80% increase in institutions participating in pioneering female actuarial mentoring scheme as second year launches

The actuarial profession’s pioneering mentoring scheme (AMP) has launched its second year with an 80% increase in supporting organisations and encouragement from Nicky Morgan MP, Chair of the Treasury Select Committee.  This coming year, AMP welcomes 84 mentoring pairs onto the programme, including some very senior managers at participating organisations.  

The employers that have re-committed to AMP are: Aviva, (the) Government Actuary’s Department, Lane Clark & Peacock, Phoenix Group, (the) Prudential Regulation Authority, and XPS Group.

The organisations that have joined for the first time are: Axis Capital, Bupa, Hodge, Just Group PLC, KPMG, LV=, Lloyds Banking Group, Spence and Partners, and Zurich. 

AMP is designed to improve diversity at senior levels of the profession by helping retain female actuaries for longer. The pioneering mentoring scheme is supported by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), sponsored by PIC and is being run and managed by specialist mentoring, diversity and inclusion organisation, Moving Ahead.

84 talented female actuaries have been matched this year with a more senior male or female leader from another organization for a nine-month mentoring relationship. The cross-company element is a first for the profession and is critical to the scheme’s success - it's a proven, powerful and practical way to help develop talent pipelines.

Quotes

Chika Aghadiuno, Chair of the IFoA’s Diversity Advisory Group, who gave the closing speech at the launch event said:

“This programme has gone from strength to strength since it began last year. We’ve had tremendous interest and backing for AMP within the industry.  As the scheme enters its second year, it’s clear that there is a demand for this kind of support as female actuaries navigate their career path. We know that both mentors and mentees benefit from this process and we are excited to see the progress of all those taking part in this year’s AMP. The IFoA seeks to provide opportunities to help its members and all actuaries fulfill their potential and programmes like these helps to support that aim.”

Tracy Blackwell, CEO of Pension Insurance Corporation, who gave the opening speech at the launch event, said:

“I’m delighted that AMP, in its second year, has grown significantly, allowing us to help so many more female actuaries and do something practical to help improve diversity in the industry at senior levels. I am very proud of our association with AMP because it really is starting to change the face of the industry. This is very important not only for the sake of equal opportunities and having the widest pool of talented candidates from which to draw future leaders, but it helps the actuarial profession better reflect wider society. This is really important in managing pension risk, general insurance and all the other crucial roles that actuaries play within financial services.”

Tracy and Chika were joined at the launch event by Catherine Thain who won AMP’s 2017/18 'committed mentee of the year'.  Catherine’s experience is testament to just how powerful and practical the scheme is.  Speaking to this year’s mentors and mentees at the launch event, Catherine said:

"I had my daughter and was feeling under confident about coming back to work.  I joined the programme to help change that.  It didn't take that long to see some tangible changes.  I gained my confidence, won committed mentee of the year and secured a promotion."

Liz Dimmock, Founder and CEO of Moving Ahead, welcomed AMP participants at the launch and said:  

“Structured mentoring schemes help retain female talent by developing confidence and creativity.  They provide the time, space and conditions for women to invest in themselves – delivering proven and powerful results.  We’re delighted that the actuarial profession has recognized the value of AMP and that, together, we’ll be enabling even more talented women to shine this year.”

Nicky Morgan MP, Chair of the Treasury Select Committee, who is a supporter of AMP, wrote to the programme’s organisers recently to say:

“Congratulations to everyone involved in the AMP and good luck for year two. It is great to see so many senior champions advocating mentoring and diversity. We know there is still a lack of diversity at the top of the financial services sector, including the actuarial profession. I am sure that the AMP will play a key part in changing that.”

Notes to Editors

1.      This year's scheme was formally launched on 7th November 2018.  The keynote speaker was Sarah Winckless MBE, former bronze medaling Olympic rower and now Head of Design and Delivery for Moving Ahead and Team England’s Chef de Mission for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

2.      The Actuarial Mentoring Programme (AMP) is designed to improve diversity at senior levels of the actuarial profession, aims to retain female actuaries within the profession through ongoing career advice and support, with the support of employers of actuaries.  Non-retiring female actuaries leave the profession 13 years earlier than their male counterparts.  That leads to a lack of diversity at senior levels, despite there being near parity of numbers between male and female junior actuaries.  The AMP cross-company mentoring programme’s mission is to help close that 13-year gap and redress the senior level gender imbalance.

 3.      Any organisation interested in being part of next year’s programme should contact tay@moving-ahead.org  Moving Ahead and Women Ahead are social impact organisations, specialising in mentoring development programmes that improve workplace diversity and inclusion.  Our work is underpinned by our research and storytelling.  We believe that diversity of thought, experience and teams leads to better performance. With a focus on practical action, we design and deliver programmes that enable individuals and organisations to be at their best.

Media enquiries to Alex Duff alex@moving-ahead.org 07506 146 147.

