HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MetLife, Inc. President and CEO Michel Khalaf participated in a panel discussion at the U.N. Global Compact’s “Target Gender Equality Live” virtual conference on March 16.

In the discussion titled “Women's Empowerment Principles: Foundations for Equality in Practice,” Mr. Khalaf joined other partners of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) to reflect on past accomplishments and discuss the path forward to gender equity.

Mr. Khalaf talked about the importance of gender equity in addressing the needs of all MetLife stakeholders, saying, “For us to truly live our purpose, we have to be an equitable, inclusive and diverse company.”

He also discussed the detrimental impact that COVID-19 has had on gender equity. “The longer the pandemic drags on, the worse women in the workforce feel they are doing relative to men,” said Mr. Khalaf, highlighting new MetLife survey research that examines the pandemic’s effects across all dimensions of health – financial, mental, physical and social. He said employers should think about how to create more flexible work environments, particularly for working mothers, to encourage more women to return to the workplace post-pandemic.

Mr. Khalaf spoke about MetLife’s commitment to gender equity, saying the WEPs have helped drive greater transparency and accountability in how the company measures progress. MetLife has conducted the WEP’s Gender Gap Analysis in 37 of its markets since signing the principles one year ago and has created a cross-market gender equity working group that is creating action plans to close those gaps.

Equileap recently ranked MetLife 15^th out of 500 companies in the S&P 500 Index for gender equality, and in February the company was named to the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for the sixth year in a row in recognition of its efforts to support gender parity through employee policies, representation and transparency.

On March 15, MetLife also announced that Dr. Cindy Pace, the company’s Global Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, will add a new reporting line directly to the CEO, underscoring the company’s commitment to embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in its business strategy.

Watch a replay of the U.N. discussion here.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates (“MetLife”), is one of the world’s leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to help its individual and institutional customers navigate their changing world. Founded in 1868, MetLife has operations in more than 40 markets globally and holds leading positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.

MetLife’s Global CEO Speaks on Gender Equity at United Nations Event