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Women in Risk: Advice for Advancing Female Risk Professionals Beyond Women’s History Month

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“There are more and more courageous conversations happening in business about gender parity and barriers for women in business,” said Tina Gardiner, manager of risk management services for Regional Municipality of York, Canada, and member of the RIMS board of directors. “While women are still underrepresented at the executive level largely due to gender bias, I am pleased to see changes happening at a rate much faster than ever before.”

Indeed, significant challenges remain in gaining true equity and eliminating the gender gap in risk and insurance, but there are also more resources, momentum and mentors than ever before.

“One of the biggest barriers I faced as a young woman starting a career in risk management was operating in an environment where there wasn’t really the benefit of high-level female role models or mentors,” said Carrie Cannataro, senior vice president of client services at Gallagher Bassett, noting the dramatic evolution since she entered the space in the mid-’80s. As more women have earned senior leadership roles, female risk professionals are increasingly strengthening both the risk profession itself and the prospects of other women fighting for a seat at the table. As Cannataro noted, “We can only be successful if we immerse ourselves within a network of collaborative and positive influences.”

To that end, I recently put out a call on social media asking women in risk to share their best advice for others who are trying to advance in the risk profession and who identify as female. Originally, the goal was to celebrate Women’s History Month by spotlighting women in risk and insurance in March, and it has been wonderful to see initiatives to highlight and advocate for women across the industry for the past 31 days. Equity and excellence from half the population should span far more than a month, however.

In that spirit, here’s some of the valuable insight of women advancing risk management year-round, and their advice to fellow female risk professionals looking to advance their careers in risk:

“There are tremendous opportunities for women in risk management. However, to reach your potential and really excel in this field, women can’t be afraid to speak up. We must ask for the resources we need and seek out opportunities that might take us out of our comfort zones but that also offer a platform for us to share our knowledge and expertise.”
– Kristen D. Peed, CPCU, RPLU, CRM, AIC, ARM-E, corporate director of risk management and insurance at CBIZ, Inc. and member of the RIMS board of directors

“In my experience I have found women in risk management are strong in their support and encouragement of each other through networking, mentoring, celebrating and sharing stories about career journeys. We need to keep investing in each other by pushing boundaries and comfort zones in the positions we apply for, the salary levels we expect, the credentials we earn and the workplace environment we demand. We need to actively engage in the socialization of gender equality, inclusivity, combating imposter syndrome and workplace flexibility for shared family responsibilities. The future we want and deserve is ours to create for each other.”
– Tina Gardiner, B.Sc., CRM, CIP, manager of risk management services for the Regional Municipality of York

“I’m committed to supporting women in the workplace and believe it’s crucial that we pave the way for future generations. I’d offer the following advice: 1) Own your development and invest in yourself. 2) Establish a personal growth/career goals, including strategies and tactics on how to achieve them and timelines. Review regularly to monitor progress and celebrate wins. 3) Create a personal board of directors and mentors, and seek feedback from them. 4) Give back and gain valuable experience via joining a non-profit board. 5) Network, network, network.”
– Soraya Wright, RIMS-CRMP, vice president of strategic initiatives at RIMS, and founder and chief risk officer of SMW Risk Management Consulting LLC

“Women have been the cornerstone of this profession since its inception. I applaud all of those who came before us and laid a foundation for us to grow and succeed, as well as those inspiring women who are determined to leave their own mark on this profession. For women to succeed in risk management, we must support each other. We must create opportunities for others to demonstrate their knowledge and capabilities, achieve their goals and advance professionally.”
– Penni L. Chambers, CPRM, CIC, CRM, ARM, vice president of risk management for Hillwood, a Perot Company, and member of the RIMS board of directors

“One of my biggest pieces of advice for women working in risk is that working hard by yourself is not the answer. We need to seek out relationships that inform and support our advancement. Whether it’s a mentor, coach or other professional network, there are plenty of ways we can seek help in defining rewarding and realistic career opportunities and put those opportunities within our reach.”
– Carrie Cannataro, senior vice president of client services at Gallagher Bassett

“Persistence and communication. Not everyone hears information the same way. Think about your audience as you communicate fact-based information and gut instincts. If you’re not heard the first time, don’t give up! You may need to change your wording, timing, or examples in order to get your point across.”
– Katherine Gledhill, MBA, vice president of finance and accounting at RIMS and CFO of Spencer Educational Foundation

“Growth and comfort do not always happen at the same time. You have to get comfortable doing things that are out of your comfort zone. This is where you’ll really grow, when you challenge yourself beyond what you think is possible. As women, we must build each other up and constantly look for ways to learn from and support one another. I’d also strongly encourage women to consistently assess their values and take the time to prioritize them throughout their careers. This will lead to sustainable happiness and success in both your personal and professional life.”
– Grace Grant, executive director at Gamma Iota Sigma

