Words of Wisdom from Women to Watch

Foreword

Joanne Wojcik

Head of Event Programming Business Insurance magazine

Recognizing that the commercial insurance industry was—and still is—a largely male-dominated field, Business Insurance magazine launched the Women to Watch Awards in 2006 to identify and shed a spotlight on those women who have the potential to become its future leaders.

Each year, a panel of Business Insurance senior editors selects 25 honorees from hundreds of nominations submitted by readers based on recent notable professional achievements, their influence over the industry and marketplace, and their own contributions to the advancement of women. The editors also tried to imagine what likely next steps these already successful women might take to further their careers.

For a decade, the profiles of these Women to Watch honorees were published in a December issue of Business Insurance, and awards were presented at a ceremony held annually in New York City. Business Insurance added an educational component to the program in 2011 with the introduction of a Leadership Workshop featuring many alumni of this elite group of female industry professionals. In 2014, this event was expanded into a full-day conference intended to further foster women’s progress by identifying the challenges they face and offering advice and actionable solutions. The conference was open to both men and women who support achieving true gender parity among the senior ranks of the commercial insurance industry and related fields. ...