforce
2020
33% female board representation accross the FTSE 350
2030
Parity in the C-Suite
2041
UK gender pay gap closed
2059
US Gender pay gap closed
2133
Global gender pay gap closed
1822
Earliest known female agent
On the death of her husband, Mrs Barnes was appointed agent at North Shields by the Norwich Union Life Insurance Society. At the time it wasn't unusual for a widow to take on the work of her late husband to safeguard her income.
Close
1851
Sheffield Female Political Association
The Sheffield Female Political Association was the first women's suffrage organisation in the UK. It was formed in February 1851 and brought a petition to the House of Lords in support of the enfranchisement of women.
Close
1855
Prudential employs women canvassers
Canvassing involved identifying proposals and then passing them on to the local agent. In working-class homes it was usually the wives who controlled the house-hold finances, so it may have felt that women canvassers had an advantage in talking to them about life insurance. This practice however did not develop.
Close
1870
The Married Women's Property Act
Women were now allowed to remain the legal owners of their property rather than have all income and inheritances pass to their husbands. It was very easy to circumvent this law and as the Act was not retroactive women married before 1870 could not reclaim their property.
Close
1871
1871
First women employed as insurance clerks
As business developed and administration work increased, The Prudental pioneered the employment of women, an innovation in The City. Within two years it had employed 50. The practice was not followed in London, though in Manchester in 1974 The Refuge employed a dozen. The Scottish General Fire Assurance Corporation, later part of Aviva, will first employ 'lady clerks' in 1895, and Allianz, in Germany, did without women altogether until World War I. Image: Lady clerks (courtesy of The Prudential)
Close
1878
Women access University
The University of London, founded in 1836, became the first university in the UK to accept women on equal terms as men.
Close
1888
London matchgirls' strike
More than 1,400 women and teenage girls strike in protest at unfair and dangerous working conditions at the Bryant & May factory located in Bow, London.
Close
1902
1902
First ´lady typewriter´ is employed
The first 'lady typewriter' appeared in the head office of the Yorkshire Insurance Company. Up to that date typists were men. In most insurance companies it was employment as typists rather than clerks that gave women the entry to offices as paid staff, and this did not happen until the 20th Century. The Prudential had bought its first type-writing machine in 1875, but the shift key had not been developed and the use of machines did not become general until the 1990s. They were at first operated by men, the operatives being called themselves 'type-writers'. During the early 1900's a few women began to be employed for type-writing in insurance offices. The provinces appear to have led the way. Image: Miss Baithwaite first typist of the Friends Provident (early 1900).
Close
1903
Women's Social and Political Union
Emmeline Pankhurst founds the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), known as the Sufragettes. Formed of women frustrated with the ineffective tactics of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), the Suffragettes took a more militant approach.
Close
1914–18
1914–18
Women clerks during World War I
The anecdotal existence of female clerks and typists before 1914 became a flood during World War I, when in some cases 90% of pre-war male staff were engaged in fighting the enemy. The employment of women due to shortages of manpower during the war was always intended to be temporary. Clothes were a problem, and staff was advised to wear modest attire - many employers adopted the 'solution' of supplying overalls, often in dark blue or green. In some cases this practice persisted at least until 1950. Image: War-time City 'man' and 'his' lunch. Front cover of the Daily Graphic showing a few of the thousands of women war workers employed in the City (1916).
Close
1918
Representation of the People Act 1918
Women gain the right to vote in the UK, but had to be aged 30 or over, own property or have graduated from university.
Close
1918
First woman elected as an MP
Sinn Féin's Constance Markievicz, becomes the first elected female MP, but chooses not to take her seat at Westminster. She was also one of the first women in the world to hold a cabinet position (Minister for Labour of the Irish Republic, 1919-1922)
Close
1919
1919
CII bar on women sitting exams at the CII is lifted
In 1920 the CII Examiners Committee reported that twenty-two women had sat exams. The committee added that 'now that they are admitted generally by local institutes to membership it is reasonable to suppose that they will come forward in increasing numbers'. The number however did not increase very fast. Image: General Accident staff (1919, courtesy of AVIVA).
Close
1920
Sex Discrimination Removal Act
Women could no longer be disqualified from working in civil or judicial professions either because of their gender or their marital status.
Close
1920s - 1930s
Career vs Marriage
