Women’s History Month: AIME for the top

But times have changed: “A lot of the change we’ve seen over the last decade and really the last five years for sure is this rise in female leadership,” Sweeney continued. “And not just middle management — executive leaders, business owners, the women who are making decisions and leading companies and teams and not just creating a path for themselves but creating a path for other people as well.”

Read more: CEO reignites AIME

AIME has not been exempt from such progress, Sweeney assured. “It definitely has been the case in the broker channel. It’s one of the reasons why we’re so passionate about the channel that we work in. We really have the ability to influence opportunity for any type of person out there, and women have absolutely taken that to heart and taken advantage of that, and we’re seeing more and more broker owners and COOs and CMOs and CEOs. Those aren’t just roles specifically for men any longer. That’s something that’s very new for the industry, and one that the broker channel has really helped champion.”

AIME member Jamie Cavanaugh (pictured immediately above), president of Amerifund Home Loans Inc., echoed the sentiments. She buttressed Sweeney’s assessment of AIME’s outreach by referencing the Women’s Mortgage Network, the association launched in 2020, which she said. “…has created a space for women in the broker channel to connect, support and encourage one another in life and in business,” she told MPA. “As WMN has gained visibility, membership has increased year-over-year in record numbers. This has brought more women into our channel and continues to be a driving force behind AIME’s initiatives.”