Page 40 - Shaw Wall of Honor

BEING
FEMALE
IN INSURANCE
I have been in the insurance industry for 18 years, and while many aspects have changed, one of the constants is that females are still underrepresented in agency leadership positions. As a fourth-generation owner of our family insurance agency, I am acutely aware of this fact at carrier partnership conferences. When I scan the roster of other agency owner attendees, typically five percent or less of the attendees are female agency principals. This naturally leads to assumptions that I have to combat. At every carrier partnership conference that I’ve attended with my husband, other attendees always mistake him as the agency principal—even if we are wearing name tags.
Over the past five years, I have seen more women agency owners represented at these conferences, but we are still very much the minority. If there is a silver lining from this
discrepancy, it is that the business meeting intermission is one of the only events that I can waltz in and out of the women’s restroom, while the men’s line extends down the hall!
I have also noticed that few female carrier executives attend these conferences—but the ones who are there usually make a point to introduce themselves to me and applaud my efforts in representing female independent agency leaders. Having repeatedly experienced this at several conferences leads me to believe that women love to champion other successful women, and gives me hope for the direction the industry is headed.
My start in insurance
When I joined my family’s insurance agency in 2005 at the age of 25, I started as a Personal Lines Account Manager. My dad, Bill Chalmers, wanted me to really understand insurance fundamentals—and there’s no better way to learn than studying for your Property & Casualty
WRITTEN BY
DOTTIE CHALMERS
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