Ahead of this weekend’s International Women’s Day, Insurance Business is proud to reveal the industry’s Elite Women for 2025.
Each year, Insurance Business invites industry professionals from across each of its regions to nominate exceptional female performers. These are women who are leaders, breaking through barriers or inspiring those around them. Nominators were asked to outline their achievements over the last 12 months – and those achievements were then put to an independent panel of judges for assessment. In Canada, that panel consisted of:
Brett Boadway, Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario
Denise Russell (Yeng), Specialty Program Group Canada
Ingrid Wilson, Canadian Association of Black Insurance Professionals
Jaimie Staub, Canadian Association of Insurance Women
Lorie Phair, ISC Group Advisory Board Member
The judges reviewed the nominations and narrowed the list down to just over 60 Elite Women in Canada.
Among those celebrating a place on the list in Canada are:
Sylvie Forget Swim, Palladium Insurance
Konstance Allain, CIBC
Christy Barsalou, QuickFacts Inc
Fatou Bintou Ndiaye, TSW Management Services
Jackie Clark, Excess Underwriting
Kennedy Lightle, Sharp Insurance
Olimpia Sklad, Mowen Insurance
Rose Freeman, Willow Insurance Group
Jenna Terry, Peace Hills Insurance
In addition, to the Elite Women list, the report contains vital insights on how the industry is progressing in terms of gender equality and presenting genuine opportunities for women to succeed.
For example, survey data showed that 83% of respondents feel there is a lack of women leaders for younger women to look up to and aspire to follow in their footsteps, while 60% believe their gender has slowed their career progression. A worrying 37% also believe that their companies don’t have clear policies on ensuring equal gender pay.
