Why ‘Give to Gain’ Matters for Insurance

Every March, our industry gets a moment to pause and recognize the women shaping insurance—not just through leadership and advocacy, but through the economic power they generate every day. Women are driving business creation, influencing commercial buying decisions, and shaping household financial choices at unprecedented levels. If 2026 is the year of Give to Gain, the message is simple: when we invest in women, the entire industry benefits.

(Editor’s Note: International Women’s Day was March 8.)

Women-Owned Businesses: The Opportunity

Women continue to create nearly half of all new businesses each year, a trend that has held steady for multiple years. These businesses are growing faster than the overall economy, especially in professional services, financial services, and community-based sectors. Women business owners are also primary insurance decision‑makers, an increasingly powerful segment of the commercial lines market.

And they buy differently. Research consistently shows that women prefer relationship‑driven, trust‑based partnerships. They want advisors who listen, understand their businesses, and want to build long‑term relationships. That has direct implications for agencies and carriers:

• Women business owners are more likely to choose women advisors.
• Women-led agencies and women producers often see higher retention among women-owned businesses.
• Carriers with women in underwriting, distribution, and field leadership roles build stronger trust with women buyers and producers.

Investing in women isn’t a DEI initiative—it’s a growth strategy.

The Representation Gap: The Business Challenge

The 2024 Agency Universe Study gives us the data, women make up roughly half of the independent agency workforce, yet only one in five agency owners are women and on the carrier side, women represent nearly 60% of the workforce but hold only 24% of C‑suite positions.

In February, I co-facilitated a MyNetwork virtual book club using The Broken Rung. Within the book, the authors share data and lived experiences of women across industries to better understand why women are underrepresented in leadership positions. There are so many insights worth sharing from this book, but for the purposes of this article I’ll limit it to 2 key points:

1. Experience Capital – defined by the authors as “the skills, relationships, and credibility that fuel upward mobility” is a key concept for women and men of all ages and stages in our industry. Understanding the types of experiences which build a woman’s experience capital is key.
   1. If you’re in a position of authority think about ways you can support women within your organization to build their experience capital.
   2. If you’re early in your career within the industry, you have the awareness early on of what you can do, or what you can ask to do, to build your experience capital early.
2. The Broken Rung – identified as the first step up on the corporate ladder into a managerial position. The book claims if we are able to solve for the broken rung – fixing that misstep early in women’s careers – we would be able to solve for gender parity in leadership quicker than taking any other measures.
   1. If you have access to employee demographic and employment data, you can review your talent pipeline to determine when and where within the organization women are being promoted into that first managerial position, and where they are not.

From Mentorship to Sponsorship: A Purposeful Shift

Across industries, women report being over‑mentored and under‑sponsored. Mentorship helps women grow; sponsorship helps women advance. Advocacy sounds like:

• “She should lead this account.”
• “She’s ready for a bigger book.”
• “Let’s put her in front of this client.”
• “She should be considered for this underwriting or leadership role.”

If we want more women in producer roles, leadership roles, and executive tracks, we need more leaders actively opening doors, not just offering advice.

Five Ways Agencies and Carriers Can ‘Give to Gain’ in 2026

1. Audit your talent pipeline. Leverage your data. Look at the last three years of hires and promotions to identify where are women advancing, and where are they getting stuck in your organization.
2. Build a sponsorship culture. Empower leaders so they understand the difference between a sponsor and a mentor. Use language like “experience capital” to help leaders and employees understand the type of activities and access which support employee advancement.
3. Invest in women-focused leadership programs. Conferences and programs like MyNetwork, Big I state women’s events, WII, APIW, and carrier-led initiatives build community, confidence, and clarity.
4. Create flexible, sustainable career paths. Almost 500,000 women left the workforce last year, and they aren’t leaving because they lack ambition. Women are leaving because the structure wasn’t built with them in mind. Review your offerings, update where necessary, and ensure your employees know how to take advantage of them.
5. Ask the women in your organization what they need. They know exactly what would help them stay, grow, and lead.

Give to Gain

Women are reshaping the insurance landscape as business owners, consumers, underwriters, producers, and executives. Their economic influence is undeniable—and their preference for relationship-driven partnerships aligns perfectly with the strengths of independent agents, brokers, and carriers.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day 2026, the call to action is clear: when leaders champion women, the entire industry rises.