Dame Katherine Grainger to launch sixth year of the world’s largest gender diversity cross-company mentoring programme

One           Amazing venue:  The Barbican

Two           Dames speaking:  Dame Katherine Grainger and Dame Helena Morrissey

107            Leading organisations:  Committed to gender equality

2,500        Mentors and mentees:  About to embark on their mentoring journeys

The 30% Club and Women Ahead are launching its 2018 mentoring programme on 11th October at the Barbican.  The 30% Club’s Founder, Dame Helena Morrissey, will be joined by Britain’s most decorated female Olympian of all time, Dame Katherine Grainger. 

Dame Katherine, who is now Chair of UK Sport, will be sharing her experiences with programme participants from leading organisations such as HSBC, M&S, The London Stock Exchange Group, CISCO, Aviva and the Environment Agency to name but a few. 

Dame Katherine says: “There’s a strong alignment between sport and business and both worlds can learn a great deal from each other.  I know from my lengthy career in sport that even with clear and ambitious goals, the journey is rarely simple and we all face set-backs. Nevertheless those challenges can be met with the right attitude, the right support and a desire to constantly assess and improve. That mindset is as important if you want to make it to the top of business as it is in making it to the Olympics.” 

Dames Helena and Katherine will be joined by the 30% Club’s Global Chair, Brenda Trenowden CBE, who was recently award a Queen’s Honours for her services to diversity; and, Liz Dimmock, Founder and CEO of Women Ahead, the social impact organisation who specialise in diversity and mentoring and run this programme on behalf of the 30% Club. 

Brenda Trenowden CBE says: “For the first time ever this month, the level of female representation finally hit 30% on FTSE100 boards.  That’s a welcome and important milestone but there is still much to do.  We’re focused now on securing 30% women across FTSE350 boards and, more importantly getting 30% women into senior leadership roles.  Mentoring is a proven, powerful and practical way for organisations to develop their female talent pipelines and I’m delighted to see the year-on-year growth of this programme and that so many leading organisations are recognising the value of mentoring to support the development of their future female talent.”

Journalists interested in attending the event - to see one of the world’s most powerful mentoring networks in action - or to interview Dame Katherine, Dame Helena, Brenda Trenowden CBE or Liz Dimmock on the day, should contact Alex Duff alex@moving-ahead.org 07506 146 147.

Notes to Editors

About the event

The launch takes place on Thursday 11th October at London’s Barbican between 17:30-21:00.  Speeches and panel from 18:00 with Dame Katherine’s keynote at 19:30.

About 30% Club

The 30% Club was founded by Dame Helena Morrissey in 2010 to enable greater representation of women on FTSE100 boards.  Whilst the Club’s remit has since broadened, the focus remains firmly on supporting more women into senior management and leadership roles within leading companies.  Brenda Trenowden CBE took over from Helena Morrissey as Global Chair of the 30% Club in 2015.  Dame Helena is Head of Personal Investing at Legal and General. Brenda Trenowden CBE is also Head of FIG Europe, ANZ. 

About Women Ahead

Women Ahead and Moving Ahead are sister social impact organisations working to increase all spheres of workplace diversity and inclusion.  The organisations believe diversity of thought, experience and teams lead to better performance.  With a focus on practical action, the organisations design and deliver programmes to bring about equality of opportunity.  Through mentoring, storytelling and research, the organisations are working to improve workplace diversity and inclusion.  Women Ahead is focused on bringing about gender equality and working with organisations to support more women into senior management and leadership roles.  Women Ahead runs the world’s largest cross-company mentoring scheme on behalf of the 30% Club.

Women Ahead teams up with Audi Australia

• Audi Australia is the founding local partner to this mentoring programme – delivered by diversity, inclusion and mentoring experts, Women Ahead

• The scheme is a pioneering cross-company, cross-sector program that will officially launch before the end of 2018

• The scheme is the perfect fit for Audi’s #DriveProgress initiative, which strives to open up a more inclusive and diverse conversation with a wider audience

Women Ahead is pleased to announce its partnership with Audi Australia to launch a new cross-company mentoring scheme in Sydney. The collaboration aims to ‘balance the pyramid’ at all levels by facilitating and encouraging the development of strong female talent in some of the best organisations in Australia. The scheme, which is Women Ahead’s first in Australia, will match male and female leaders to mentor women from a cross-section of different organisations. 

The partnership forms part of Audi Australia’s #DriveProgress initiative. Supporting high-potential women from multiple organisations, including the Audi Australia team, the programme will support cross-company mentoring and provide guidance, tools and reflection, with the end goal of increasing the number of females in senior roles. Individuals will be empowered to explore outside the automotive industry and beyond their current environments to bolster their personal development and experience.

