Aviva boss responds to shareholder ‘sexist’ jokes

Aviva’s boss responded to “sexist” ridicule said Aviva boss to have been made about him by some of the group’s shareholders this week. Amanda Blanc, chief executive of British insurance company Aviva. Said the comments were “embarrassing.” He added that he received his “fair share of the misogynist movement.”

The Financial Times reports on several statements made at Aviva’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) aimed at older women, including Ms. Blanc. Ms. Blanc joined Aviva in July 2020, becoming the company’s first female CEO. According to the newspaper, two shareholders criticized Blanc at the meeting. A speech in which he emphasized shareholder returns reportedly contradicted how Aviva’s share price has presented over the past decade. Meaning “he’s not the right person for the job.”

Another shareholder has approached the company’s former boss and asked if Blanc should “put on the pants.”

A third reportedly mocked the women on board, saying: “You are very good at basic housework; I’m sure this will influence the board’s direction.”

Ms. Blanc wrote in a LinkedIn post: “Honestly, after more than 30 years in the financial services sector. I’m pretty used to sexist and embarrassing comments like the one at yesterday’s AGM.

Like “many other women in business,” she added that she received her “fair share of misogynism. While working at various companies and in boardrooms. “I think after hearing the same biased rhetoric for so long, it makes you a little invulnerable,” he said. Ms. Blanc noted that while she would like to say things have improved recently. The opposite is true as such comments are now made public rather than private. “The higher the role, the more blunt the unacceptable behavior,” he said.