AXA UK hosts ‘hackathon’ to explore challenges for women in finance

More than 70 representatives from leading banks and insurers joined forces at AXA UK’s head office to explore solutions to challenges faced by women in the sector
Teams focused on key issues and came up with ideas to take back into industry and implement

AXA UK brought together more than 70 representatives from the city’s leading banks, investment managers and insurance firms on Tuesday (29 July) for an event exploring the challenges faced by women working in financial services.

The participants, whose firms are all signatories to the Government’s Women in Finance Charter, joined forces for a ‘hackathon’ at AXA UK’s Gracechurch Street head office. Split into eight teams that included representatives from AXA UK, Aviva, Zurich UK and other leading firms, they debated key issues for women in the sector and devised solutions to take back into industry.

During the hacking session, Tara Foley, CEO of AXA UK and Ireland, shared her expertise and experience with teams who were discussing how to support women to achieve senior roles in the finance sector.

Each team presented its findings at the end of the day to a panel of judges that included Megan Hale, CEO of Team Repair – winner of the 2023 AXA Startup Angel competition that provides funding and support to budding entrepreneurs. Also on the judging panel were AXA UK Chief Operating Officer Gwenael Fourre, CEO of 55/Redefined Lyndsey Simpson and FFInc CEO Tamara Gillan.

Women working in financial services face challenges to achieving their full potential. It’s therefore been incredibly valuable to bring together representatives from some of the city’s leading banks and insurers to explore how we can break down barriers and make sure there are equal opportunities for all.

Tara Foley, CEO at AXA UK & Ireland

The event was co-ordinated by AXA Retail Claims Director Suzy Tiffany - who supports AXA to deliver its commitment to the Women in Finance partnership - and the female networking group FFInc. It also featured an inspirational Q&A with Tara Foley; Dr Michelle King, author and Global Director of Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer; and Tamara Gillan, CEO of FFInc.

It’s a privilege to be part of the group spearheading support for women in finance. We gave our participants an open platform to debate the challenges and be creative with solutions – and there were some great ideas put forward! I look forward to seeing the impact they have when they’re rolled out across the industry.

Suzy Tiffany, Claims Director at AXA Retail

Media contacts

Legal notes

About AXA UK

AXA Insurance UK plc registered in England and Wales under registered number 078950 and authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority under Financial Conduct Authority registration number 202312. Registered office is 20 Gracechurch Street, London, EC3V 0BG.

AXA UK is part of the AXA Group, a worldwide leader in insurance and asset management, with 147,000 employees serving 94 million clients in 50 countries. In 2023, IFRS revenues amounted to Euro 102.7 billion and underlying earnings to Euro 7.6 billion. AXA had Euro 844 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2023.

In the UK & Ireland, AXA operates through a number of business units including: AXA Insurance, AXA Health and AXA Ireland. AXA UK & Ireland employs around 10,000 staff.

Important legal information and cautionary statements concerning forward-looking statements

Certain statements contained herein may be forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, statements that are predictions of or indicate future events, trends, plans, expectations or objectives. Undue reliance should not be placed on such statements because, by their nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and can be affected by other factors that could cause AXA’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward looking statements. Please refer to Part 5: “Risk Factors and Risk Management” of AXA’s Universal Registration Document 2022, for a description of certain important factors, risks and uncertainties that may affect AXA’s business and / or results of operations. AXA undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws and regulations.