CII encourages sector to get to grips with the gender gap
The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), is encouraging firms in the insurance and financial advice sectors to start disclosing their gender pay information ahead of next April’s deadline, regardless of whether or not they are required to.
In issuing the ‘call to action’ the CII is leading by example by doing so itself - five months in advance - despite the fact it is exempt by being under the 250-employee threshold.
The move coincides with the publishing of a specially-commissioned briefing paper, ‘Mind the gap’, in which the CII outlines the key factors behind, the causes of, and what can proactively be done to bring about better balance.
The CII’s mean hourly pay gap is currently 28%, compared to a sector average of 47% and national average of 14%. The median hourly rate gap is 18% compared to sector average of 37% and national average of 10%.
As one of the first signatories of the Women in Finance Charter, the CII has pledged to promote gender diversity and inclusion by:
• Having a senior executive team responsible and accountable for gender diversity and inclusion
• Setting a three-year internal target for gender diversity in our senior management including;
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- 30% female representation on the CII Executive
- 30% female representation on the CII Board
“The data that firms are sharing between now and April 2018 is only the start,” commented chief executive, Sian Fisher. “Our stakeholders want to see evidence of what we are doing individually and collectively to reduce the gap, and they will expect to see significant improvement in future years.
“We are a strong profession, and when we behave with confidence and purpose the public will trust us to deliver. However, if we are opaque or make excuses, they will question our ability to treat customers, as well as employees, fairly. Publishing our gender pay information is an opportunity to show that we recognise that we serve the whole of society, and we should take this opportunity.
“I am encouraging all businesses in the insurance sector to publish their data openly, even if like the CII, their headcount is lower than the threshold required by the rules. The public and our employees will expect to see a positive, transparent and joined-up approach to addressing it.
“We see this as the first step in an ongoing process. At this stage, our focus is not on the size of the gap, but what we, as a profession, are prepared to do about it - and it must be more than the bare minimum.
“Such a commitment is the foundation on which our culture is based and we are asking all those who work in our sector to join with us to tackle and resolve the gender gap.”
The ‘Mind the gap’ publication paper is available to read in full on the CII website.
