October 13, 2022
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.