UK General’s Chief executive officer, Karen Beales, says the industry must make a “conscious effort” to promote more women and help them back into roles after a career break.
In an interview conducted with Insurance Times, Beales commented “I still think it is more difficult for women to progress within financial services generally. It’s not for the faint-hearted, and you’ve got to go that step beyond what is asked of you by volunteering for things so that you are in people’s minds.”
Having been at UK General since 2002, Karen has worked hard to climb the career ladder to where she is today. She was named Chief executive at UK General 12 months go and prior to that, served as managing director for the five years beforehand but says “she was told at many stages of her career she couldn’t get to where she is today due to her gender”.
“I don’t think it’s any more difficult in the insurance industry compared with other industries to fix this issue around women in middle-management roles, I just think that the insurance industry hasn’t quite caught up yet.”
In this frank account, Karen speaks openly about the challenges she has faced previously and what the industry can do to adress the imbalance. To read the full article, click here.