Through the 20s and 30s insurance employers perpetuated the de facto rule that women should resign on marriage, with the result that professional qualifications were liable to run to waste. In resigning, women lost their accrued pension rights, and some employers, with this in mind, made them small cash payments by way of dowry. The interwar years saw the appearance of two different groups of women working for insurance offices: those who came to fill the time before marriage, and those few who either through choice or necessity were to make insurance their career. The women who attained managerial posts in insurance were the exception and fell into the category of women who chose a career over marriage.
Close
1921
First female Fellow of the CII
Miss Hilda Theobald of the Ocean Accident and Guarantee Corporation became the first woman Fellow of the CII.
Close
1922
First female prize-winner
First woman to win a CII prize was Miss Rachel Levin from London Guarantee & Accident in the fire branch.
Close
1922
First woman to address the Insurance Institute of London
Miss M.E. Wright was invited by the President of the Insurance Institute of London to deliver a speech on January 1922. The lecture, titled 'Womens place in insurance', discusses the recruitment of women to fill the void left by the male workforce during and after World War I. She also gives advice about the ways women could find better jobs within insurance, and the role of education and professional qualifications in advancing women's careers within the industry.
Close
1922
Law of Property Act 1922
The Law of Property Act allowed men and women equal inheritance rights on the death of their spouse or intestate children.
Close
1928
Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928
The 1928 Act widened suffrage by giving women over 21 electoral equality with men.
Close
1930s
1930s
Women relegated to administrative roles
As we can read in the 1931 article 'Insurance as a career' written by the CII's secretary E.W. Humphry 'insurance offices are staffed chiefly by men, but there are many openings for girls, particularly in the accountancy, typewriting and stenography and filing departments. The terms of remuneration are reasonable, and there is much of interest to be found in the work. There are individual instances, too, of women attaining executive positions of importance, but such cases are exceptional. What the future may hold for women in the business, I should hesitate to prophesy. A prophecy fifty years ago in regards to the place which women would occupy in 1931, in the professions and industries of the country would, I fear, have been very wide of the mark.' Image: Norwich Union head office telephone switchboard (1938, courtesy of AVIVA).
Close
1939 - 1945
Women fill the gap during World War II
With thousands of men away serving on the frontline, British women took on a variety of new jobs as they did during World War I.
Close
1939 - 1945
First woman appointed to a senior post at the CII
Miss Pauline Fairburn was appointed a secretary of the Insurance Charities. It wasn't until 1967 that we see another woman in a non clerical post, when Miss Constance Bickle was appointed CII librarian. In 1981 Miss Jennifer Lees became careers information officer.
Close
1948
First woman to attend the CII members' annual dinner
When Miss Freda Roddick FCII applied to attend the members' annual dinner in 1948 the secretary was deputed to interview her to see if she really wished to come. She did, and since then women members have regularly attended the dinner. However the rise of women members has been slow.
Close
1948
National Health Service (NHS)
The NHS is formed, providing cover for most women and children for the first time as previous health insurance schemes were linked to employment.
Close
1953
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth ascended the throne at the age of 25.
Close
1957
First woman to win the Rutter medal
Miss Monica Mackmurdo became the first woman to win the Rutter Gold Medal for the best Fellowship examination.
Close
1957
First women Presidents of Local Institutes
The first three women to be elected as Local Institute Presidents were Miss D. C. Bailey (Coventry), Miss S.M. Essery (Plymouth) and Miss C.E. Bell (Truro), all of the Royal. The first two also became the first women to serve on the CII Council.
Close
1950s - 1960s
1950s - 1960s
Careers for boys and careers for girls
In the 1963 book Target for careers we can read: "In theory, there is no bar to the progress of women in insurance. In practice, there is unfortunately some difference between careers for men and for women. (...) When a young man is recruited to an insurance office, it is assumed that he will be both willing and available to undergo this continuous process without interruption. When a girl enters, neither she nor her employer is sure whether or not marriage and the raising of a family will interrupt the process, possibly at a critical stage. Employers until now have, therefore, been more inclined to devote time and money to the training of young men than to the training of young women, although there are exceptions". Image: Pamphlets published by the CII encouraging a career in insurance focusing on the job best suited for 'boys' (technical, managerial) and those better suited for 'girls' (administrative roles).
Close
1961
Contraceptive pill available on the NHS
In 1961 the contraceptive pill became available on the NHS. It was mostly prescribed to older married women who didn’t want any more children. For the first time in history, women had control over when they might get pregnant and give birth.
Close
1966
Equal CII membership
Up to 1966 the proportion of women members remained at less than 7%. Equal membership was introduced this year - until then women, apart from diploma holders had to pay only a nominal subscription fee. An alternative cheaper 'lady social membership' was also offered where local institutes wished. Half the CII women opted for that alternative membership, and the CII was left with only 3% of women among its full members. The 7% level was not reached again until 1978. As at 31 July 2016, 33% of CII members are women.
