This issue’s guest columnist is Joan Lamm-Tennant, winner of the 2013 Association of Professional Insurance Women (APIW) Insurance Woman of the Year award. Here she reflects on the significance of the award and the need to stay relevant as an industry.
The APIW Insurance Woman of the Year award has been presented annually since 1976 and recognises exceptional women who have achieved prominence in the insurance industry, so I was tremendously honoured to be chosen as this year’s winner. Accepting an honour such as this provides an opportunity to thank everyone who has supported you and made it happen, both personally and professionally.
This award is very important for celebrating women in the industry. It creates a forum for recognising the accomplishments of all women and an opportunity to encourage women to remain engaged in their work through the various hurdles that might exist.
Our industry is no different from many others in that women lack representation in senior management roles. At the same time women made up more than 50 percent of college graduates last year, about 38 percent of individuals receiving MBAs, and 51 percent of those receiving PhDs. Women are a highly educated sector and yet women in insurance and in business in general are still very much under-represented in the executive positions.
Insurance, Joan Lamm-Tennant, Association of Professional Insurance Women
