Women in Finance Charter
As a company, Unum is committed to championing the perspectives of the people who engage with our company every day. We see this as a responsibility shared with each and every member of our organisation.
Signing up to the Women in Finance Charter in 2016 displays our commitment to building an inclusive culture to benefit us — both now and in the future.
Unum UK is proud to announce we’ve hit the targets we set for ourselves as part of our commitment to the Women in Finance Charter. We wanted to have at least 35% female representation on our Executive Committee (ExCo) and 40% within our wider senior leadership team by the end of 2021. We’ve achieved 43% female representation on our Executive Committee and 40% female representation on our leadership team.
Signing up to the Women in Finance Charter in 2016 displays our commitment to building an inclusive culture to benefit us — both now and in the future.
Unum UK is proud to announce we’ve hit the targets we set for ourselves as part of our commitment to the Women in Finance Charter. We wanted to have at least 35% female representation on our Executive Committee (ExCo) and 40% within our wider senior leadership team by the end of 2021. We’ve achieved 43% female representation on our Executive Committee and 40% female representation on our leadership team.
Our Women in Finance journey so far…
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| Female talent in the total Unum UK workforce | 53% | 55% | 55% | 56% | 57% |
| Female talent at senior management level (internal L15+) | 1.4%* | 37% | 36% | 40% | 40% |
*Based on only ExCo level
How we have made progress…
We’ve launched our new Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) Strategy where we have put a priority focus on increasing women in leadership at the heart of our representation pillar for the next 2 year forward plan.
When we select our recruitment suppliers, we continue to rate them on how they demonstrate the ability to provide us with diverse and balanced shortlists.
We have also continued with our focus on putting in place a strong talent development approach so we can develop the great female employees we already have in our organisation into our senior roles. We accept this may take longer than just recruiting externally into a vacancy alone, but we feel it’s the right thing to do for our existing employees.
Women in Finance and the future of work
The future of work has been a big topic for most organisations. Unum UK has ensured our approach continues to promote a healthy work/life balance and an environment where collaboration is key. Our teams have created individual team charters, working together to decide on the levels of flexibility needed in their working day.
We also have “locate for your day” approach to where you choose your location based on your day, giving our employees choice. This approach supports those with caring responsibilities, who are in the majority mostly women, making it easier for them to participate in the workforce.
We have rolled out I&D training to all our leaders and employees, which focuses on how everyone can take accountability to create an inclusive culture where we all feel we belong. Accountability partnerships with our leaders are bringing this training to life through real behavioural change.
We’ve now signed up to the Menopause Workplace Pledge and set up Menopause Cafés through our upLIFT Network, whose goal is to uplift all genders through shared experiences to build community, network, and share their experiences with the company.
This shows our commitment to:
- Recognising that the menopause can be an issue in the workplace and employees need support
- Talking openly, positively, and respectfully about the menopause
- Actively supporting and informing employees affected by the menopause.
What's next...
We are pleased to announce our new Women in Finance target stretches us even more to drive a successful and inclusive culture for the benefit of the entire business. This will also help us produce an environment in which everyone can thrive, and we commit to increasing the makeup of our senior management level (L15+) to have 43% female representation by 2026.
Any question?
Please contact Jane Hulme, Unum UK's HR Director.
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