When it comes to women in charge, Canada leads the way. This was the finding of research carried out by the
International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF), released yesterday in recognition of this year’s International Women’s Day.
Women are at the helm of nine of the top 100 co-operative and mutual insurers in the world according to ICMIF’s report, compared to the number of the top 100 stock company insurers globally led by a woman: one.
Even within the co-operative and mutual insurance sector Canada is strides ahead, with women filling the post of CEO in 27% of mutual and co-operative insurers.
Kathy Bardswick, president and CEO The Co-operators (Canada) said the results were consistent with the industry’s philosophy.
“I am not surprised that co-operative and mutual insurers are once again showing leadership, given our bone deep commitment to remain connected to and reflective of our stakeholders.”
“I do look forward to a time, however, when we can celebrate statistics across all geographies and industries that truly reflect parity.”
With growth of 30% in premium income for the period since 2007, the mutual and co-operative model has been the fastest-growing part of the global insurance market during this period, compared to a 13.6% increase for the market as a whole.
ICMIF’s senior vice-president, Liz Green, commented: “Five of the nine largest co-operative and mutual insurers globally that have a female CEO are members of ICMIF and in total 14% of our member organizations are led by women. It is also very interesting to note that 70% of these female-led member companies have outperformed their local market over the last five years.”
