In a world where professionals from underrepresented communities face obstacles to successful careers, Manulife is doing its part to drive inclusive economic opportunity in the communities we operate. Take its insurance agency force in Asia for example. Roughly 71% of the company’s 118,000 agents are women and 68% of the company’s high-performing Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) members are women.
Manulife’s global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) aspiration is to cultivate a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace in which all employees are inspired to bring their authentic and whole selves to work. This enables employees to thrive personally and professionally while also providing the best service to our customers, business partners and communities.
“We have a culture that embraces diversity, equity and inclusion,” says See Sen Mak, Chief Agency Officer, Asia. “When people are provided with an equal opportunity to succeed, they thrive. Not many industries in Asia offer that kind of culture or promote DEI as a corporate focus. That really differentiates Manulife and helps us attract high-performing talent.”
Helen Tan is one of those high performers. She joined Manulife Indonesia as an insurance agent in January 2020.
“One of the reasons I chose Manulife was because my best friend worked here – his sister and mother are with the company as well,” said Tan. “My friend’s mother has been with Manulife Indonesia for over 30 years and is now one of their most senior leaders.”
Tan felt inspired by her best friend’s enthusiasm for being an insurance agent and was particularly impressed they became a MDRT member not long after joining the company. The opportunities that Manulife offered her friend was inspiring and enticing. Tan joined Manulife Asia soon after.
“My first client was a close female friend,” said Tan. “She was just like me before I joined Manulife; she didn’t know anything about health insurance. To have her own insurance was liberating for her, and it made me realize what I do can change lives to improve financial futures.”
Thanks to her passion, talent and drive, Tan quickly found success as an agent. In less than two years, she has taken a seat at the celebrated Million Dollar Round Table and been promoted to a leadership role within her division.
Tan credits her progress to the company’s inclusive culture, and the sheer number of talented women agents and leaders she has access to every day. And she is paying it forward, making it a personal goal to supercharge her team’s approach to personal income, career achievement and team growth. As an
MDRT builder, she makes sure to recruit high-potential candidates, and promote them as soon as they are ready to become leaders.
“Women empower women,” said Tan. “It is so encouraging to see the success of other female agents. When women are given the kind of environment and support as we have here, they will thrive and excel.”
Manulife’s women agents are pushing for change by proving themselves as capable, high-performing agents, parents and partners, and demonstrating that work and family don’t have to work against each other, but actually complement each other. They’re enabling women outside their industry to build that same strength and independence.
“Women deal with glass ceiling barriers in corporate life all around the world,” Tan says. “But as an insurance agent with Manulife, there is no such barrier. Women are accepted, valued and set up for success – our career progress is in line with our achievement.”
Supporting the advancement of women across the organization is critical to increasing their representation in leadership roles. In supporting this continued growth, Manulife offers development programs designed specifically for women leaders, Women in Leadership and the Signature Series
program. Many incredible women globally have had the opportunity to go through these leadership programs, exploring, practicing and developing the confidence, skills and attitude for continued success and fulfillment in their careers. The programs challenge ways of thinking, leadership styles, and provide an opportunity to develop relationships with a network of peers for support and guidance.
