How Gallagher and Girl Up Are Kick-Starting Female Talent in Insurance

• Kelly: I had no exposure to the insurance industry growing up-the only time insurance ever crossed my mind was when I got my license and started driving for the first time! But my first real introduction to insurance as a career path was through the Gallagher Summer Internship program after my sophomore year of college. It opened my eyes to how expansive the industry is, and how many different opportunities were available to me.
• Keti: I, too, did not have much exposure to insurance early on, but was referred into the industry. The power of a strong network!

• Kelly: Entering the insurance industry as a young professional in general is challenging, regardless of gender. You need to work hard be the expert your client needs you to be. But being a young woman adds an extra barrier, as the industry tends to skew towards older men-and that can be intimidating. You need to have the confidence to raise your hand for opportunities, seek out mentorship, and make your value known.
• Keti: Like Kelly said, the work itself will always be challenging. But when I first stepped into the industry, I remember thinking that diverse women were rarely represented in the leadership roles; my role models were so few. When there's less female representation, fewer opportunities for mentorship, and little-to-no advocacy or sponsorship, the work gets even more complicated. These are the "hidden" challenges that aren't necessarily written into the job description.

• Kelly: The Girl Up Leadership Summit creates a safe space-and a brave space-for young women to cultivate their confidence, ask questions, and get introduced to other women who are going to be advocates and mentors for them.
• Keti: There aren't always readily accessible forums for young women to raise their thoughts, ideas, and experiences and flesh them out with mentors in real time. The Girl Up Leadership Summit allowed us to do just that-tackling real issues and brainstorming tips and strategies to support each other.

• Kelly: Our participants left the session with the tools necessary to communicate their value-first, by identifying their personal brands; and second, by creating personalized elevator pitches. Both of these exercises demonstrated how women can showcase the value they bring to the table.
• Keti: In addition to those exercises, we also polished up on those softer skills: networking, creating connections, etc. By gathering this forum of like-minded women-both established professionals and up-and-comerswe jointly took a first step in community-building and networking as women.

• Kelly: I was reminded of how constantly impressed I am with young talent. These young women were curious, engaging, and insightful, and they each have big dreams to fulfill. Being in that collaborative space, I was also reminded of how necessary it is to surround yourself with people who will support you in achieving your dreams-that's where mentorship is key. It is essential that young professionals seek out mentors to help guide the way; and even more important that experienced professionals step up to the plate for their mentees.
• Keti: After reflecting on the session, I had a realization: women are too often socialized to take less risk, especially early on in their careers. And that needs to change. The more we can promote programs like Girl Up, the more we can inspire the next generation of women to be risk-takers, go-getters, change-makers.

• Kelly: It's important to be either (1) the role models we were lucky enough to have, or (2) the role models wanted to see when we were taking our first few steps in the professional world. The more women we have supporting women, the more likely it is that we'll continue to see women leaders, entrepreneurs, and CEOs across every industry.
• Keti: If we do not give back, pay it forward, and create opportunities for young women, we would be reinforcing the cycle, as opposed to breaking it. It's time to open doors and invite others in, so we can create real and lasting change.

Inclusion and Diversity at Gallagher

At Gallagher, we're committed to driving an inclusive workplace for the benefit of our clients, employees and the communities in which we live and work.

Inclusion and diversity is a core part of our business, and it's embedded into the fabric of our organization. Our high standards of ethical behavior are grounded in our corporate culture's cornerstone, The Gallagher Way. We see inclusion as a conscious commitment and diversity as a vital strength. By embracing diversity in all its forms, we live out The Gallagher Way to its fullest.