November 30, 2016
Women’s Forum: AXA, the trusted partner for women
The 12th edition of the Women’s Forum opens today in Deauville. The theme this year is the sharing economy. AXA is partnering with the event to reaffirm its intention to better protect women by meeting their specific, day-to-day needs.
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Dubbed the “Women’s Davos”, the Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society brings together women and men from around the world to solve issues faced by women today, and to think about the challenges of tomorrow.
This year, the theme of the Women’s Forum is the sharing economy. Denis Duverne, Chairman of AXA’s Board of Directors, will speak during the plenary session about how new sharing practices affect “traditional” players and how the latter are reconfiguring their businesses to respond to their customers’ new habits.
Alas, the new paradigm has not removed the barriers still encountered by women. Women who own or run companies still face significant inequality in access to funding: in the United States in 2015, women obtained a mere 7% of the $60 billion of venture capital invested. Dawn Miller, CEO of AXA Insurance Company US, emphasizes the need to support women entrepreneurs by facilitating their access to funding. There is also a role for insurance as a partner for women entrepreneurs, enabling them to take risks and protecting them in certain situations, such as a business interruption due to pregnancy.
Deep inequalities still exist among individuals upon reaching retirement, notably in emerging market countries. Many women still lack adequate advice on managing their savings and on the various retirement savings solutions available to them. Amélie Oudéa-Castera, Group Marketing and Digital Officer for AXA, will present solutions that insurers like AXA can offer to provide women with personalized products and services and reduce their gap in income upon retirement.
Lastly, Garance Wattez-Richard, Head of AXA Emerging Customers, and Hassan El-Shabrawishi, Chief Innovation Officer for the AXA Group, will discuss Fintech and InsurTech innovations and the value-added they bring, especially for women.
Focus on She For Shield
In 2015 AXA produced the She for Shield report in partnership with IFC-World Bank and Accenture. It revealed that the women’s insurance market, largely untapped, is a significant source of potential growth, particularly in emerging economies, but in mature markets as well.
