Breaking Barriers: Barbara Bufkin's Journey in the Insurance Industry

A Maverick's Early Career

When Barbara Bufkin started in the insurance industry nearly four decades ago, she didn't think about women's roles. She started her career as a commercial underwriter, then a casualty facultative underwriter to a reinsurance intermediary. In fact, in the first five years of her career she had four job changes – unheard of at that time.

Navigating Corporate Barriers

But this success didn't come easy. Bufkin recognized that there were corporate barriers which she had to learn to navigate. But through that navigation she learned how to negotiate, a skill greatly needed in the business world. She had the courage to build the career she envisioned for herself by seeking out mentors whom she trusted.

Advocating for Gender Equality

Bufkin noted that there is a great need for women's training. 'We need to make sure that women's voices when they are not in the room are being heard,' she said, adding that 'we need to prepare women for executive roles. Giving women strong coaching to be more conscious of their own capabilities and confidence, to overcome 'imposter syndrome' and consider themselves for a position when they may not have felt ready for it.'