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In Search of the Elusive Female Actuary Context Actuarial profession heavily male dominated (85%) At UCT we attract a relatively high proportion of women into the program (35%), but struggle to retain them Material presented today is exploratory – still at initial stages of research Quantitative material: some initial figures – both for the profession and for UCT Qualitative material: 2 in-depth interviews held with qualified actuaries, 1 panel discussion held with current senior students Comparable Professions? Skill set: mathematical, statistical, analytical, problem solving Work environment: corporate, financial services, consulting Qualification time: 7-10 years Actuarial Professional The Profession Data Data obtained from the Actuarial Society of South Africa No data cleaning was done (yet!) Four categories of members: “Fellows” (referred to as actuaries from now on) Associate members (only 60, ignored in this analysis) Student members Library members (ignored in this analysis) 15% of qualified actuaries in SA are women 60% 50% 50% 40% 33% 27% 30% 20% 10% 6% 16% 15% White Overall 5% 0% Black Coloured Indian Oriental Unknown Proportions higher amongst student members 60% 52% 50% 40% 30% 34% 35% 32% 31% White Overall 27% 27% 20% 10% 0% Black Coloured Indian Oriental Unknown Numbers of women actuaries by race 160 136 140 111 120 100 80 60 40 20 2 3 Black Coloured 12 2 6 0 Indian Oriental Unknown White Overall Again: pipeline looks more promising 450 406 400 350 300 250 213 200 150 100 57 50 60 53 12 11 0 Black Coloured Indian Oriental Unknown White Overall Proportion of women by race Student members of profession Actuaries 2% 2% 9% 1% 14% 3% 4% 13% 52% 3% 82% Black Coloured Indian 15% Oriental Unknown White Black Coloured Indian Oriental Unknown White Improvements over time (qualified) 30% Proportion Female 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Under 30 30-39 40-49 Age 50-59 60+ 140 120 100 80 Margaret Carey - UK 60 40 Heather McLeod - NZ Pat Potgieter 20 Year 2006 2003 2000 1997 1994 1991 1988 1985 1982 1979 1976 1973 1970 1967 1963 1958 1952 0 1948 Total Number of Women Fellows Number of Women by Year of Qualification Number of Black, Indian, Coloured and Oriental Women Number of Women by Race and Year 14 12 First Black SA Women 10 8 6 4 2 0 2000 2001 2002 2004 Year 2005 2006 2007 Differences by Age for Students 45% Proportion Female 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Under 25 25-29 30-34 Age 35+ Unknown Lots of questions Relative probability of qualification? (will the student members become actuaries?) Will improvements continue? Or have we plateaued? Are there ways of increasing the pace of change? How do we compare to other similar professions/disciplines? Variations in time to qualification UCT Students Raw Data – Proportion of Females in Class 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% First Year Second Year Third Year Fourth Year 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Rolling 5 Year Period First Year Fourth Year 06-10 05-09 04-08 03-07 02-06 01-05 00-04 99-03 98-02 97-01 96-00 95-99 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 94-98 Proportion Female Smoothed Data – 5 Year Rolling Average Crude 4 Year Persistency of female students Relative Persistency of Female Students 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 94-98 95-99 96-00 97-01 98-02 99-03 00-04 01-05 02-06 03-07 Rolling 5 Year Period Cohort Analysis 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 1994 2 1995 0 Possible explanations for declining relative persistency Declining bursaries Relative attractiveness of the QF program Feel less of a need to stick with it just because you started? Some Qualitative Input Reasons for choosing Actuarial Science Informed choice Good at mathematics Wanted the challenge Wanted to do something “substantial” and different Wanted to be part of a profession Wanted financial security, job opportunities, status, good pay Less informed choice By elimination... “Didn’t want to do a science degree or be a CA” Influenced by older siblings or their friends Parental expectations: status, professional qualification Generally high marks, enjoyed everything at school – hard to choose a career... “Might as well give it a shot”, “Might as well start at the top” Find out what the hype is all about Offered a bursary Reasons for continuing with Actuarial Science Positive choice Enjoyed it (“when I understood”, “all the way along”) Found it empowering: wide range of skills, stepping stone, up to you what you want to do, access to a wide range of fields Driven by challenge The default option “Come so far” “Stupid not to carry on” “Might as well...” Nothing else appealed to switch into Bursary obligation Reasons for opting out Not wanting to put in the required hours (wanting a balance between different aspects of life) Perception of class mates – “not truly passionate” Worth the effort if you aren’t sure you want a high powered career? Lack of space to express non-rational parts of yourself (“if you want to be a girl, go do it elsewhere”) Negative comments from student advisors “with maths marks like this is it worth continuing?” Other issues worth noting Many moments of “this is a mistake” Opportunity for personal growth: Learning what you’re willing to give up and what you’re not Learning to deal with failure References to a love-hate relationship with the program Old fashioned views from families and classmates: “Do you really want to be such a powerful woman?” You don’t have to worry about failing... “ you can just get married” “No one will marry you if you earn more than them” Where to from here? Literature review Figures from comparable disciplines/professions Further interrogation of UCT data – cohort analysis, time to qualification, comparative stats with male students The 1989 Class