More and more attention has been focused on women and how theymake inroads in their careers. The national debate centers on howwomen, particularly working mothers, should be considering theirascent to the top of the corporate ladder, but one crucial elementof the conversation is missing: how to protect their earnings.

Today, in many households, women are the breadwinners. A recentstudy released by Pew Research Center found 4 in 10 households withchildren under age 18 include a woman as the sole or primary wageearner.

What this statistic doesn't show is that many of these women —who are keeping their families afloat financially — may not havethe proper financial safety net in place should somethingunexpected happen to them. According to LIMRA, even when women havelife insurance, they are not as covered as their malecounterparts.

And that's where you can help during enrollment season thisyear.

To build your portfolio, help your clients by emphasizingcoverage for underserved employee populations, including women,during enrollment discussions. This is especially crucial when itcomes to voluntary coverage, as women might opt out if the need forsuch benefits is not adequately communicated.

Assessing the current financial landscape

Income disbursement of working women is changing, particularlybecause of how many are supporting children — and often agingparents — during their working years.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 74 percent of singlemothers with children under age 18 were working in 2013, as were 67percent of married mothers with children under 18. In addition,many women, especially those in the sandwich generation thatincludes baby boomers and Generation X, are becoming increasinglyresponsible for their aging parents. According to Pew ResearchCenter, one in seven middle-aged adults (15 percent) is providingfinancial support to both an aging parent and a child.

Having an income doesn't necessarily mean a family is protectedif a primary wage earner were to face a disabling condition — orworse. People may not understand that whatever amount they have intheir “rainy day” savings is what will cover the gap if they'reunable to work, or would be the first resource their family turnsto when they need money for everyday living expenses.

A new way to offer benefits

Employers are starting to offer benefits on a voluntary basis.These voluntary products allow employers to provide optimumbenefits that attract and retain top talent. Voluntary benefitsaren't dictated to employees, which allows employees to choosebenefits that fit their family and lifestyle. It's important thatemployers communicate the need for these benefits and how thesebenefits may help protect employees' families — otherwise,employees might forgo electing them.

Connect with your client to get a breakdown of women and men intheir workforce and, if you can, their ages. This can help youprepare how to present the need for income protection, as you cantailor presentations, and talk more about helping to provide forfamilies with young versus older children, or consider how many arecaring for aging parents.

For those with families, start the conversation by asking, “Howwould your family help make ends meet without your income?” Thisquestion can work for discussing both life and disabilityinsurance, as you can discuss how far their savings would go tocover necessities such as mortgage payments, tuition, loan paymentsand even groceries.

From there, ask additional probing questions, such as:

1. What are your goals for your family andchildren? What would you like for them to achieve—inregard to their scholastic, athletic, extracurricular, personal andcareer endeavors? These questions can help identify potentialbarriers to their success and allow you to position how coveragecan help protect against obstacles for goal attainment.

2. What gaps, if any, do you perceive in your family'soverall protection, well-being and peace of mind? This canhelp define “must have” versus “like to have” risk protection. Fromhere, you can focus on the proper risk to cover for their situation— for example, disability insurance rather than additional lifeinsurance.

3. Is your medical plan a high-deductible plan? Byanalyzing their current medical plan, you can offer strategiccounsel where there are gaps they are not likely to be aware of andhow those gaps can be closed or augmented.

4. Have you thought about the costs you would incur if youdon't have coverage? This can open the door to providingillustrations of the affordability of gap coverage, as well asillustrations of sample payouts to add value for seriousconsideration. This also is an opportunity to offer real-lifeexamples, scenarios and outcomes. From there, discuss a plan andphased approach to the total risk protection portfolio.

These are a few ways you can help your clients better servefemale employees. Not only will connecting with this historicallyunderinsured demographic help you build your existing business, itwill help position your clients as supportive employers, as manyemployees will be thankful their employer is helping to protecttheir future by pointing out this vulnerability.