The insurance industry’s diversity and inclusion efforts have made some headway, if the latest statistics are to be believed. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 45.3% of all employees in business and financial operations occupations in 2021 were women. In terms of insurance sales agents and brokers, women also held an impressive 50.0% of the roles last year.
Being a woman broker is one thing, but a woman becoming an insurance leader is another ballgame altogether; studies show that women are still underrepresented in insurance leadership roles.
For Geion Bright (pictured), vice president at Amwins Brokerage, women need to take on more risks in order to prove themselves worthy of leadership. Insurance Business spoke with Bright to understand more about her experiences as a broker, and how the industry can work on its diversity efforts.
How did you become a broker? What do you particularly enjoy about broking?
While I fell into insurance purely by coincidence, I was fortunate to meet some really great mentors throughout my career that taught and encouraged me to become a broker. I love many things about broking, but I think every strong broker loves the thrill of winning and being successful.
Can you tell me about your role and its key responsibilities?
I’m currently in a production role specializing in property insurance. While my main responsibilities are focused on sales, I am also responsible for helping to build out our team. For the team, I focus on management and training with our marketing placement team and up-and-coming brokers.
What are some common challenges you are seeing being faced by your clients?
A key challenge I see with many clients is dealing with the unknowns and learning how to manage the insureds and set real expectations with them given the fluidity and constant changes within the marketplace.
How can women succeed as leaders in the insurance space?
I think women need to believe in their capabilities and take on more risks, even if they’re afraid to fail. Success doesn’t come without challenges and we, as women, need to learn to take more chances.
What is the current state of diversity & inclusion (D&I) in the US insurance workforce?
I think it’s definitely evolving and headed in the right direction, but we still have a long way to go in certain areas and sectors of business. Over time, I hope to see more value and emphasis in D&I across all business platforms, not only in the US but also abroad.
What is Amwins doing to promote D&I?
Our leadership has taken a huge initiative in building D&I within our culture over the past several years. This initiative has greatly helped improve our way of thinking, hiring, training and leading.
