Women Insurance Agents, Many of Them in New York, and They Earn Good Incomes (New York Times)

A 1901 New York Times article reveals a little-known fact about the insurance industry: women have been successful salespeople for more than a century. The feature, which describes an informational tea hosted by a female insurance agent in uptown Manhattan, explains why women are uniquely equipped to sell life insurance policies due to their intuition, tact, intelligence and common sense. Moreover, the host displays a passionate belief in the power of insurance to offer financial protection for women and men alike: “The insurance business has changed in many ways,” she explains. “The old kind of insurance to die by is obsolete. The present day insurance, annuity with insurance, is a guarantee against an impoverished old age, one that I preach in all sincerity to the improvident wage-earning women.”