Gender disparity evident in agency leadership, compensation
Women in insurance producer roles earn only 67.6% of what male agents make, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Sixty-percent of insurance agency employees may be women, but the industry still falls short when it comes to putting women in positions of leadership and paying them equally to their male peers. The recent “State of Women in Independent Insurance Agencies” report from Liberty Mutual and Safeco shows that 68% of producers and 96% of customer service representatives are women, but only 31% of agency principals and owners are women.
These trends also are apparent in the wider workforce. The report references data from McKinsey that found only 24% of C-suite executives are women, with women of color holding only 4% of these positions. McKinsey also found that companies that had the most gender-diverse executive teams were 21% more likely to have above-average profitability than those in the lowest diversity quartile.
The lack of women in leadership in insurance isn’t for lack of interest, and Liberty Mutual and Safeco’s report shows more than half of women ages 23 to 49 in agency frontline staff roles are interested in becoming an agency partner, and 27% want to learn about how to buy or start an agency.
How can agency executives and veterans ensure that female employees receive that same opportunities as their male coworkers? Mentorship is a good place to start. The report encourages those in leadership positions — both men and women — to look for opportunities to mentor and sponsor talented women and recommend women for promotions.
When it comes to compensation, women across all industries receive lower pay than men. The Pew Research Center reports that women earn 84% of what men earn on average. That gap widens with age, and is even larger for women of color. Women in financial services have one of the widest gender pay gaps, making only 60%-70% of what their male colleagues do. Women in insurance producer roles make only 67.6% of what male agents make, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
To combat pay inequality, the report suggests agency executives conduct a pay audit by analyzing their employees’ compensation by both gender and race in order to spot (and remedy) any pay gaps. Leaders should also encourage women in their agencies to speak up and negotiate their pay — a proactive step that often goes against women’s social conditioning.