Kathmandu. Although women cover more than half of the number of insurance policies sold by life insurance companies in Nepal, the presence of women in the leadership and decision-making process of insurance companies is very low.
The Nepal Insurance Authority’s report titled ‘Insurance through a Gender Lens: A Fema Meter Assessment in Nepal’ has revealed that there is a huge gap in the presence of men and women in the insurance sector.
The presence of women on the board of directors of life insurance companies is only 22 percent. Moreover, the access of women to the top executive management level (the Chief Executive Officer and his direct subordinate positions) is limited to 13 percent. According to the report, the number of men at the top executive level is almost seven times more than that of women.
Similarly, at the team head or manager level, 26 per cent are women. However, 40 per cent of salaried employees and 44 per cent of licensed agents are women. In small life insurance companies, 32 per cent of the board of directors are women, but only 11 per cent at the executive level. In the non-life insurance sector, 19 per cent of the board of directors and 22 per cent of the executive level are women.
Although the number of women employees at the lower and middle levels is satisfactory, their inability to reach the upper leadership level is considered a serious issue. The Insurance Authority has directed the companies to conduct gender inclusive recruitment process, succession planning, mentorship and women leadership development programs to improve this situation.