“Pick an area that interests you and become an expert. Being an expert takes time, but once you have this knowledge, no one can take it away. You must always continue to learn and expand your knowledge base. A solid foundation will support and allow you to take chances that a generalist cannot. You can gain this expertise by moving within one company/industry, one line of business, or geographically—just be clear on what your focus is. Women are often undermined or challenged on technical issues. However, if you have developed the needed expertise, you are more likely to challenge confidently with fact and figures. As you build your career, you will learn that people trust and respect experts, as experts understand their business better and can predict trends and drive the business more effectively.”
– Ciara Brady, global head of liability for Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty

Strengthening Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Efforts

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Improving diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace seemingly remains an elusive goal for many companies. This persists even as many business leaders have stepped up to demonstrate that they value diversity and inclusion by making public commitments and dedicating time and money to training and development for their teams.

Society has a legal and moral obligation to extend equal opportunity to all people—regardless of gender, gender presentation, sexuality, sexual orientation, skin color, social class, religion and age, among other factors. But there is also a strict business dollars-and-cents reason for doing so: judging people on their talents and their potential, regardless of any of the factors above, means that you are getting the best people available. Discriminatory hiring practices simply dilute the talent pool.

A diverse workforce also brings a range of viewpoints and perspectives to a company. If employees feel safe to bring their authentic selves to work, they will feel empowered to help develop new ideas, products and missions to support the business and cater to its customers. Medium’s HR Blog and Resources published an article showing that diverse companies have increased revenue, more innovation, improved decision making, higher rates of job acceptance and better performance compared to competitors.  

Additionally, a 2018 analysis by McKinsey painted an even clearer picture:

  • Companies in the top 25th percentile for gender diversity on their executive teams were 21% more likely to experience above-average profits.
  • Companies with more culturally and ethnically diverse teams were 33% more likely to see better-than-average profits.

While most leadership teams believe that it is important to prioritize diversity and inclusion, they may also think it is something that will just fall into place. In reality, it will only succeed if it is deliberate—companies must plan for it, buy into it and incentivize it. It is also easy for businesses to believe they are doing a good job promoting inclusion and unwittingly stumble. Unconscious bias is real, and even people with the best of intentions can be guilty of microaggressions and other offenses against underrepresented groups.

Organizations seeking to embrace inclusion need to do so from the very top, and the practices, language, norms and processes that support these inclusionary goals need to move directly and effectively down the organizational chart. Something along the lines of superficial copy written in a policy memo will not do. Too often those kinds of actions are taken to “tick a box” without ever moving the needle. Company leadership needs to clearly set the tone and be certain managers and supervisors are not only onboard, but executing these missions on a regular basis. As with any for-profit project, achieving diversity is a goal that requires a comprehensive plan identifying the deficiencies and setting goals and a timeline to correct them.

Ensuring that promotions and new hires reflect diversity are obvious goals, but how does a company achieve them if it does not recognize that groups are still underrepresented in its workforce despite following what it believes are anti-discriminatory practices? A few years ago, a Silicon Valley startup called GapJumpers developed a platform to allow companies to hold blind auditions for openings in lieu of the traditional application and resume review process. They developed this process from an initiative that many of the world’s classical music orchestras undertook in the 1970s to try to diversify groups of predominantly white male musicians. The results were eye-opening: 60% of the applicants that made it through the selection process for interviews were from underrepresented groups. This approach may be out-of-the-box thinking for many organizations, but the fact that many companies are still struggling to achieve their diversity goals indicates that this is the time to throw out the old playbook.

Goals need to be set high enough so they are challenging while remaining realistic considering the company’s size and turnover rate. Achieving diversity is not a quick, one-size-fits-all fix and it is not going to happen overnight. However, as with many goals worth achieving, mindfulness, perseverance and commitment can prevail.

Working to Close the Gender Pay Gap

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U.S. government regulators at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) are requiring all private companies with over 100 workers to provide information including their workers’ genders, race and ethnicity as it relates to compensation. The EEOC uses this information, in part, to measure any pay gaps between employees that could be based on these characteristics. The EEOC instituted the requirement in 2016, and it covers about 70,000 employers and 54 million workers.

The Trump administration halted the rule’s implementation in 2017, but advocacy groups sued the EEOC, and in April, a federal district judge ordered its reinstatement. The rule requires that employers submit information about employees’ median pay and hours in various positions within the company, from sales staff to executives, both full-time and part-time.

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The policy is intended to make companies confront the actual data about their gender and racial pay gaps, which they may be reticent to do. Former EEOC commissioner Jenny Yang said, “Right now, there’s a strong incentive to not look under the hood, because if you find problems, many feel they’re under an obligation to immediately fix it, so they’d rather not.”

Not all companies are so unwilling to address the issue. For example, Nordstrom announced that it had achieved full pay equity, but that it was still working to ensure an equal share of men and women in leadership and top-paying jobs.

