The New Leaders of Insurance Are Women & They’re Done Treating Menopause as Taboo
Women are the backbone of the insurance industry, making up roughly 60% of the workforce and carrying institutional knowledge that keeps agencies and companies thriving.
Yet too often, when women encounter life experiences like menopause, the topic gets relegated to silence, awkward jokes, or private struggles behind closed doors.
Big I NY and Big I CT gathered over 350 women for the first of our Women in Insurance webinar series with author and industry veteran Tinsley English to help change that. And the conversation was one many in our industry shouldn’t miss.
“Midlife is not a stopping point. It’s a launch pad.”
That was one of the first bold ideas Tinsley shared and it set the tone for a conversation about leadership, identity, and acceptance rather than discomfort or taboo.
She reminded us that women in midlife are often:
- At the peak of their careers
- Mentoring the next generation
- Driving client relationships and strategic outcomes
… yet they’re expected to suffer in silence when their bodies send signals that something has changed.
When silence becomes a leadership risk
Menopause is still treated like a personal issue — something to whisper about or to manage quietly, if at all. But there’s a real impact when women feel they can’t speak openly about physical or emotional changes at work:
- Missed days
- Lowered productivity
- Lost confidence
- Leaders exiting careers early (not because they want to, but because they feel unsupported)
Tinsley was frank:
“Listening isn’t about fixing. It’s about noticing what’s asking to change.”
“Strong leaders don’t just push through exhaustion, they adjust, advocate, and design the next chapter”
These aren’t soft skills. They are leadership actions, and they become vital when organizations are counting on the very people they’re overlooking.
Support isn’t indulgence, it’s strategy
When topics like menopause are brushed under the rug:
- Women feel they can’t take a frank conversation with a supervisor
- Organizations lose the very talent they cannot afford to lose
- Entire leadership pipelines are jeopardized
Tinsley called this a leadership blind spot — a moment when women are most capable and most under-supported.
Her message?
Awareness + Education + Advocacy + Design = Leadership that lasts.
It’s 2026. We should be doing better.
This isn’t about health alone.
It’s about culture.
It’s about retention.
It’s about supporting the women who fuel this industry every day.
The future of insurance depends on strong leadership at every age and stage of life. And conversations like the one last week are a step toward making the workplace a place where women can thrive instead of endure.
Keep the conversation going
Conversations like this don’t end when the webinar does.
To dive deeper into the ideas shared during this session, Tinsley English’s new book, Leading Through the Pause: The High Achiever’s Guide to Staying Confident Through Menopause, expands on the frameworks, language, and leadership strategies discussed and offers practical tools for navigating this season with confidence.
And this is just the beginning. We are committed to creating space for honest, forward-thinking conversations that support women at every stage of their careers.
Stay tuned for more in our Women in Insurance Webinar Series because supporting women leaders isn’t a trend. It’s essential to the future of our industry.
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