Jacqueline Heron: "Women working in insurance think they need to prove themselves all over again when starting a new role; I don’t get that with men"

The importance of female representation at a senior level in Financial Services has been gaining more attention in recent years. When only 19.4% of the top 1% of earners in banking and finance are women, and 93% of CEOs in the insurance sector are men, diversifying the boardroom should be a priority.  

"When I first moved to London, most of my work was based in the City, which is an exciting, vibrant place with so many fantastic opportunities. But one of the challenges is that it’s very traditional and male-dominated," said Jacqueline Heron, founder of Jacqueline Heron Coaching (pictured).

Jacqueline established her insurance business in Yorkshire in 1984 before moving to London, where she worked at various insurance brands such as Sedgwick, Mercer, and Aon. However, it wasn’t until Jacqueline had access to a coach that she felt confident working at a senior level.  

"I was speaking with someone who wasn’t part of the organisation or the politics, but who was interested in me being the best I could be and supporting me on that journey," she said.  

This experience inspired Jacqueline to pursue a career in coaching and mentorship.  

"I work with women who aren’t making an impact at a senior level, or even pursuing these roles, because the environment isn’t conducive to supporting them."

 Jacqueline stressed that part of the problem is 'tiara syndrome'. "We work hard and hope that someone puts that tiara on us, saying 'it’s time for you to have that next big promotion'. Hard work alone doesn’t cut it. You’ve got to start promoting yourself, and women often feel uncomfortable doing that," she said.

 While Jacqueline recognises that there’s a "big crossover" in the trends seen through coaching regardless of gender, confidence is a prominent issue amongst women; "With men, we might talk about how they’ve been promoted or how to manage employees who were previously their peers." 

"Women working in insurance think they need to prove themselves all over again when starting a new role; I don’t get that with men."

 It’s been suggested that women only apply for jobs they are 100% qualified for, whereas men apply for roles they are only 60% qualified for. "There’s often that sense of informal networks – jobs happening, jobs opening up. If you are part of that network, then you might find out about it, but if not, you’ll never know it exists," she explained.  

Although Jacqueline thinks more organisations have invested in networks for women, there’s more work to be done to have women "feel comfortable about joining networks, build new relationships, and consider that as part of their professional & personal development."  

She also stressed the importance of changing the mindset of women when applying for senior roles. "If you’re looking at a job knowing that you could nail about 70% of it and there’s room for growth, that will make the job interesting and motivate you to learn. But if you go in knowing 100% of it already, you’ll be bored within three months," Jacqueline explained.  

"I often challenge women by saying, ‘If you’re applying for a job and you can do it, then it’s the wrong job for you because there’s no stretch’."

Since the pandemic, there’s been a shift in people’s working habits, especially when it comes to remote or hybrid working. The World Economic Forum reported that 20% of women believe flexible working helps them stay in work and hasn’t discouraged them from aiming for more senior roles.  

However, Jacqueline believes these working models can "exacerbate issues that were already there," and aren’t always as useful as they seem.  

She said: "Burnout is a problem. Women are always on 24/7 because if they are working from home, they don’t want to move away from their laptops. If they’ve got family commitments, they put the kids to bed and get laptops back out, putting self-care further down the list."  

"There’s this fear that if I’m spending time on me, somehow that’s selfish."  

The latest review of the Women in Finance Charter found that the average female representation in senior management has reached 36%. However, the review also highlighted that 82% of signatories were increasingly focused on retention, which Jacqueline agreed is a "huge issue" in Financial Services.  

"Over 40% of entrants to Financial Services are women, but we lose them the further up the ladder they go. They call this the ‘broken rung’ […] We lose that potential because we don’t have the flexibility," she explained.  

"We’ve all heard that wonderful phrase, 'squiggly careers'. We should celebrate different ways of building competence, expertise, and experience."

"There’s a huge amount of opportunity in Financial Services, and we should be opening more doors for people to have a fulfilling career. The more we can do to support that, the better," Jacqueline concluded.  

At the Women’s Recognition Awards (WRAs), we aim to recognise the firms and individuals pushing to make the mortgage, protection and specialist lending markets a better place to work for women and all underrepresented groups.  

Nominations for the Women's Recognition Awards 2025 close on 20th June, so if you or someone you know is having a positive impact on progress in our industry, click below to nominate them before time runs out.