ABSTRACT
This chapter concerns the issue of equal opportunities in the field of ongoing training, as an important element of advancement at work. It overviews the issue of gendered employment within the insurance industry, raising some of the particular problems encountered by women in that industry, but which are not unique to it. A cross-national comparison between Britain and France is used because the regulation of provision, and practice, of training at work is quite different in each country. Access to training and development is only one area where equal opportunities for women in the labour market influences their chances of mobility, promotion, salary increase and power within the organisation. In Britain, monitoring and evaluation are impossible even where personnel staff are employed with responsibility for equal opportunities. The importance of equal opportunities and training has been highlighted by a number of recent developments in major companies.
