Page 47 - Investment Advisor March 2022

How Can Our Industry Help SETTING THE TONE
We also need more female leaders in our
Narrow the Gender Gap? industry. It’s been a persistent challenge
to unblock the system at the most senior
levels and, while progress is being made,
he new AIG Life & Retirement A TWO-WAY STREET we must do more.
Tresearch Americans Moving Let’s not forget, though, that it’s a two- We are seeing more companies
Forward explores how people are think- way street. It is equally as important establish programs that make elevating
ing more critically about future events for our industry to make women a sig- women to management positions a busi-
and the impact on their finances. nificant part of our business strategy, ness priority. For these efforts to take full
One of the notable findings is that whether that’s bringing more women in effect, the tone must be set from the top.
women appear less likely than men to as clients or creating services and solu- Leadership must communicate clearly
have experienced financial improvements tions that match the financial realities and consistently why this is vital to the
over the previous year. In fact, only 1 in 4 of their lives. success of their organization. In addi-
women (26%) said their household’s finan- One way to achieve this goal will be tion, companies need not to just have
cial situation has improved, compared with for us to recruit more women for careers these programs in place, but also regular-
41% of men. The greatest ly evaluate their progress
disparity was in retirement It is equally as important for our industry and adjust as necessary.
readiness, where only to make women a significant part of our As one example, I
18% of women report an worked with several of
improvement, compared business strategy, whether that’s bringing my colleagues to create
with 41% of men. more women in as clients or creating a Women in Distribution
These survey find- networking group at
ings provide yet another services and solutions that match the AIG Life & Retirement.
reason why our industry financial realities of their lives. It’s been such a helpful
must do more to help setting for my female
women achieve financial —Terri Fiedler, AIG colleagues to build rela-
and retirement security. tionships and help one
With a new year, this is the perfect in financial services and insurance. The another enhance our careers. More than
moment to focus in on ways we can financial lives of women are often much that, the formation of this group sent a
work together to narrow the gender gap. different than they are for men. With signal across our organization that the
more women leading the meetings that advancement of women is important,
ADVISORS PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE define strategy, create product and man- and we are taking it seriously.
One of the most important steps to narrow age implementation, the financial con-
this gender gap is for more women to work cerns and needs of women will be better LET’S USE THIS MOMENT TO
with financial professionals. The guidance reflected in our work. NARROW THE GENDER GAP
and tools that advisors provide can be a How far have we gone to incorpo- The last two years have been incredibly
powerful resource for building retirement rate women’s financial needs into our complex and extraordinarily challenging.
security. With a advisors at their side, operations? Does our work sufficiently It is only natural to want things back
women will be better able to strengthen recognize that women generally live the way they were, but we should not
their financial well-being, reduce stress longer than men and will need to fund lose sight of the fact that much needed
and stay on track for retirement goals. more years of retirement? Do our strate- to change before 2020 — and still needs
More than that, a trusted profession- gies fully incorporate the possibility that to change. Let’s use the new year to
al can develop a personalized plan that women may want to work on a range of improve financial and retirement secu-
accounts for the expected and the unex- financial goals before saving for retire- rity for women and to take steps within
pected. Whether it’s handling financial dis- ment? Does our approach recognize that our organizations to make that outcome
tress, a new career path or family changes, women often spend fewer years in the more likely.
women can ensure their retirement plan workplace, whether that is a result of
has flexibility so they can manage the stepping away to raise children, serving Terri Fiedler is president and chief executive
repercussions of significant life changes. as family caregivers or something else? officer of AIG Financial Distributors.

MARCH 2022 INVESTMENT ADVISOR 45