About AXA
AXA is a world leader in insurance and asset management, serving 107 million customers – individuals and businesses – in 64 countries with 165,000 employees managing total assets of EUR 1.429 billion. (US$1.64 billion). AXA, helps customers live their lives with peace of mind by protecting them, their relatives and their property against risks, and by managing their savings and assets. Because every day is different, they support their customers as they face life’s problems, big and small, empowering them to take on projects and prepare for the future. As a company whose business is to protect people over the long term, AXA recognizes it has a responsibility to leverage their skills, resources and risk expertise to build a stronger and safer society empowering people to live a better life.
The Program
The company started exploring the Women’s Market in 2015 when it began conducting research with IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and Accenture for the “She for Shield” report – an extensive study on the specific insurance needs of women, with a focus on emerging markets. AXA subsequently launched its global initiative on women’s insurance in September 2016, with the intent of helping women in mature markets achieve financial independence and empowering women in emerging markets to live better lives via increased protection. The proposition includes a strategic focus on both women in the workforce and women SME owners, providing both segments with products and services tailored for their specific markets and needs. For women in the workforce this includes solutions under the Life & Savings, Health, Assistance and Property & Casualty pillars. For SME owners this includes business solutions under many of the same pillars, as well as help unlocking access to finance, information, education, networking and recognition, with an emphasis on mentoring. Recently, AXA entered into a partnership with the UK-based company Global Invest Her that enhanced their ability to provide these services to women entrepreneurs.
AXA also has a strong internal focus on Diversity & Inclusion. Their development program for female staff, AXA Sponsorship Tandem, has been recognized by Catalyst as a global best practice, and the company offers a global employee resource group – WoMen@AXA – the objective of which is fostering women’s professional development. The company also hosts an annual Women’s Conference at its Paris headquarters that enables employees to network and share experiences.