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Intel also announced “full representation” in its workforce—that the makeup of their workers mirrors the available talent pool—and pay equity for male and female employees.

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At the same time, U.S. pension funds and investors are similarly applying pressure to companies over their pay gaps. The pension funds for the states of Connecticut, Minnesota and Oregon are reportedly pushing for companies to disclose information about the promotion and compensation gaps within their ranks, as are private investment firms. These investors see companies’ insufficient gender equality as a risk that affects their bottom line. Tobias Read, treasurer of Oregon, told the Financial Times, “Gender equality, if we are not paying attention to that as a risk, we are not living up to our fiduciary responsibilities.”

Investment firm Arjuna Capital has filed multiple shareholder proposals to the various companies it invests in, asking for them to disclose median pay information related to gender and race. In response, Citigroup disclosed that its female employees make 29% less than their male colleagues, and pledged to continue working to increase representation of women and minorities within the company. Famously, the firm State Street Global Advisors put a bronze statue of a small girl near the Wall Street bull to raise awareness of index funds of companies that have gender-diverse leadership. Reportedly, as a result of the publicity, hundreds of companies worldwide moved to add at least one woman to their boards.

Investors making decisions based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors has been a growing trend, as Risk Management reported in the May article “Getting Serious About ESG Risks.” As that article stated, investors have used their clout to make companies focus on issues like climate change, and start considering not only the affect that environmental changes have on the business, but also the effect the company’s operations have on the environment. These considerations are changing risk managers’ evaluations and calculations of their companies’ risk profiles, and slowly changing companies’ gender diversity.

A lack of gender equality in pay or representation can not only lead to reputational damage for a company, but companies that do not have diverse workforces at all levels can miss out on the innovation that diversity and inclusion can bring. And this does not just mean bodies in the room—it means actually listening to different voices from different groups of people.

From Westeros to Government and Business, Women Have Less Voice

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In the final, contentious season of HBO’s fantasy epic “Game of Thrones,” two powerful queens face off in a battle for control over the entire known world. Meanwhile, other formidable female characters outmaneuver their rivals to command entire kingdoms and (spoiler alert) strike the blow that saves humanity from eternal darkness. But looking solely at on-screen speaking time, you’d never know that women were main characters and, arguably, the show’s driving force. According to Statista, women on the show got just 22% of the speaking time in the last season, and only cracked 30% in one of the show’s eight seasons.

Of course, this kind of imbalance is hardly confined to the fictional world. Recently, Montreal city official Sue Montgomery made headlines for vividly illustrating the issue in the city’s monthly executive committee meetings. Montgomery tracked the difference in the amount of time that men and women spoke by knitting in red when men were speaking and in green when women did. The resulting product is overwhelmingly red with occasional smatterings of green. In response to questions on Twitter about the committee’s gender makeup, Montgomery noted that the committee is far more balanced, comprising 31 women and 34 men.

The concepts of “mansplaining” (when men condescendingly explain something to women) and acknowledging that men often talk over women in both professional and personal settings are now increasingly familiar and more widely discussed cultural issues. In fact, Merriam-Webster officially added “mansplaining” to the dictionary in March 2018. There is even a website called arementalkingtoomuch.com, which helps users track these disparities during meetings or social situations by clicking a button when “a dude” is talking and another when “not a dude” is talking.

A 2017 study by research company Prattle did just that, examining 155,000 business conference calls from the past 19 years, finding that men dominated the meetings by speaking 92% of the time. The study also found that women’s remarks in these meetings largely focused on investor relations staff introductions and not as much substantive contributions. While studies have shown that men far outnumber women in corporate leadership positions, as with the Montreal city meetings, Prattle CEO Evan Schnidman noted that the statistics on talking time do not necessarily correlate to the rate at which men outnumber women in the room. Indeed, Schnidman said, “Male executives provide significantly more verbose answers to analyst questions than their female counterparts.”

Gender diversity in corporate settings is hardly just about optics or legal requirements, it also offers broader benefits for employees and their employers that can pose critical advantages. For example, as discussed in “Pale, Stale and Male: Does Board Diversity Really Matter?” in Risk Management, McKinsey & Company found that companies with higher gender diversity in their board rooms are 21% more likely to have “above-average profitability” than those with lower rates. Efforts focusing on equitable representation particularly continue to lag with regard to women of color, who are the least represented group in every corporate setting except entry-level positions.

However, the cases above indicate that a balance of men and women in the room may not be enough, leading more people to discuss how their companies can promote both diversity and inclusion in their workplaces. In addition to focusing on diversity of those in the room, employers should be taking steps to ensure that they are facilitating a diversity of voices as well. Creating environments that encourage more women to voice their opinions can foster different perspectives and more innovation, and promote employee loyalty, engagement and well-being.