Divisional Vice President Toni Gonzales helps pave the way for women in insurance and financial services

Toni Gonzales is using her experience to empower the success of more women in insurance and financial services.

Recently, Ameritas welcomed Toni to our leadership team as one of our newest divisional vice presidents. This is only the latest achievement in a career that’s spanned more than two decades of financial services work and advocacy for women as leaders. And as Toni would be the first to agree, there’s no better time than now for women in leadership to influence the insurance industry.

Toni recently spoke with Beth Goldsmith, second vice president of practice management and development at Ameritas. She shared how her diverse experience has guided her to her current role. Now, one of her primary goals is to help women in leadership reach their highest potential in the financial services industry.

A life-long commitment to financial services

Toni’s work in financial services began as a new graduate of Arizona State University. It wasn’t a planned career move, however. She entered financial services almost by accident after realizing a future in retail wasn’t for her.

“I worked retail through college, and the company that I worked for was certainly eager to make me an offer. But I saw that their management team was folding sweaters with everyone else at 11 o’clock at night, every night, all through November, December and January. I thought—uh oh, I don’t know if that’s the lifestyle I want.

“Then a company named Prudential came on campus, and they talked to me about a position called underwriting. I knew nothing about underwriting at the time. But I did a little research on the financial services and insurance industry, and I realized that this is an industry that’s never going to go away. In fact, it’s probably going to grow through time. So, I started off in a corporate role.”

At Prudential, Toni took part in a leadership development program that gave her experience in all aspects of financial services. This included marketing, legal, finance and agent support. She found her real passion when she began working closely with agents. The commitment of these financial professionals impressed her deeply. So did their stories about how they were making a real and meaningful impact on their clients’ lives.

Like the true entrepreneur that she is, Toni changed careers again. She launched a successful practice in Scottsdale, Arizona, and ran it for nearly a decade. Then she saw an opportunity to help other financial services professionals excel. She returned to helping top advisors in practice and sales management, working with MassMutual and Ohio National before joining Ameritas in November 2022.

“In a way, I’ve had the best of all worlds. I’ve experienced the scope of what I could make of this career and what you can do with it,” she explains. “I didn’t know that path would get me to this amazing opportunity that I love so much today, but it did.”

Extending her influence into service

In addition to her work with financial professionals, Toni has stepped up to serve national organizations. She is a vocal advocate for women in the insurance and financial services industry. Currently, she serves as the national president of the Women in Insurance and Financial Services organization (WIFS). WIFS is the largest financial services not-for-profit in the country devoted to attracting and developing and advancing women as leaders in the profession.

“Gender is only one definition of diversity, there are certainly many more,” she allows. “But unfortunately, in my 25 years, I still haven’t seen the needle move the way it should for bringing more women into our profession, especially in client facing roles. So that is my call to action. How can we make changes on that together?”

Toni speaks often on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) but increasing the number of women in insurance financial services goes beyond DEI. It also makes good sense in today’s economic environment. Most recent national statistics show that women make up the majority of the population. They also typically live longer than men. That means that women financial professionals are a necessary voice in the conversation.

“Women are obtaining more advanced degrees and starting more small businesses,” she says. “Whether they’re earning or inheriting the wealth, they will often manage the wealth and make the financial decisions. Those clients would love to work with someone who has shared experiences, and who has gone through similar life and career changes.”

The value of career changers

In fact, women in leadership who have also changed careers offer a particular value to clients.

“Some of our most successful female representatives are career changers,” Toni explains. “They may have done something completely different in the first part of their adult life. They could have raised a family, worked in a completely different industry or worked in the same industry but in a different role. As their lives evolved and their situation changed, they embraced the idea of being entrepreneurial. This makes them a perfect fit for client work.

“As an agent, you’re a business owner, not an employee. That shifts your perspective. When you’re sitting across the desk from a client and talking about their dreams, their goals and their vision, your experience matters. If your client knows that you’ve walked some of those paths yourself, I think it really helps you build rapport with them and establish your credibility. Once you have that rapport, clients often open up and begin speaking more about their own experiences. And when a client speaks more about themselves than you do about yourself, you know that conversation has gone really, really well.”

What’s next for Toni? Both in her work with Ameritas and as president of Women in Insurance and Financial Services, the future is bright. She’s not only interested in recruiting women into the financial services profession, she’s also passionate about helping women in leadership grow and thrive in the industry.

“What I love about this profession is that I’ve been able to create and shape a lifestyle that has given me every professional opportunity I wanted,” she says. “And I want to help others achieve that too.”

To connect with Toni, learn more about her work and keep up with the latest financial services trends, follow her online at LinkedIn.

Sources and References:
Women in Insurance and Financial Services organizations