AXA UK CEO supports Women in Finance inquiry

The Treasury Committee launched its inquiry into Women in Finance in October last year
The Committee is looking in detail at the representation of women in the financial services sector
Blanc's evidence will be considered as part of the Committee's final report which will have recommendations for the Government

Amanda Blanc, Group CEO of AXA UK and Ireland, gave evidence to the Treasury Select Committee this morning as part of the Committee’s inquiry into Women in Finance.

Blanc responded to a wide range of questions on gender diversity from the Committee, sharing her views on the impact of maternity leave on women’s careers, whether insurance was lagging behind banking and if there is an ‘alpha male’ culture in the insurance industry.

“If you look at the statistics, neither banking or insurance have performed well… instead of us competing we should be looking to work together to make improvements. Insurance is not in a worse position than banking but I don’t see it as competition, I think it’s important that we just get on with it. We can spend hours and hours looking at the numbers but we need to stop talking about it and actually do something.”

“The insurance industry is really serious about the progression of women. The ABI research issued yesterday showed that 78% of firms have a diversity and inclusion strategy and 74% of firms have an executive member responsible for diversity and inclusion. All the activity is there.

“For me it’s very simple, we have 11 million customers at AXA in the UK, and they are from all backgrounds. If you are going to deliver great customer outcomes, it’s absolutely vital that you are diverse as a company.”

When asked whether she had experienced any barriers in her own career progression, Blanc responded:

“I went to a comprehensive school in the Rhonda Valley in South Wales. Both my grandparents are miners so I never thought I would appear in front of this committee today… I honestly have not experienced barriers, certainly in the first 20 years of my career.”

The Treasury Committee launched its inquiry into Women in Finance in October 2017. It’s focus is identifying the barriers to women entering and progressing in the financial services industry.

Born 1967, Blanc was appointed Group CEO for AXA UK & Ireland in July 2016 having been CEO, AXA Insurance since January 2016. Blanc is also Chair of the ABI’s General Insurance Council Management Committee.

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Legal notes

About AXA UK

AXA Insurance UK plc registered in England and Wales under registered number 078950 and authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority under Financial Conduct Authority registration number 202312. Registered office is 20 Gracechurch Street, London, EC3V 0BG.

AXA UK is part of the AXA Group, a worldwide leader in insurance and asset management, with 147,000 employees serving 94 million clients in 50 countries. In 2023, IFRS revenues amounted to Euro 102.7 billion and underlying earnings to Euro 7.6 billion. AXA had Euro 844 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2023.

In the UK & Ireland, AXA operates through a number of business units including: AXA Insurance, AXA Health and AXA Ireland. AXA UK & Ireland employs around 10,000 staff.

Important legal information and cautionary statements concering forward-looking statements

Certain statements contained herein may be forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, statements that are predictions of or indicate future events, trends, plans, expectations or objectives. Undue reliance should not be placed on such statements because, by their nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and can be affected by other factors that could cause AXA’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward looking statements. Please refer to Part 5: “Risk Factors and Risk Management” of AXA’s Universal Registration Document 2022, for a description of certain important factors, risks and uncertainties that may affect AXA’s business and / or results of operations. AXA undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws and regulations.

AXA UK CEO Amanda Blanc gives evidence to Treasury Select Committee on Women in Finance