Close
1970
1970
Women underwriters at Lloyd's
The last bastion against women in insurance was held by Lloyd's. The corporation relied on women to staff the policy-signing bureau when it was set up in 1916, but not until 1970 did it admit women to underwriting membership, and only in 1973 were women allowed to work in the underwriting room. Image: Women at Lloyd's. Claire Gibbs, broker and Sylvia Horsey, underwriter (1975).
Close
1970
Equal Pay Act 1970
The UK government passed the Equal Pay Act in 1970, and yet today, 46 years later, men still earn more. Women earn £300,000 less than men over their working lives. Equal Pay Day, the day after which women are effectively working for free, was the 9th of November in 2015.
Close
1971
Fathers spend 15 minutes a day on childcare
Dads spend 15 minutes per day caring for children. By 1997 this has risen to two hours per day and 2.7 hours in 2011.
Close
1973
Lloyd's first female broker
Liliana Archibald was appointed Lloyd's first female broker. She then became its first female 'Name', the term used to describe rich individuals who backed policies written at Lloyd's with all of their personal wealth and took on unlimited liability.
Close
1975
Sex Discrimination Act 1975
The UK government passed The Sex Discrimination Act which protected people from discrimination on the grounds of sex or marital status.
Close
1975
Employment Protection Act 1975
The Employment Protection Act 1975 made it illegal to sack a woman for being pregnant and introduced statutory maternity provisions.
Close
1977
Silver Jubilee
25th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne.
Close
1979
First UK female Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher became the UK's first female Prime Minister.
Close
1981
A remarkable year for women prize-winners
In 1981 women won the majority of the open CII prizes, eleven out of nineteen, a remarkable proportion when we consider that women at the time constituted less than 10% of the Institute's membership, showing the disparity between academic and career success.
Close
1970s - 1980s
1970s - 1980s
Stereotyping in the workplace
Despite the passing of the Equal Pay Act 1970 and the Sex Discrimitnation Act 1975, attitudes towards women haven't changed much. The 1988 'Women in insurance' project surveyed seven insurance companies. The report showed that 71% of men compared with 31% of women had been sponsored by the company to study for further qualifications. With regards to promotion 83% of men and 74% of women surveyed said that opportunities were important or essential to them. However more men than women felt that they actually had promotion opportunities - 61% of men as opposed to 31% of women. Stereotyping also affected the way some women perceived or valued themselves. To the statement 'there is no point investing in women's careers as they leave to have babies', a surprising 8% of women agreed, opposed to 16% of men. Academic research into employment selection from the same year evidenced the stereotypical assumption that men are the 'bread winners' and women the 'home-keepers'.
Close
1987
First black female MP
Diane Abbot became the first black female MP.
Close
1990
Independent taxation for women
A married woman's income was no longer counted as part of her husband's earnings for taxation purposes. Women were now taxed independently of their husbands.
Close
1999
The Maternity and Parental Leave, etc Regulations 1999
Parents of both sexes were now entitled to 13 weeks unpaid parental leave per child.
Close
2001
2001
First female President of the CII
Lillian Boyle LLB, FCII, TEP, FSI - first female CII President.
Close
2002
Golden Jubilee
50th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne.
Close
2003
Paternity Leave and Pay
Fathers became entitled to two weeks paid paternity leave.
Close
1990s - 2000s
Women career up the insurance ladder
An article in POST from September 2002, reports as a result of a survey carried out by the publication, that women are attaining higher positions than in the past, but still more likely these positions are in front-line roles. More and more women are becoming role models for future generations.
Close
2007
2007
The Women in Insurance Network (TWIN) is established
Barbara Schönhofer establishes The Women in Insurance Network (TWIN) to improve diversity and inclusion for women in insurance.
Close
2008
The Insurance Supper Club (ISC) is founded
The Insurance Supper Club (ISC) is founded by Barbara Schönhofer: the first independent female insurance network across the insurance profession at senior level.
Close
2010
Equal Pay Act 2010 and Equality Act 2010
The Equal Pay Act 2010 prohibited less favourable treatment of men or women in terms of pay and conditions of employment. The Equal Pay Act legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society.
Close
2011
First female clerk of the Worshipful Company of Insurers
Sarah Clark becomes the first ever female clerk of the Worshipful Company of Insurers since its inception in 1979
Close
2012
Diamond Jubilee
60th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne.
Close
2012
2012
Second female President of the CII
Amanda Blanc ACII becomes second female CII President. She is now Group CEO of AXA.
Close
2013
2013
First female CEO of Lloyd´s
Inga Beale becomes Lloyd's first female CEO in the insurance market's 328-year history.
