Sexism In The Insurance Industry - One Year Later, With Sarah Muniz

In this episode of Power Women In Insurance, Teresa Kitchens sits down with Sarah Muniz. Sarah wrote a book "Undiscovered Voices" highlighting sexism and discrimination in the insurance industry and we are discussing the book and her journey since the book's release one year ago.   Episode Highlights: Sarah explains that she wrote the book, "Undiscovered Voices", because she faced many obstacles and barriers in the insurance industry, which she believes many other women do as well. (1:30) Sarah explains that the book is all about working together to make strides for the next generation in insurance. (5:19) Sarah shares that she has worked in very toxic environments where feeling unsafe impacts the culture, dynamics, and inclusion. (13:00) Teresa explains that pursuing leadership training and engaging in leadership conversations are important because individuals cannot become better leaders until they go outside of their comfort zone. (13:26) Sarah discusses what we can do if we work in a setting without a competent leader. (18:01) Teresa believes that empowerment is necessary even if we are not in positions of leadership. (21:34) Sarah shares some of the book's interesting stories and feedback she has received from other women in the insurance industry. (24:13) Sarah believes that a company must be educated on what to do, how to keep awareness, how to mentor each other, and career pathing to retain employees and keep them interested. (29:53) Sarah mentions that a lot of insurance agencies now have marketing teams, which she feels is really important since most insurance people are not creative. (32:15) Key Quotes: “I wrote the book because I've had a lot of obstacles and barriers that I know a lot of other women face as well in the insurance industry. Yet, a lot of leadership is saying that there's not enough talent. So, my argument is that the talent is here it's just not being discovered, fostered, and mentored, the same as it would be for men.” - Sarah Muniz “If you're able to duplicate yourself over and over again with other people by mentoring them…and you're truly, you know, putting yourself out there to make someone better because that's what a true leader does - they’re always trying to make others better, which makes your organization stronger, and, you know, happy employees stay. ” - Sarah Muniz “The book is all about collaboration, I really wanted it to be a collaboration, that we will all work together to make strides for the next generation.” - Sarah Muniz Resources Mentioned: Sarah Muniz LinkedIn Undiscovered Voices Contact Teresa Kitchens Sterling Insurance Group