Aon have been backing the irish Women’s rugby team since 2014. The partnership came about after Colum Diamond read a story in the media about their not having a sponsor and deciding that was something which needed to change.
Colum is sadly no longer with us but Sport for Business caught up this week with Rachael Ingle, Managing Director of Aon’s Retirement and Investment Division who picked up the flame.
“It has been a wonderful journey and we still have a long way to go.”
“Apart altogether from supporting a great team in their ambitions on the pitch it has also been a two way process. Players have come into our offices and spoke to our people about the challenges they face in their lives.”
“The response was powerful in terms of inspiring us to be better in what we do.”
“The engagement of our staff with the team has also grown and proven to be really valuable.”
“Having our people go and train with the team is not something you could do from the outset but as with any relationship, the growth of trust leads you in different directions.”
“We shot a video with the team and members of staff which went like wildfire around the 72,000 global employees of Aon, and featured as part of a major internal global conference.”
“It has been a partnership that reflects our support for women and that was always important.”
“Our Global CEO’s right hand ‘man’ is a woman, the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Christa Davies.”
“We have women heading up divisions throughout the company and well represented at every level.”
“It hasn’t been through use of quota’s but we do make a conscious effort to have an equal number of men and women put forward for positions as they arise.”
“So often the case the opportunities aren’t grasped because Women are not visible enough, not willing to step outside of what they know they can do to what they think they might be capable of.”
“Supporting a strong Women’s group like the Irish Rugby team, and following that through with support of the Women’s rugby World Cup here in 2017 is a statement of who we are as a company and what we want for society in a broader context.”
“Our aim is to empower the economic and human potential of those we work with and those who we employ. That is matched by our partnership with Irish Rugby.”
Join us later for more of this interview with Rachael including how they facilitated the team meeting with Manchester United and the importance of role models…
