Regional Vice President at Canada Protection Plan, a Foresters Financial Company
CanadianSME sat down with Chantal Mackenzie, the Regional Vice President at Canada Protection Plan, a Foresters Financial Company, earlier this year to talk about the survey conducted by Canada Protection Plan revealing the gender gap in financial protection. She also told us how the global pandemic badly affected the financial conditions of female entrepreneurs when it comes to accomplishing their needs and goals. She also shared some of the challenges that she faced and how she learned from her past experiences. Finally, we talked about the role of financial literacy of a woman in shaping a successful business. Together, we explore Chantal’s role in bridging the gender gap in financial protection.
With over three decades of experience in the financial industry, Chantal Mackenzie is the Regional Vice President at Canada Protection Plan, a Foresters Financial Company for Alberta South, NWT/YT.
As Vice President, she focuses on transforming and coaching advisors and general managing agencies with their business growth plans. With an impressive record of success in developing winning growth strategies and building effective teams, Chantal has set strategic direction for brokers and distributors through Canada Protection Plan and Foresters Financial’s product solutions and tools.
Over the course of her career, her experience in growing organizations has ranged from traditional to simplified issue insurance providers.
There was a recent analysis conducted by CPP on the past data revealing the gender gap in financial protection, can you highlight the keen insights of the analysis?
Each year around International Women’s Day, we see a renewed interest in discussions surrounding gender equality, but a lesser talked about component of equity is financial protection. Canada Protection Plan recently conducted an analysis of aggregate data (based on 500,000 transactions since 1960) and uncovered some interesting insights. Namely, the insurance gap between men and women has narrowed since the 1960s, with nearly 52% of women insured today compared to 48% of men. Compare this to the period between 1960 – 1980, which saw men at 62% and women at 38%.
Impressively, critical illness insurance data shows that women are further taking action at 60% ownership, compared to only 40% of men. While these trends indicate that women are increasingly taking control over their financial security, the average face value tends to be lower, which could be a reflection of the continued income gap.
The pandemic has affected the financial situations of women entrepreneurs which made them think about getting financial protection for meeting their goals and needs. What do you have to say about this?
I think the pandemic has been a major eye-opener for women when it comes to their financial protection, and we’ve seen a heightened focus on how to become more confident and better equipped to handle financial savings and investments. For female business owners in particular, the threat of the pandemic, from both a personal and a professional perspective, has shaken up traditional understandings of financial planning and driven a renewed interest in exploring the tools that are available to protect against uncertainty. Interest in life insurance has certainly experienced an uptick from entrepreneurs, many of whom have come to realize that such benefits are usually covered by employers. Becoming an entrepreneur is an impressive feat, but one that entails thinking about ways to protect yourself, your business and your family should something unexpected happen.
While the realization may have been borne out of the pandemic as a necessity, this ‘rethink’ of financial wellbeing has been largely a positive one. We’re seeing more females motivated to take control over their finances, their businesses and most importantly, themselves. This committed and disciplined approach is about giving other female entrepreneurs a model to emulate and paving the way for others to follow.
Chantal Mackenzie – Providing Cutting-Edge Solutions to Insurance Advisors in Helping Families and Communities Share on XBy 2022, women are more likely to purchase insurance than men. What are your views about the gender gap becoming narrow with women being more aware of financial protection?
The narrowing of the insurance gap is a highly promising trend that reflects the increasing financial power held by women. Historically, we’ve seen men dominate the insurance space, as old-fashioned thinking led us to protect the people who were ‘earning an income. That women are seeking out insurance at higher rates than men is a very welcome sign of two key realizations – an understanding of the immense value provided by home or family caregivers, and the incredible strides made by working women, from launching innovative businesses, to managing large amounts of wealth, to climbing the corporate ladder and becoming major economic players. The willingness of women to take responsibility and protect their financial assets is a hugely positive development and a hopeful sign for a female-positive future.
How does the financial literacy of women play a major role in small businesses?
Being a successful entrepreneur requires having solid investing and budgeting skills, two main aspects of financial literacy. Entrepreneurs are responsible to protect themselves, employees and loved ones against the unexpected, and many look to secure some peace of mind through insurance. When women set goals and expectations and act on them by obtaining the necessary protective measures, they can move forward with confidence knowing that their business and family will be cared for, no matter the circumstances. Entrepreneurs with life insurance can also enjoy certain tax benefits, such as funding transition plans, reducing tax on passive assets, having access to cash that their businesses can use if needed, and diversifying their portfolios.
What did you learn from your failures? Were you able to overcome them?
I wouldn’t call them failures but rather challenges. Despite tremendous advances from women, financial spaces are still predominantly male-oriented. As a female in the industry, I’ve experienced plenty of bias over the years, predominantly from older men, and I’ve struggled to find mentors that I could really connect with. With over 30 years of experience, the challenges I’ve encountered haven’t stopped me – in fact, they’ve helped me develop a better understanding of industry shortcomings and connect with a critically important market that continues to demand more female representation.
What piece of advice would you like to give women-owned small businesses regarding the increasing need for financial literacy?
Focus on honing your saving, investing and budgeting skills – and start as early as possible. Developing an understanding of finance will allow you to ask the right questions and make better, more educated business decisions. I’d also recommend working with a financial advisor to help you navigate the extensive number of solutions available. Advisors can also help create a personalized plan that takes your specific needs and goals into consideration, so don’t be afraid to ‘shop around for the right one.
Lastly, and I cannot emphasize this enough, not having risk protection in place is a risk in and of itself. Remember, while you cannot control the future, you can equip yourself to control the unexpected.
