First and foremost (both because of their support, and in case I commit the faux pas of forgetting them later) I would like to thank our very generous sponsors. We have been kindly assisted by Kennedy’s, Wynn Williams and Fortune Manning. We could not have put on this event without you, so thank you very much. (applause)

I would also like to thank Heaneys for not only offering to fund the website but to help build it, so thanks very much to them also.

From the responses that we have had to this club over the last couple of months it is likely that everyone here has wide variety of experiences, fears and stories about why this club is needed. I think it is very telling that I have heard more stories about women’s’ experiences in the insurance industry over the last 2 months than I have in my previous 15 years in the industry. As it turns out, many people were out there having exactly the same experiences, but we were just not talking to each other about it.

We have heard stories from members who have lived through, what I might refer to as the stripper era of insurance (although historians might refer to it as the 80s and 90s) . We have stories from members denied promotions, advancement and access to clients from a “boys club” style networking system that has been the mainstay of insurance for years. We also have members with us tonight who are entirely new to the industry for whom we will be one of their first experiences of insurance culture. And that is something I am incredibly excited about.

It’s not exactly news that women have had a rocky relationship with the business world, historically speaking we haven’t been involved in it very long. We only began voting 120 years ago. Society has learnt a lot since, then, but that doesn’t mean we’re done learning.

You might have heard of the Hewlett Packard study on job applicants which found that women tend to apply for jobs where they meet 100% of the prerequisites, whereas men tend to apply for jobs where they only met 60% of the prerequisites.

We can also look at the Manchester Business School surveys every year on what students expect to earn in 5 years’ time. Men average an expectation of £80,000 and women average an expectation of £64,000, being 20% less.

This expectation is similar to how pay negotiations play out, a Carnegie Mallon survey of MBA graduates found that 7% of women negotiated on salary for a first job compared with 57% of men. I could go on, but I think you get the point, and you probably didn’t come tonight to join a statistics club.

Please, don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a club to sit around, bash men and talk about what we haven’t been given. This is us getting together to try and create the things that we want. If women aren’t asking for pay rises, putting themselves into networking situations, and applying for every opportunity that they want, then we want to change that.

We want to make networks, talk about challenges and create opportunities. We want in the clubhouse, even if we have to build one ourselves. And yes, we want men in that clubhouse too. So while we invite you to tell your female colleagues about this club, we also want you to tell your male colleagues who would be interested in promoting women in insurance.

Which brings me nicely (now that I’ve either riled you up, or bored you to death –listener’s choice) to what we do.

While I love a good beer and canapé, this club is about a lot more than that. Broadly we want to create a strong network that can be both a resource and a support. At the heart of this will be an expertise database accessible to all members with the aim of allowing them to make a conscious effort to assist other members by engaging or recommending each other or even getting answers to questions you might not feel comfortable asking other workmates.

We also intend to develop a more formal mentoring programme, and to work with existing charities, like dress for success, who assist people getting back into the workforce with donated business attire.

You may have already met one of our roving assistants who have been surveying everyone on what they want to put in and get out of the club (and if you haven’t yet, please find one of them and take the survey – lovely assistants could you raise a hand for everyone?).

This will help us shape the way the club develops in line with what you want from it Because while the committee members have grand plans for campfire sing-alongs no bra Tuesdays we understand this may not be everyone’s vision.

On that note, I will hand you over to Dita Russell who I promise is not going to give you any more statistics.

Thanks very much.