During my career in the public and private sector, I’ve observed that the most productive and energized workplaces are where everyone’s work is respected and all workers are given fair and equal opportunities to prosper.
That is why I enthusiastically accepted an invitation to join the B20 Special Initiative on Women’s Empowerment task force. Women leaders from around the globe joined forces to spotlight both the special challenges and solutions to women’s ability to live healthy and financially secure lives.
The task force has worked diligently during 2021 to develop policy recommendations that will help businesses and governments around the world achieve gender equity. Importantly tomorrow, the task force shares its report with the Italian G20 presidency. The report will be released publicly the next day.
The U.S. life insurance industry strongly supports business and government working together to help women. The report by the task force will help raise awareness of this important issue with government and industry leaders around the world.
Life insurance companies have long been helping women from across the globe prosper. For example, life insurers offer protection products that can help women achieve financial security for life. But not enough women have access to these life-changing tools.
One of the strategies life insurers are using to reach more women customers is to recruit more women into the industry. Women are underrepresented throughout all sectors of the insurance market, including regulation.
U.S. life insurance companies are working to increase the representation by women and other underrepresented groups. ACLI launched its Economic Empowerment and Racial Equity Initiative with concrete actions to address inequities. ACLI’s Board of Directors was among the first in America to have 100 percent of our members commit to the CEO Action Pledge to build more diverse and inclusive workplaces.
The life insurance industry’s core mission is helping people take care of the things that matter most. Through the efforts by the Special Initiative on Women’s Empowerment task force and ongoing initiatives by our industry, life insurers and governments can work together so that women around the world have an equal opportunity to thrive and protect their family’s financial future.
On October 18, I’ll be talking more about ways to help people prosper and protect their family’s financial security at the Insurance Summit sponsored by the Italian National Association of Insurance Companies in partnership with the Italian G20 presidency.
Susan K. Neely was President and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), the nation’s leading trade association determined to help families live better lives by achieving financial security and certainty. As president and CEO, Neely drove public policy and advocacy on behalf of ACLI’s member companies that represent 93 percent of industry assets and serve 90 million families. She is CEO Emeritus through December, 2024.
