QBE Insurance Group Included in First Sector-Neutral Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index

LONDON, England, Jan. 22 -- QBE Insurance Group issued the following news release:

QBE Insurance Group (QBE) today announced that it is one of over 100 companies from ten sectors to join the inaugural 2018 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI). Launched today, the reference index measures gender equality across internal company statistics, employee policies, external community support and engagement, and gender-conscious product offerings.

The sector-neutral Bloomberg GEI follows the release of the Bloomberg Financial Services Gender-Equality Index (BFGEI), launched in 2016. The 2017 BFGEI included 52 financial firms, headquartered in 17 countries and regions. QBE was also included in the 2017 BFGEI.

QBE's Group CEO, Mr Pat Regan, said: "Empowering women and supporting gender equality is an important element of how QBE supports our employees, our customers and broader community stakeholders in an increasingly global marketplace. Underscoring our commitment, QBE recently signed up to the UN Women's Empowerment Principles.

"We are delighted that Bloomberg is supporting investor interest in this area through the release of the GEI and are pleased that QBE's commitment to gender equality has been recognised through inclusion in the index."

The 2018 GEI expands globally to represent 24 countries and regions, including firms headquartered in Belgium, Chile, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Singapore and Taiwan for the first time. Companies range from a variety of sectors, including communications, consumer staples, energy, financials, materials and technology.

"We commend QBE and the other 103 companies included in the 2018 GEI for their efforts to create work environments that support gender equality across a diverse range of industries," said Peter T. Grauer, Chairman of Bloomberg and Founding Chairman of the U.S. 30% Club. "Their leadership sets an important example that will help all organizations innovate and navigate the growing demand for diverse and inclusive workplaces."

"As investors continue to seek more information on companies' approaches to environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, the 2018 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index allows investors to compare companies' commitments to gender equality across industries," said Kiersten Barnet, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Chairman at Bloomberg. "More data and greater transparency in this space will allow investors to make better-informed decisions and help companies better understand their own progress towards gender equality."

QBE submitted a social survey created by Bloomberg in partnership with third-party experts Catalyst, Women's World Banking, Working Mother Media, National Women's Law Center, and National Partnership for Women & Families. Those included on this year's index scored at or above a global threshold established by Bloomberg to reflect disclosure and the achievement or adoption of best-in-class statistics and policies.

Both the survey and the GEI are voluntary and have no associated costs. Bloomberg collected this data for reference purposes only. The index is not ranked. For more information on the GEI and how to submit information for next year's index visit https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/sustainable-finance/.

Bloomberg clients can access the GEI at {BGEI Index DES <GO>}.

2018 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index Members:

Accenture

AIA Group

Allianz

American Express

AMN Healthcare Services

Annaly Capital Management

ANZ

AT&T

AU Optronics

AXA

Banco Santander

Banco Santander Chile

Bank of America

Bank of Montreal

Bank of Queensland

Barclays

BB Seguridade Participacoes

BBVA

BNP Paribas

BNY Mellon

CA Technologies

CIBC

Citigroup

City Developments Limited

Clorox

Core Laboratories

CVS Health

Daiwa Securities

DaVita

DBS

Deutsche Post

Deutsche Telekom

Diageo

Dominion Energy

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories

DuPont

Estee Lauder

Euronav

Fifth Third Bank

First Data

First Horizon

Fortescue Metals Group

Franklin Resources

Gap Inc.

GoDaddy

Grupo Financiero Banorte

The Hartford

Iberdrola

ING

Ingredion

Intesa Sanpaolo

Itau Unibanco

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Kering

Leidos

Lions Gate Entertainment

L'Oreal

Mastercard

Maybank

MetLife

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial

Mizuho Financial

Morgan Stanley

MS&AD Insurance

National Australia Bank

National Bank of Greece

Nidec

NiSource

Nordea Bank

Northern Trust

NTT DOCOMO

NVIDIA

Old National Bank

PNC Financial Services Group

Praxair

Prudential

QBE Insurance

Recruit Holdings

Rogers Communications

RBC

RBS

Schneider Electric

Scholastic

Scotiabank

Sodexo

SSE

Standard Chartered

STMicroelectronics

Sun Life Financial

Swedbank

Teck Resources

Telefonica

TD Bank

TransCanada

Turkiye Garanti Bankasi

UBS

Visa

Voya Financial

Walmart de Mexico

Westpac

Weyerhaeuser

Yum! Brands

Zillow

Zurich Insurance

Media Contacts:

David Symons

QBE Insurance Group

+61-410-559-184

David.symons@qbe.com

Veronika Henze

Bloomberg LP

+1-646-324-1596

vhenze@bloomberg.net

Jill Watanabe

Bloomberg LP

+1-212-617-1610

jwatanabe11@bloomberg.net

About QBE:

QBE Insurance Group is one of the world's top 20 general insurance and reinsurance companies, with operations in all the key insurance markets. QBE was founded more than 130 years ago and is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. With headquarters in Sydney, we employ more than 14,000 people in 37 countries.

About Bloomberg:

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