By Christine Gikunda, Principal Officer, EIRS Kenya
NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 16 – Insurance is, at its core, the business of foresight. We model uncertainty. We price volatility. We build financial shock absorbers for economies that are growing fast, sometimes unevenly, and increasingly exposed to geopolitical, climate, and cyber risks.
Yet for an industry built on anticipating the future, we have been slow to reimagine who gets to shape it.
Across Africa, women remain underrepresented in senior financial services leadership. While progress has been recorded in board participation and regulatory inclusion, C-suite representation in insurance and banking still trails ambition. In Kenya, where the insurance penetration rate hovers below 3% of GDP, far beneath global averages, the opportunity is not just to expand coverage. It is to expand leadership.
And that expansion must include women.
The strategic case for women in risk leadership
East Africa’s risk landscape is evolving. Climate volatility is intensifying claims while cyber threats are growing more sophisticated. Informal economies demand innovative microinsurance models with insurance technology leading in redefining distribution. In this environment, leadership similarity is a liability.
Multiple global studies have correlated gender-diverse leadership teams with stronger governance, improved financial performance, and enhanced risk oversight. In my own experience in Kenya’s insurance sector, for instance, I have observed that diverse executive teams interrogate assumptions more rigorously. They debate longer. They consider multiple layered impacts. That depth not only strengthens underwriting discipline and enterprise risk frameworks, but, most importantly, it sparks the much-needed growth within the industry.
This is not about optics. It purely is about performance.
When women participate meaningfully in underwriting committees, product development, and capital allocation decisions, the outcome is often more inclusive product design, particularly in health, SME, and agricultural coverage lines where women represent a substantial portion of the underserved market.
Insurance, after all, is not merely a balance sheet business. It is a social stabiliser.
A personal journey through a technical industry
When I entered the field of risk management, I quickly learned that competence must be visible, and sometimes repeatedly demonstrated. Insurance, like much of finance, has historically been male-dominated, especially in technical disciplines such as actuarial analysis, reinsurance structuring, and enterprise risk modelling.
Early in my career, I encountered subtle skepticism: questions framed differently and assumptions tested more aggressively. Rather than viewing that as a barrier, I treated it as a driver. I pursued deeper certifications. I asked sharper questions. I built mastery in regulatory compliance and corporate governance frameworks.
Over time, credibility compounds.
“In risk management, expertise is your currency. Once you build it, it speaks louder than bias.”
But it would be disingenuous to suggest the path is frictionless. Women in our industry often balance professional progression with disproportionate caregiving expectations. Networking spaces, where deals and influence circulate, are not always inclusive. Sponsorship remains less accessible than mentorship.
Overcoming these realities required three deliberate strategies: technical excellence, strategic alliances, and resilience. I aligned myself with transformative projects that delivered measurable impact, especially in the Trade Credit Insurance space. And I cultivated confidence anchored in preparation, not bravado.
Women control or influence a significant share of household financial decisions across East Africa. Yet insurance product penetration among women, particularly in rural and informal sectors, remains constrained by affordability gaps, financial literacy disparities, and distribution inefficiencies.
If we are serious about scaling insurance inclusion, we must bring more women into product design, distribution strategy, and executive leadership.
A message to young women considering finance and insurance
To the young woman studying mathematics, law, data science, economics, or business administration in Nairobi, Kampala, Dar es Salaam, Cape Town, or Kigali; insurance needs you.
This industry sits at the intersection of analytics, law, technology, and strategy. It offers intellectual rigor and societal impact in equal measure. You can specialise in cybersecurity risk, climate modelling, reinsurance treaties, regulatory policy, or insurtech innovation. The spectrum is wide and the impact is tangible.
More importantly, the sector is evolving. Digital transformation, AI-powered underwriting, and data-driven risk analytics are redefining what an insurance professional looks like.
“The next generation of risk leaders will not just calculate probability; they will shape possibility.”
Building the next decade
If East Africa is to build resilient economies capable of absorbing climate shocks, health crises, and financial volatility, insurance must deepen and mature. That maturation requires stronger governance, smarter capital deployment, and inclusive leadership.
International Women’s Day reminds us that empowerment is not symbolic. It is structural. It is measured in board seats, regulatory influence, underwriting authority, and capital stewardship.
As an industry, we must move beyond celebrating women’s participation toward institutionalising their leadership. Because in a region defined by ambition and acceleration, the greatest unmanaged risk may be leaving half our talent on the sidelines.
