• Aviva CEO Amanda Blanc endured repeated sexist remarks at the company’s annual general meeting.
• Aviva Chairman George Culmer said he was “stunned” by the comments.
• Sexism has plagued London’s insurance industry for several years, the data shows.

The CEO of British insurance giant Aviva, Amanda Blanc, has been the subject of a series of sexist remarks by shareholders at its annual general meeting, the The Financial Times first reported.

Blanc, the company’s first female CEO, delivered a speech at the meeting in London on May 9 highlighting the divestitures and its expected capital yield of £4.75 billion ($5.86 billion).

Aviva confirmed the occurrence of the shareholder remarks to Insider but declined to comment further.

An investor responded by saying Blanc’s delivery didn’t match the share price performance over the company’s 10-year history, which “means she’s not the man for the job. “.

Investor Michael Mason-Mahon commented on Blanc’s wardrobe, wondering if she should “wear pants.”

A third shareholder, Ted O’Toole, applauded the company for its gender balance, then added: “They [women] are so good at basic household chores, I’m sure this will be reflected in the direction of the board in the future. »

The incident highlights the challenges that women in senior leadership positions continue to face in the workplace. Challenges persist even at companies like Aviva, where 50% of board members are women, and women also hold key leadership positions, including the financial director and marketing director positions, Fortune reported.

Aviva chairman George Culmer responded to comments made at the meeting, saying he was “flabbergasted” by them, the FT reported.

Culmer added: “I’m not going to thank everyone for your comments because I think there have been some comments during this session that were just plain inappropriate and I don’t expect and wouldn’t [not] want to hear at any future AGM. I’m flabbergasted, to be honest.”

The chairman said remarks at AGMs in the past had sometimes been crude but this was the first time they had been sexist, the FT reported.

Sexism has plagued London’s insurance industry in the past. There have been widespread reports of sexism and harassment of women at Lloyd’s of London, the world’s largest insurance market, according to a 2019 Bloomberg survey. This report found evidence that 18 women had been subjected to such harassment at the market.

The outlet added that the vast majority of people who work at Lloyd’s are not employees of the exchange but “the standards of the insurance market are partly shaped there”.

A survey carried out by the Banking Standards Board on behalf of Lloyd’s found that almost 500 people in the insurance market experienced or witnessed sexual harassment in 2019, the Guardian reported at the time.