What began as a small professional network in 2016 has grown into a 600-strong community reshaping how Singapore’s reinsurance industry thinks about talent, leadership and inclusion. WiRE Convenor Winnie Tan looks back on a decade of progress and sets out the agenda for the next 10 years.
When a small group of women in Singapore’s reinsurance industry gathered in September 2016 to launch a new professional network, few could have predicted the scale of what it would become. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, WiRE (Women in Reinsurance) has grown into a 600-strong community that spans reinsurers, brokers, service providers and industry partners, and has quietly but meaningfully shifted the culture of one of Asia’s most specialised financial sectors.
To mark the milestone, Asia Insurance Review spoke with Winnie Tan, WiRE Convenor and Swiss Re Asia Team Lead for P&C Client Underwriting, who has been instrumental in guiding the network’s evolution under the auspices of the Singapore Reinsurers’ Association (SRA).
From grassroots to structure
WiRE was founded because there was a gap within the industry that needed to be addressed.
“When WiRE was founded, one of the most pressing challenges was visibility,” Ms Tan said. “While women were present across the industry, they were often under-represented in senior technical, commercial and leadership roles. There were fewer visible role models, limited access to informal networks, and fewer platforms where women could build confidence, share expertise and be recognised for their contributions.”
What started as a community-driven network has since evolved into a more deliberate and structured platform, anchored around three pillars: access, advance and amplify, creating pathways into the industry, supporting professional and leadership development, and increasing the visibility of women as credible industry voices.
That evolution mirrored a broader shift in the industry itself. After a decade of activity, Ms Tan noted that more women are stepping into leadership positions across Singapore’s reinsurance market. “The focus has shifted. It is no longer only about access, but also about enabling women to thrive in leadership roles — to shape decisions, influence industry dialogue, and remain visible as industry experts.”
A decade of milestones
Ms Tan pointed to the credibility and continuity of the WiRE platform itself as the achievement she was most proud of.
“Over the past decade, WiRE has built an inclusive and respected network that brings together professionals across reinsurers, brokers, service providers and different career stages,” she said. That breadth — spanning functions from the technical to the commercial, and career stages from entry-level to senior leadership — has allowed WiRE to cross the boundaries of a typical networking group and into becoming a genuine ecosystem.
Another achievement she pointed out was WiRE’s shift beyond networking into development and visibility. Through industry events, technical discussions, leadership conversations and knowledge-sharing sessions, the network has supported women’s career progression in a more structured way.
Among the most significant recent milestones is the launch of SpeakEasy, WiRE’s flagship programme introduced last year. A first-of-its-kind initiative in the Singapore reinsurance market, SpeakEasy addresses the persistent visibility gap by curating a database of qualified and aspiring female speakers for industry conferences and events.
“Representation on stage matters and plays a role in shaping industry dialogue,” she said.
“Visibility shapes perception, and perception influences opportunity. Initiatives like SpeakEasy help ensure that expertise within our industry is seen, heard and recognised.”
Beyond the women’s network
One of the more telling signs of WiRE’s maturity are its current participants. While the network was founded to support women, its activities have always been rooted in broader inclusion.
“Over time, there has been increasing involvement from male allies, senior leaders and industry partners who actively support WiRE’s objectives,” Ms Tan said. “This reflects a broader shift in mindset across the industry, recognising that advancing inclusion and leadership diversity is a shared responsibility. Real progress happens when leadership at all levels is engaged, accountable and aligned.”
WiRE’s influence on company-level thinking has been similarly organic. Rather than prescribing policy, WiRE has shaped culture. Many member companies have since formalised DEI strategies, sponsorship programmes and leadership development initiatives. WiRE, she said, plays a complementary role of providing an external forum for ideas and best practices to be exchanged across firms, preventing the siloed approaches that tend to limit impact.
The fireside chat series, hosted in partnership with SRA member companies since last year, further embeds this culture of openness. Senior female leaders share their leadership journeys in candid conversation, with sessions already held at SCOR Re and Munich Re, and an upcoming event at Swiss Re scheduled for June 2026.
The road ahead
As WiRE enters its second decade, the agenda is both ambitious and grounded in what has worked.
A priority is strengthening support at critical career transition points, during the moments where progression can stall. WiRE is currently developing a pilot mentoring initiative in collaboration with SRA’s HR sub-committee, expected to launch in the coming months.
Meaningful leadership engagement is another focus. “Providing closer, more candid access to experienced leaders helps to demystify senior roles and make leadership pathways more attainable,” Ms Tan said.
Visibility, as ever, remains central. “Ensuring women continue to be recognised as credible technical and industry voices — not just participants — is essential to shaping industry dialogue and setting role models for those coming through the pipeline.”
And underpinning all of it is a longer-term ambition: to build a community that sustains itself, one where members actively support and uplift one another, embedding mentorship and advocacy into the industry’s culture rather than relying on any single programme or initiative.
WiRE’s tenth anniversary will be formally marked at this year’s SIRC, Asia’s premier reinsurance conference, where SRA plans dedicated moments of recognition alongside continued dialogue on talent and leadership diversity. “SIRC has always been more than a conference. It is where the industry comes together to exchange ideas and shape the future. Marking WiRE’s 10th anniversary is a meaningful extension of that,” she said.
For Ms Winnie Tan and the community that she leads, this 10-year milestone is proof that sustained, industry-led efforts on inclusion can scale, and a platform from which the next decade’s work can begin.
WiRE (Women in Reinsurance) is a sub-committee of the Singapore Reinsurers’ Association (SRA). The network currently has over 600 members across Singapore’s reinsurance industry. A