Wow - just landed in Toronto and truly overwhelmed by the number of messages, emails, texts and LinkedIn posts that greeted me when the phone fired up again. Your support and kindness is hugely appreciated. In all honesty, after 30+ years in Financial Services I am pretty used to sexist and derogatory comments like those in the AGM yesterday. Sadly, just like many MANY other women in business, I've picked up my fair share of misogynistic scars whilst travelling on my journey through various companies and boardrooms until arriving at Aviva. We all have our own stories... I guess that after you have heard the same prejudicial rhetoric for so long though, it makes you a little immune to it all. I would like to tell you that things have got better in recent years but it’s fair to say that it has actually increased - the more senior the role I have taken, the more overt the unacceptable behaviour. The surprising thing is that this type of stuff used to be said in private, perhaps from the safety of four walls inside an office - the fact that people are now making these comments in a public AGM is a new development for me personally. I can only hope that initiatives seeking gender equality like #womeninfinance and others can slowly eradicate this type of occurrence for the next generation - but in truth that seems a long way off; even with the help of some fantastically supportive men who speak out on the issue. So we have little choice other than to redouble our efforts together… Hopefully I can now look forward to a nicer welcome from Aviva Canada this week as it’s always lovely to be here - great business, great people - simply known as the best of the best. Thanks again everybody for your kind words, Amanda Ps: shout out to all my broker friends attending the greatest show on earth at BIBA this week in Manchester - make it one to remember…! https://lnkd.in/e4YGPy6v
I’m bemused at how many folks are here saying how ‘shocking’ this all is - as if they’re surprised. I’m not. For far too long, these kind of comments have been guised as innuendos, or passed off as jokes. In the pub, in the office kitchen while making a brew, in the meeting room when no females present and when they were. Folks don’t get so bold overnight. It’s there, insidious and underhanded. Undermining. To stick one’s head in the sand is to share culpability. I could raise the similarities with this kind of abuse and one based on race. But who would believe us? As women? As women of colour? Misogyny and Misognoir are lived experiences for many. The ‘shock’ expressed is only indicative of the privilege you’ve had to never experience this type of abuse. The energy expended in this outrage would be well spent checking folks at every step. When it’s even a whisper. Root it out from the root.
Mary Porter
1y
I'm shocked, but also not shocked at all. Sexist behaviours have been brushed over, swept under the carpet, wrapped up in jokes and built into systems for too long now. I'm so glad that this is not yet another occasion that is brushed over, I'm so glad you've called it out, and I really hope this encourages more women to speak up and no longer stand for this behaviour knowing that they will have the full support of allies around them. 💛
Well done Amanda for calling this out. It wasn’t so long ago that I was told (by a major name in our industry), that they didn’t employ females in senior leader roles - and that was ok because that was the norm. But actually, it wasn’t ok. It’s only by calling out and challenging these comments and behaviours that we will make any change moving forwards.
I’m shocked that anybody,let alone a shareholder, thinks these sorts of comments are acceptable. As a minimum, these people need naming & shaming; I do hope the record of the AGM is accurate in this regard.
Amanda, I just listened to your interview on Woman's Hour https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0018hdc Thank you for your courage and tenacity on behalf of fellow women in leadership roles. As you said, and have heard from others on this platform, the misogynistic behaviours just increase the minute you put your head above the parapet and move into senior leadership. You are right, if you don't speak up, who will. With gratitude! 🙏#womeninfinance
Martin Friel
1y
I'm no expert but the fact that there are fewer and fewer 'safe spaces' for people to talk like this probably means they feel more and more frustrated and it comes out in outbursts like this. I'm not on the receiving end of it so easy for me to say, but I think those comments are the start of the final death wail of people who hold views like this. I think it's the death rattle
I attend AGMs and ask ESG questions of the board in a professional capacity every now and then on behalf of Aviva Investors. It’s a powerful tool for shareholder advocacy. But the men who asked these questions were not acting professionally, even calling them amatures would be too kind. They are misogynistic dinosaurs from another era we are doing our best to leave behind. Let’s make sure that the work of the Women in Finance Charter helps catalyse the financial services sector to a point where female CEOs are no longer unusual or on the receiving end of such comments.
I am one of the supportive men who stands with you, and all women, for the need to improve diversity and inclusion (D&I) in insurance and financial services. Editorially, D&I is a major focus at InsuranceERM publication (www.insuranceerm.com) where I am deputy editor. I will always speak out on this issue - and do all in my power to help improve diversity and inclusion, so there are equal opportunities for all.
CFO, Insurance, Wealth & Retirement at Aviva
1yI was outraged in the room when I heard those comments. Thank you Amanda for calling out this despicable behaviour and for driving for the much needed change. I am proud to work with you and excited to make a better world for my daughter to grow up in.