Almost half (46%) of intermediaries surveyed — brokerage general agencies (BGAs) and independent marketing organizations (IMOs) — have or plan to establish within the next year programs to support female financial professionals. These efforts aim to increase the number of women in their networks.
Nearly one-fifth (17%) of intermediaries already have specific programs in place devoted to recruiting more female producers and 26% plan to add such programs within the next year.
These finding comes from the just-released third annual study conducted by Limra and the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Associations (Nailba).
Currently, just 18% of financial professionals in intermediary networks are women. Yet prior Limra research shows that 44% of consumers say a financial professional’s gender is important.
“When asked what’s behind their gender preference, consumers — particularly those who prefer a female financial professional — often describe soft skills (60%) that they associate with women,” a Limra press release said.
According to the consumer research, Gen Z women (35%) and members of the LGBTQ+ community (27%) are more likely than others to prefer working with a female financial professional. “As Gen Z consumers age and look for financial advice, having female financial professionals will be critical to sales growth,” noted the release.
Top Priorities
Returning to the latest research, nearly two-thirds (65%) of intermediaries expect their producer network to grow in the next three years. “Expanding their efforts to recruit and support women financial professionals advances their top priority of growing their network of producers,” said the release.
Just over half of the intermediaries (52%) see this growth coming from recruiting a mix of experienced and inexperienced professionals. More than three-quarters (78%) offer tailored training based on the experience level of the producers they recruit, according to the survey.
More than 60 brokerage general agencies and independent marketing organizations completed the Limra-Nailba study, conducted between September and November 2023.
