Insurance organisation Zurich has signed up to the Women in Finance Charter, which aims to improve gender diversity within the financial services industry.
The charter, which is a voluntary initiative launched by the government in March 2016, commits financial organisations that sign up to link the remuneration packages of their executive staff to gender diversity targets.
Measures that have to be followed in order to support the charter include setting internal targets for gender diversity in senior management, publishing details of the progress made in reaching targets online, and appointing a senior executive team member who will be responsible for gender diversity and inclusion.
Zurich will also provide a statement outlining how it will ensure the pay of the senior executive team is linked to delivery against its gender diversity targets, and the date that this will come into effect.
The organisation's commitment to the charter follows on from its achievement in securing Economic Dividends for Gender Equality (Edge) certification in November 2015, in recognition of its efforts to address gender equality in the areas of flexible working, equal pay for equal work, leadership, recruitment and promotion, and workplace culture.
Georgina Farrell (pictured), head of HR, UK at Zurich, said: “Signing the charter is the next step on the journey we’ve made on gender diversity over the last two years. This includes being the first global insurer to achieve EDGE certification, as well [as] the launch of our Women’s Innovation Network (Win) and being a founding member of the Gender Inclusion Network for Insurance, a collaboration of Women’s Networks in Insurance.
“We’re fully committed to embedding gender diversity and inclusion into all of our practices and believe that this will deliver better outcomes for our employees, customers, and shareholders.”