"Tolerance is not patronizing, it is not about people with power tolerating people without power. Tolerance is the willingness to take a step towards each other, to discuss things and be prepared to change," Booth explains.
Equal opportunity is a management issue
Today companies can no longer afford to not address the concerns of underrepresented stakeholders. For example women now account for more than one-half of the talent pool in most industrialized countries, which is one reason why modern companies are increasingly looking to women in their search for key personnel and are investing in their training and advanced education.
In order to maintain the loyalty of best skilled employees Allianz must focus on all diversity issues, including gender, explains board member Clement Booth: "The number of female graduates for example is expected to keep rising. If we are looking for high performing individuals to bring problem solving ability and enhance the quality of management, we cannot afford to ignore the capability and potential of women. In other words: we need to increasingly recruit and retain women as employees."
Promoting more cultural diversity in the company has been an objective for several years. In 2006 Booth joined Allianz's Global Diversity Council as chairman. He considers this initiative to be just as important as the other major strategic plans of the Group such as the Sustainability Program or the Customer Focus Initiative. This year one focus of the Council was career assistance for women: "We took a decision to start with a focus on women for the following reasons: we want to ensure that we are fully tapping into all the talent capabilities within the Group and also to capitalize on the impact diverse teams have on improving business performance. In addition, we want to concentrate on women as our customers."
Clement Booth commends Asia's lead regarding women in top positions
Diversity is an essential part of business
Booth intends to bring about change by treating diversity as an essential part of business. Concrete targeted measures are developed for the individual Group companies and outcomes are assessed on a regular basis. Moreover, according to Booth, gender equality will be a part of the strategy for the future: "We continue to promote and develop people based on merits and performance. But if 50 percent of the workforce is female, it is not logical for women to be under-represented in top management positions at Allianz. The focus also makes sense from a market perspective. Just take the U.S. as an example: women make over 80 percent of the buying decisions in American households and 50 percent of all businesses are owned by women. We cannot afford to lose out on this input in management." With women holding currently about 21 percent of the management positions within Allianz Group, the issue remains a challenge over the long term.
Of all companies worldwide, just under 40 percent have no women in upper management, as documented in the Grant Thornton International Business Report 2007. While numbers for North America, Europe and the Near East are the lowest, developments are encouraging for women in the emerging Asian countries.
This is also confirmed by Sally O'Hara of Madhya Allianz CP Thailand. She is the Chief Operations Officer and has observed that more and more women are taking over management responsibilities within the Allianz Asia Pacific Group. "During the last four years we have seen a continuous increase in the number of women in executive positions, both in the middle tier and at the top," she explained. In 2004, half of all executives in middle and upper management were women; they are now at 61 percent. Just as encouraging are the numbers from Allianz Indonesia, where women hold 43 percent of executive positions and men hold 57 percent.
Asian women are clearly in the lead
Four women from Allianz Asia Pacific Group tell about their responsibilities, their work reality and their career prospects:
Kiswati Soeryoko, director of Sharia and Head of Agency Services Allianz Life Indonesia, has spent more than 12 years with Allianz Life Indonesia.
Kiswati Soeryoko
Where did you start out in the company and how did you progress to your current position?
I joined Allianz in 1996, when Allianz launched its Life operation in Indonesia. I started as a marketing division manager. After two years I became manager of the Agency Administration division and was then promoted to director of Agency Administration and Sales Support. Prior to my current position as director of Sharia, I was in charge of Marketing Communication, Product Development and External Relations.
What helps women to be successful in their job?
Women tend to be more easily accepted by customers. This is an advantage proven by better sales performance.
Julie Chang, chief investment officer Allianz Life Taiwan, heads the Investment Department which handles investment transactions for traditional account and unit-linked account funds
Julie Chang
What makes you successful in your job?
I think the following personal characteristics lead to my success: I am positive, able to take high pressure, and I show a strong willingness to support our sales channels.
How do you balance your career and family life?
Time management is important. I keep reminding myself to be very efficient and effective in performing my daily job. In addition, I'm very lucky to have a considerate boss and a nice team. I've never encountered a conflict between my career and my family life.
Angela Tan, chief financial officer in Allianz General Insurance Malaysia Berhad, has been with Allianz for over 4 years. She previously worked as a business analyst for the company.
Angela Tan
Do you think rising to higher positions it is a different challenge for women?
Thankfully, I have never felt that being a female was a disadvantage.
From my point of view, the difficulty in any job for any one, male or female, is to find the right balance between work and private life. Being a woman, the factors to consider will be different from a man. For me, focusing on the balance consciously is very important.
Is there one special thing you do that makes you successful in your job?
I do not profess to have any knowledge of the secret to being successful. For my part, I abide by these three things: to do my best, to strive to improve and to enjoy my work. If success comes alongside, then it is a double bonus.
Sally O'Hara, chief operations officer Ayudha Allianz CP Thailand, held various roles and positions in the Marketing department, from project manager to vice president to senior vice president and then to chief officer Marketing.
Sally O'Hara
What do you think is the difference between men and women who make it further up the career ladder?
Both men and women have ambition, drive and ability, so all being equal, there need not be a difference when rising to a higher position.
It's important to be open to opportunities and to not let them pass you by. Sometimes, this requires asking for what you want. From experience, male employees are quite comfortable doing this. Women, on the other hand, are very strong at negotiating on behalf of another, such as a subordinate or colleague, but are often less demanding and aggressive when representing themselves.
Do you have a personal or business philosophy that you can share with other colleagues?
Be open to opportunities and embrace challenges. Always act with integrity. Don't overlook the importance of your own development and never stop learning. And, remind yourself not to take life too seriously!
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