Jane Stitt | QBE
My entire working life has been in the insurance industry and what a journey it has been – from the world of pen and paper to managing the development of Etrade products, the most modernised area of the industry. Life experiences have thrown out their challenges and I have met them head on through sheer determination. Sexual harassment in my earlier working years did not stop me. I stood up to it and became a Director of that same company. The loss of my father when I was 29 taught me the importance of resilience.
Gender inequality has not gone away but things are better than they were.
Having my two children while being the sole breadwinner for a while and progressing my career was a huge pressure and I am proud that I managed it successfully. Menopause was a new and frightening period however I took on an opportunity in that time to move into a different area of insurance, from underwriting to my current role in the Etrading world. Support and an awareness of the challenges facing women were lacking back then.
Gender inequality has not gone away, but things are better than they were and I have been part of, and contributed to, that journey for women over the last four decades. Long may it continue!
