Gender balance

The 'Gender Promotion Ratio', or the proportion of women who are promoted into middle or senior management in a given year is a key internal performance metric for each Group EC member. We've exceeded our target in the recent years, which has helped us to move the needle.

We have achieved our target of 50/50 gender split in nomination-based leadership development programmes, and we systematically follow up with talents after their attendance in these programmes to ensure their skills and career ambitions meet the company's needs in the best possible way. We also systematically follow up on the career progression of those who participated in our Global Female Sponsorship Initiative between 2017 and 2019.

Swiss Re remains committed to ensuring equal pay for equal work regardless of employee’s gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or other personal characteristics. Every year we review individual salaries, target incentives and actual incentives to maintain pay equity, market competitiveness, and pay for performance. We have a neutral, non-discriminatory approach to determining pay at all levels. This approach includes, for example, defining compensation ranges by job family in the local market and strict governance around compensation decision-making and approvals. In addition, line managers have dashboards available to analyse compensation by gender for their teams. At larger locations, statistical analysis is regularly carried out to identify and address any potential risk of bias in compensation setting.

We monitor pay equity together with market practices and address concerns to ensure that we continue to treat employees fairly. When we look at the “adjusted gender pay gap” - which compares the pay of people in similar roles, in the same country and in the same corporate band, we see no systemic bias. At Swiss Re globally, on average, the adjusted pay gap between men and women is 1.4% (June 2023). For the UK, data on the relative gender pay gap can be found here.

Flexible working practices benefit all employees. We recognise that different people have different needs and preferences when it comes to working, and we’re committed to accommodating informal and formal flexible work arrangements. Our Own The Way You Work programme motivates and engages high-performance teams by allowing employees to decide how, when and where to carry out their tasks while considering client and team needs, and in compliance with the applicable laws, rules and regulations of their particular region. Read more about our Own the Way You Work programme here.

PowHer is our mentoring programme for women, and it aims supporting our ambition to attract and retain female talents. Through PowHer participants will pair with their mentors to learn, enhance their skills and grow their networks. Currently we have about 80 mentees, and the initiative has helped them to expand their networks, enhance their career paths and inspire to apply and get new roles.

At Swiss Re we understand that having and raising children is a source of great joy and that new priorities shape day-to-day routines. We want to help our employees balance their career and family responsibilities, allowing them to put their families first. To this end, we offer a range of programmes and support services, such as holiday care or day care, depending on local needs.

In 2023, Swiss Re will introduce a new minimum global parental leave, which will give employees better opportunities to raise their families and manage their work-life balance and make Swiss Re a more equitable and better place to work. Going forward, employees who become parents through birth, adoption, surrogacy, or foster placement¹ will be eligible for the newly defined minimum parental leave with primary caregivers² receiving a minimum of 16 weeks and secondary caregivers² a minimum of 4 weeks paid parental leave. Where stronger local laws or current offerings exceed the new minimum, the current amount will remain in place. The new minimum will apply globally and will be gradually implemented, becoming effective throughout 2023 on a country-specific level in line with local regulations.

¹ Exceptions apply as local regulations prevails.
² Definition of primary caregiver and secondary caregiver might vary in different countries.