Close
2014
Shared Parental Leave and Pay
Shared parental leave is introduced giving a mother the right to transfer periods of leave to a father. Take up of shared parental leave in the UK predicted to be 8%. In Sweden it's 80%.
Close
2014
Independent Women in Insurance Network (iWIN) launched
The Worshipful Company of insurers (WCI) launched iWIN: a forum for networking, mentoring and for targeted learning and development; which provides a coherent voice for the interests of all women within the insurance profession supporting the growing momentum of the diversity agenda.
Close
2014
Startling statistics
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) reported in November 2014 that 51% of GI employees are female; 19.1% board members are female; the average wage for men working in GI is 34.7% higher compared to women; the average wage for men across sectors in the UK is 23.2% higher compared to women.
Close
2014
BBC bans all-male panel shows
The BBC's Director of Television announces that panel shows can no longer have an all-male line-up.
Close
2015
2015
Job sharing
POST Magazine Insurance Census has found more women than men work in the claims and operations departments of the 90 insurance companies that responded to their survey. The narrowest split by gender was in underwriting, where men held 51.3% of the roles, while the greatest divide was in management where 61.3% of roles are held by men among the firms they spoke to.
Close
Present 2016
Recent initiatives
Over the past four years there have been a number of initiatives whose aim is to raise the importance of diversity in its various forms. These include: Lloyd's diversity and inclusion charter; the Worshipful Company of Insurers' Independent Women in Insurance Network; the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Insurance Network (Link) and both the CII's equality and diversity good practice guide and their programme Insuring Women's Futures (IWF) .
Close
Present 2016
Present 2016
First female CEO of the CII
Sian Fisher ACII becomes the first woman to be appointed as CEO for the CII.
Close
Present 2016
Women in Finance Charter
The CII signs up to the government Charter designed to improve gender diversity in senior positions in financial services. The HM Treasury's Women in Finance Charter reflects the Government’s aspiration to see gender balance at all levels across financial services firms. It sets out how to implement the recommendations of the review: Empowering Productivity: harnessing the talents of women in financial services - undertaken by Jayne-Anne Gadhia, CEO of Virgin Money.
Close
Present 2016
Women in politics
Only 29% of MPs are female.
Close
2018
Mandatory gender pay gap reporting
New legislation means that by 2018 all companies with more than 250 employees will have to publish their gender pay gap data. Gender pay gap reporting regulations are included under section 78 of the Equality Act 2010, but have not been enacted to date. The regulations will affect about 8,000 employers across the UK. They will need to start calculating the pay gap from April 2017 - 12 months ahead of the first tables being published
Close
2020
BBC to have 50% female workforce
The BBC has pledged to have half of its workforce made up by women by 2020.
Close
2020
33% female board representation accross the FTSE 350
Lord Davies has set a new target of 33% female board representation across the FTSE 350 by 2020.
Close
2030
Parity in the C-Suite
The majority of global senior executives believe we will have equal representation of men and women in the C-suite by 2030. Source: Weber Shandwick.
Close
2041
UK gender pay gap closed
The UK government inspired into action by the Women’s Equality Party that was founded in 2015 — is aiming to bring about pay parity “within a generation”. 25 years is the conventional length of a generation, meaning this could be expected by 2041.
Close
2059
US Gender pay gap closed
The US gender pay gap is forecast to be closed earlier than in other parts of the World. Source: the Institute for Women’s Policy in New York.
Close
2133
Global gender pay gap closed
At current rates, it would take the world another 117 years – or until 2133 – to close the economic gap entirely. Source: World Economic Forum and its Gender Gap Report.
Close

Reports and studies

How to use the Apprenticeship Levy to fund Women in Leadership

Women & Risk (Source – The Insurance Supper Club)

Female millennials in financial services (Source – PwC)

200 years of women and finance (Source – Scottish Widows)

CEO Gender, Corporate Risk-Taking, and the Efficiency of Capital Allocation (Source – Social Science Research Network)

The CII insurance salary and workplace survey 2014/15 (Source – Chartered Insurance Institute)

HeForShe Corporate parity report 2016 (Source – UN Women)

Female Directors, Key Committees, and Firm Performance (Source – Lancaster University)

The Competitive Position of the London Insurance Market (Source – London Market Group / BCG)

Women in finance: a springboard to corporate board positions? (Source – ACCA)

Trailblazing Transparency: Mending the Gap (Source – Government)

Women on financial firm Excos (Source – Oliver Wyman)

When women Thrive (Source – Mercer)

Aligning gender diversity and international mobility in Financial Services (Source – PwC)

Holding up the mirror (Source – Lloyd’s)

Resources About us Contact us
Privacy Policy Cookie Policy © Copyright 2020 The Chartered Insurance Institute. All rights reserved.

Downloading your PDF

Enter your details below to download the PDF

Close