Page 57 - Shaw Wall of Honor

Thriving as a Woman in the Male-Dominated Insurance Industry:
Navigating Challenges, Balancing Family, and Achieving Success
In 1987, when I first began my journey in the male-dominated insurance industry, office life didn't look the way it looks now. For starters, most women chose to stay home with their children, whereas now, many women choose to work. In my early years, I was a customer service representative answering calls and processing changes. All of the other customer service representatives in my office were women. The only men in my office were the sales agents and the agency owner; this was the demographic of upwards of 95% of offices at the time. Although I always knew the unspoken rule that agencies would only hire men for sales positions, I never gave it much thought.
It was when I started my agency in 2000 that I saw the actual disparities of being a woman
in an industry designed for and historically populated by males. Now, there isn't anything wrong with this, per se, but it did make life challenging. As a woman starting her own agency from scratch, I was not invited to nearly as many groups or meetings as I am now. These groups were typically exclusive to men— not so much because they wanted to exclude women, but because historically only men held positions that earned them an invitation to such groups.
I remember walking into my very first meeting and realizing I was the only one in the room wearing a skirt, not because the other women were wearing pantsuits, but because there were no other women. Don't get me wrong. I am honored to be the "first woman" awarded several designations. Still, I feel even more privileged now to be able to share these awards and celebrations with other women.
I believe in the importance of uplifting and
WRITTEN BY
PATTY LARES
57