When senior leaders talk about diversity, Jeff Sutton (pictured) is clear that leadership begins with action – and that showing up is the baseline, not the achievement.
As senior vice president of sales and marketing at Markel Canada, Sutton spends much of his time talking about performance, growth and market strategy. But when he walked into last year’s Women in Insurance Summit, he was reminded that real leadership also means being visibly present in the rooms where inclusion is being built.
“In our industry, showing up matters,” he says. “You can fire off emails and talk about relationships and culture, or you can be physically present in the conversations that are shaping the future.” For him, attending the Women in Insurance Summit is a direct extension of that philosophy – and a non‑negotiable part of being a male ally.
Sutton is candid about the fact that men are still a minority at women-focused industry events. That is precisely why he keeps coming back.
“The number of men is growing slightly, but we’re still the vast minority in that room,” he notes. “That’s powerful. It puts you, for once, on the minority side of the discussion. As a middle‑aged white male in this industry, I don’t experience that often.”
That brief shift in perspective, he argues, is not a nice‑to‑have; it is core to understanding why allyship can’t be performed from the sidelines. Being an ally “is a verb,” as he puts it. It requires action: attending, listening, learning, and then speaking up when it counts.
Events like the Women in Insurance Summit, he says, give male leaders a high‑impact forum to do exactly that – not as keynote heroes, but as present, accountable participants in a conversation that has traditionally been left to women to drive.
For Sutton, the business case is also clear. The Canadian insurance industry is full of highly capable women delivering results every day, yet representation narrows significantly at the top. He points to industry data showing women holding roughly a quarter of VP roles, falling further at the senior vice‑president and executive ranks.
“What strikes me is that we’re not short on capability,” he says. “We’re short on sponsorship, allyship and visible advocacy – especially from people at the most senior levels.”
Summits like Women in Insurance, he believes, help close that gap by:
That is also why Sutton believes male participation cannot be optional. “If you’re going to be an ally and an advocate, you have to be part of the conversation,” he says. “To be part of the conversation, you have to be in the room.”
Sutton’s view of allyship has been shaped not only by gender-focused work, but also by his role on the board of the Canadian Association of Black Insurance Professionals. Across both spaces, he has seen the same pattern: intent is common; disciplined action is far less so.
For him, meaningful allyship from male leaders starts with something very simple: showing up and listening. Attendance, he stresses, is the minimum standard. “Step one is to be physically present and actively listen,” he says. But it cannot stop there. He believes many women in the industry do not need yet another informal mentor; they need sponsors – senior leaders prepared to put their own social capital on the line. That means being the voice in rooms where they may not yet have one, opening doors, and consciously transferring social capital rather than guarding it.
In day-to-day leadership, that also translates into being deliberate about naming and crediting women’s ideas in meetings and public forums, making sure expertise is visible and attributed. Sutton is equally focused on what he calls encouraging the “stretch.” He points to the familiar pattern in which men apply for roles even when they do not meet all the listed requirements, while women are less likely to put themselves forward under the same circumstances. He sees a responsibility for male leaders to actively nudge women toward stretch roles and senior opportunities, and to stand behind them when they do.
“We need to make sure women in our industry feel that level of confidence and support from men,” he says. “The stretch mentality is already baked into how a lot of men approach their careers. Our job is to ensure women have the same sponsorship behind them.”
Within Markel, Sutton describes allyship as both a cultural value and an operating discipline – but he is quick to note that the company is still on that journey. Markel Canada’s executive leadership team today includes one woman and five men, while its senior leadership team is evenly split, with 18 women out of 36 leaders.
He highlights several structural practices that male leaders should champion inside their organisations:
“These are the levers that actually move decisions and outcomes,” he says. “If we want to evolve the system, leaders – and that absolutely includes male leaders – have to insist on these disciplines.”
Sutton also stresses that diversity at the top is not just a moral imperative; it is a competitive one. Organisations with diverse leadership teams benefit from sharper decision‑making, fewer blind spots and stronger innovation. For a sector facing complex, fast‑moving risks, that advantage matters.
Join the Women in Insurance Summit Canada 2026 on June 2 at Universal Eventspace in Vaughan, ON, to turn representation into leadership. Hear from industry leaders, build your network, and leave with practical strategies to advance women into decision‑making roles.
