Femmeact: vital support for women in actuarial science | University - University of Cape Town News

Helen Swingler, Senior writer at University of Cape Town emphasiz, Gender disparity in actuarial science at universities and in the workplace is a larger issue than number parity. 

From left: Final-year actuarial science student Ciara Madella, the former head of the actuarial science department Shivani Ranchod and third-year actuarial science student Cara Geduld are the drivers of the relaunched Femmeact, an initiative to support women in the actuarial science space.
Photo: Lerato Maduna

 

 

Women are essential role models in a field lagging in representation. They also offer vital perspectives in a world where bias often undermines women in the design of everything – from healthcare products to pension benefits.

But the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) student-led Femmeact is working to change that.

Femmeact is an initiative to support women in the field, both at university and the workplace. It was relaunched recently in the actuarial science section of the commerce faculty after a hiatus of several years. Thanks to the UCT Actuarial Science House Committee’s Ciara Madella, a final-year student; third-year student Cara Geduld; and the former head of the actuarial science department Shivani Ranchod, Femmeact is back on the map.

The numbers of women students and professional actuaries are starting to shift, but Ranchod said that they’re a long way away from a 50/50 representation...

Invisible women

What do women bring to the workplace?

“Our lived experiences or things that men donʼt think about,” said Geduld.

Read more... 

Source: University of Cape Town News