US - AXA Equitable Launches Women's Education and Empowerment Program for Clients, Employees and Financial Professionals

AXA Equitable has launched "The AXA Equitable Connection: Women, Wealth and Wisdom" - an education and empowerment program for women. There are two primary goals of the new program: to connect women consumers to the education, resources and guidance needed to take control of their finances; and to build, for women employees and financial professionals, a community that enhances workplace opportunities for growth and development.

"We have a long history of being committed to women," said Barbara Goodstein, executive vice president and chief innovation officer for AXA Equitable. "Through The AXA Equitable Connection, we not only want to educate women consumers on the financial issues most important to them, but we also want to empower our employees and financial professionals to grow and develop their careers.

Connecting Employees and Financial Professionals
Through The AXA Equitable Connection, women employees and financial professionals are building a community through which they can draw from their collective strength, insight and experience. AXA Equitable will foster this community through events, mentoring relationships, employee resource groups and networking.

To kick-off the program, AXA Equitable held an inaugural women's summit, "Finding Your Passion and Living Your Purpose." More than 400 women attended the New York City event in person and an additional 400 tuned in via live video Web cast.

Christopher M. "Kip" Condron, chairman and CEO of AXA Equitable, opened the meeting and discussed the company's commitment to women employees, financial professionals and clients. Participants described the meeting as "personally inspiring," "invigorating" and "motivating." Wrote one participant: "What I learned that day could make a difference in my career."

"We have some of the most talented women in the industry, and the summit was a celebration of them," said Jennifer Blevins, executive vice president of human resources for AXA Equitable.

Connecting Consumers
As part of the program, AXA Equitable has launched a section on its Web site that focuses on the unique financial issues and concerns of women. The new section is organized into five areas:

• Women Taking Charge of Their Finances
• Money Made by Women
• Women Protecting Their Loved Ones
• Women Educating Their Children
• Making a Woman's Legacy Come True

Each area includes articles, personal finance tips, resources and tools to help women assess their current financial situations and future financial needs. A personal navigation guide brings women directly to the financial topics and resources that address their individual situations

"The financial needs of women are different from men, especially when planning for retirement," said Ms. Goodstein. "Women tend to live longer, work fewer years, make less money and invest more conservatively. As a result, their money needs to last longer, and we want to make sure they have at their disposal the tools and resources that empower them."

AXA policy on diversity
At AXA, Diversity means acknowledging and respecting individual differences, recognizing and appreciating multiple backgrounds, cultures and perspectives and building on the unique contribution and merit of each and every one of our people, regardless of physical attributes or group identity.

For more information on The AXA Equitable Connection visit www.axa-equitable.com/women.

AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company (New York, N.Y.)