The business case for closing the gender gap
According to World Economic Forum estimates, it will take 152 years to completely close the global gender gap in economic participation. Wage disparity, leadership opportunities, and representation in the workforce are some of the issues that need to be addressed to close the gap. This makes it clear that businesses play a critical role and must take proactive action to achieve gender equity. Moreover, there are various studies that point out how having women in leadership positions can have a positive effect on corporate performance.
At the Sompo Group, we uphold SOMPO’s Values of Integrity, Autonomy, and Diversity. We not only pursue indicators related to women’s advancement, but actively promote the instilling and implementing of fundamental DEI (Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion) principles across our group companies.
An environment that supports professional growth
We are creating an environment and culture that supports career advancement regardless of gender, through various channels such as development programs and seminars for cultivating employees’ awareness and mindset.
The gender gap in Japan is significantly wider in comparison with other developed nations by a variety of factors but in the workplace, significantly by representation among decision-making roles. This is a key issue for Japan’s insurance industry and why our group companies like Sompo Japan run core programs to support the professional growth of our women employees. For example, its ‘SJ-style Mentoring Program’ uses a two-tier system that incorporates elements of sponsorship, preparing female employees for future roles and responsibilities as well as contributing to senior level management, leading to a diversified and enhanced work experience.
What is the SJ-style Mentoring Program?
SJ, or Sompo Japan, offers a program combining mentorship and sponsorship, to support professional growth of women through work experience. Mentors not only give career advice but also arrange actual opportunities to enhance the individual’s base of experience. Mentors can also collaborate with the employee’s direct manager to provide further support, as needed.
The program is structured into two tiers. “Future” targets employees anticipated to take on more advanced roles and responsibilities in the future, while “Next” is designed for leadership roles expected to contribute to higher-level management of the entire company.
In addition, a “reverse mentoring” initiative was introduced as an option in fiscal year 2024, where former mentors and mentees from the Future tier could switch roles and experience mentoring with a new perspective.
Representing Sompo Group’s presence in the insurance industry outside Japan, Sompo businesses around the world strive to create an inclusive environment where all voices are equally heard, and differences are respected and valued. Two-way communication channels and surveys ensure everyone has a voice. To advance women’s careers, mentoring programs launched in Brazil, Europe, and North America have helped increase promotion rates of women and their representation in senior positions. Another example is how our team in Turkey introduced an innovative Women’s Empowerment Workshop aimed to strengthen the presence of female claims advisors in the traditionally male-dominated express vehicle repair industry in the country.
The Sompo Group has a presence around the world, and in alignment with local cultures and norms, many of our local entities also actively engage in external partnerships to enhance talent attraction, provide additional development opportunities and foster community.
Empowering girls and women outside the company
Efforts to close the gender gap aren’t limited to what we do inside the company. We invest in the future of the young generation by offering opportunities for Japanese junior high and high school girls interested in math and science to engage with and experience the workplace of women working in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) for the insurance industry. We hope that our cooperation in such programs can inspire and assist these young minds in pursuing professional careers in STEM.
The Sompo Group is also building roads to professional growth for women outside the company through products and services. As a life insurance company and health support enterprise in Japan, Sompo Himawari Life Insurance developed the local market’s first paid Femtech service called “Linkx Life is” which supports the realization of ideal life designs based on five key areas―health, self, work, family, and finances. For companies availing of the service, their female workforce can receive comprehensive life design support inside and outside of work.
Initiatives to close the gender gap can take many forms, shapes, and sizes. We believe that the true value of these initiatives can only be realized by being mindful of differences in individual circumstances and regional work cultures.
