Measures to promote women and diversity concept

Measures to promote women on the Management Board, the Supervisory Board and in executive positions

UNIQA is convinced that a high degree of diversity can enhance its success on a sustainable basis. Diversity at management levels makes us successful together and has a positive influence on corporate culture. By diversity we mean different nationalities, cultures and a mix of women and men who together contribute to a “diversity of thought”.

With Marie-Valerie Brunner, a third female Supervisory Board member was appointed for UNIQA Insurance Group AG in 2018, increasing the proportion of female elected Supervisory Board members to 30 per cent.

Over the course of 2018, the proportion of women on Management Boards and in senior executive positions throughout the Group amounted to 37.1 per cent. The proportion of female managers in top positions in office and field sales in Austria, below the Management Board level, stands at precisely 18.5 per cent, while the proportion of women in Management Board roles in the international area is over 28.6 per cent.

UNIQA organised various group-wide leadership development programmes in 2018 in which also female executives were prepared for future tasks and further career steps. Women make up 26 per cent of the participants in the SHAPE programme for leading managers, and 37 per cent in the NEXT International programme for management talent at the next hierarchical level. In our executive programme for all Austrian managers NEXT AT, the proportion of female participants was 24 per cent in 2018.

Enabling employees to achieve a work-life balance and providing them with easy access to services that make everyday life easier, especially for mothers, are key factors in promoting women. UNIQA has created a comprehensive range of services known as “Freiraum” (Latitude) that addresses these needs. Together with an external partner, the company offers comprehensive childcare services even on “bridge days” (between a public holiday and the weekend). Within the scope of the mental health hotline “Keep Balance”, a cooperation with Hilfswerk Austria, completely anonymous advice and support is offered for all professional and personal problems.

UNIQA also relies on flexible working hours. In addition to the long-established option for teleworking, which 14 per cent of employees use in Austria in the administrative departments, “mobile work” was launched at the end of 2018 following corresponding pilot projects. In future, employees will be able to work up to eight days a month from home, on the road or wherever. The aim is to promote the further development of a management style based on trust and performance, to further strengthen employee satisfaction and to increase flexibility in coping with professional challenges. For teleworking, the proportion of women using this form of work amounts to 41 per cent (180 employees) and for mobile work 38 per cent (310 employees).

Diversity concept

A comprehensive diversity concept is currently being developed at UNIQA. After the priority areas had been mapped out in 2018, the concept will now be adopted in the first half of 2019.