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MetLife Becomes First U.S. Based Insurer To Sign U.N. Women's Empowerment Principles

Sydney March 05, 2020

MetLife, Inc. has announced it has become the first U.S.-based insurance company to sign the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles, a series of commitments created by U.N. Women and the U.N. Global Compact to promote gender equality in the workplace and society. Locally, MetLife Australia has also signed the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles.

MetLife President and CEO Michel Khalaf highlighted the signing this week at a diversity conference in New York City sponsored by the American Council of Life Insurers, the Life Insurance Council of New York, and the American Property Casualty Insurance Association. Khalaf also announced the formation of a MetLife Gender Equality Team that will partner with the U.N. to identify any gaps – in recruitment, retention, promotion, compensation, and succession planning – and work to close them.

“MetLife’s support for gender equality reflects our purpose of building a more confident future for all,” Khalaf said. “Empowering women is more than a core value for us – it’s a key element of our business strategy. Partnering with the U.N. will help us strengthen our focus and take our commitment to the next level.”

Echoing those comments, MetLife Australia CEO, Richard Nunn said, “We are strongly committed to gender equality because it has a positive impact on our people, our customers, our partners and business. At MetLife Australia we are making an impact through improving representation of women leaders, promoting women’s development opportunities, prioritising diversity and inclusion and promoting equality.”

The U.N. Women's Empowerment Principles are:

Principle 1: Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality

Principle 2: Treat all women and men fairly at work – respect and support human rights and nondiscrimination

Principle 3: Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers

Principle 4: Promote education, training and professional development for women

Principle 5: Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women

Principle 6: Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy

Principle 7: Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality

“By advancing women at MetLife, we help promote the diversity of talent necessary to make a difference in the workplace and marketplace,” said Dr. Cindy Pace, MetLife’s global chief diversity and inclusion officer.

Last month, MetLife was named to the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for the fifth year in a row. In addition, the company has been recognized by the Women’s Forum of New York as a “Corporate Champion” for the high representation (30 percent) of women on its board.

In 2019, MetLife joined the Catalyst CEO Champions For Change initiative and also became the first insurance company to join the U.N. Women Global Innovation Coalition for Change. The company provides further support for women’s entrepreneurship and innovation through its partnerships with the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council and similar organizations. Its philanthropic arm, MetLife Foundation, works to improve the financial health of low-income women across the world by teaming up with groups such as Accion, Trickle Up, and Women’s World Banking.

For more information on MetLife’s commitment to gender equality and its corporate responsibility activities, visit www.metlifeglobalimpact.com.

Media Contact

Sarah Kelly                                                   

MetLife Australia                                   

+61 (0)411 893 890 

sarah.kelly@metlife.com