Audi Australia will be partnering with like-minded organisations to launch the scheme. Each organisation will be involved in a strategic selection of mentors and mentees and from there, the nine-month mentoring programme will continue with a series of learning and networking events. The scheme will kick off on the 29th November with a special showcase event, at Audi Australia HQ in Sydney. Organisations are invited to attend and should contact Monica@women-ahead.org to learn more about the programme or book their place.

Liz Dimmock, Founder and CEO at Women Ahead, said:

“Women Ahead is delighted to be partnering with Audi Australia and supporting their #DriveProgress campaign. The Women Ahead cross-company mentoring scheme provides a positive platform for organisations across all sectors to take practical action to create tangible change.”

Zena Boakes, Chief Human Resources Officer at Audi Australia, said: 

“Audi sees great value in our partnership with Women Ahead, to generate positive change in an industry which has traditionally been male-dominated.

“We see the enrichment of our team - with a growing number of women in senior roles - as a tremendous opportunity for the individuals involved, as well as for the future success of the Audi business in Australia.

“We also look forward to collaborating with other like-minded organisations through the Women Ahead programme.”

Background Information

About Women Ahead

Women Ahead is the social impact organisation seeking to bring about gender parity.  It is committed to working with organisations to support more women into senior management and leadership roles.  Women Ahead believes diversity of thought, experience and teams lead to better performance. Its focus is on practical action, designing and delivering programmes to bring about equality of opportunity.  Through mentoring, storytelling and research, Women Ahead is improving workplace diversity and inclusion.  Women Ahead is the sister organisation to Moving Ahead, who design and develop programmes for broader inclusion and diversity.  www.women-ahead.org

About Audi Australia

Earlier this year, Audi Australia launched the new #DriveProgress initiative, which aims to start a more inclusive conversation with the full spectrum of the Australian automotive audience. #DriveProgress is about cutting through the jargon to help all drivers understand how Audi designs technology to elevate and simplify their lives.

#DriveProgress is the start of a movement that will gather momentum in the coming months, expanding into all corners of Audi Australia: from HR diversity policies, to the way it does business and interacts with customers, to the activities supported by the Audi Foundation.

Media Enquiries to:

 Alex Duff, Communications Lead, Women Ahead and Moving Ahead, UK alex@moving-ahead.org

Shaun Cleary, Corporate Communications Manager, Audi Australia

shaun.cleary@audi.com.au | +61 478 493 389

Nicky Morgan MP gives high praise and recognition to the actuarial profession’s first cross-company mentoring scheme

The actuarial profession’s first cross-company mentoring programme has received high praise and recognition.  MP and Treasury Select Committee Chair, Nicky Morgan, wrote to the programme organisers to praise the scheme and wish everyone success for its second year. 

Female actuaries leave the profession 13 years earlier than their male counterparts.  That leads to a lack of diversity at senior levels, despite there being near parity of numbers between male and female junior actuaries.  The AMP cross-company mentoring programme’s mission is to help close that 13-year gap and redress the senior level gender imbalance. 

Nearly 100 people took part in last year’s inaugural programme, where female mentees are matched with a more senior male or female partner from another organisation.  The cross-company element is a critical aspect to the programme’s success.  It offers mentors and mentees a safe space to talk openly about the experiences and challenges they’re facing. Mentees benefit from a fresh perspective with their mentor bringing different skills, experience and expertise to the partnership.  And whilst mentors are giving, they also get to hear a completely different perspective from their mentee.  Cross-company mentoring is a proven, powerful and practical way to help develop female and male talent pipelines because everyone involved learns. 

The Actuarial Mentoring Programme (AMP)  is a partnership between diversity and mentoring experts, Moving Ahead and the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.  It is sponsored by Pension Insurance Corporation. 

Rt Hon Nicky Morgan MP and Chair of the Treasury Select Committee said: 

“Congratulations to everyone involved in AMP and good luck for year two. It is great to see so many senior champions advocating mentoring and diversity across the actuarial profession. We know there is still a lack of diversity at the top of the financial services sector, including the actuarial profession.  I am sure that AMP will play a key part in changing that.”

Tracy Blackwell, CEO of Pension Insurance Corporation said:

“This is a very exciting project with an important objective and I am delighted that we have been able to work with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and Moving Ahead to bring it to fruition. We all recognise the benefits of having a diverse workforce and, as an employer of actuaries, we at PIC want to provide support to women in the actuarial profession. Mentoring is proven to be effective at helping to realise potential, and this programme is a really positive sign for the future of the profession, and women in finance more generally.”

There’s still time for your organisation and colleagues to be involved in this year’s AMP programme, launching on 7th November.  The nine-month scheme costs organisations only £3,000 for up to five mentoring pairs (ten colleagues to participate). 

There are also 10 spaces reserved for actuaries working for smaller firms or seeking employment, there are 10 individual spaces reserved for you. 

You need to hurry as the sign-up deadline is looming:  Friday 28th September 2018.  For more information contact Tay@moving-ahead.org or click here to sign up  https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/AMPregistration. 

There’s a short film clip about the programme:  here