those who are bilingual—are in
high demand among insurers.
In today’s global economy,
she explains, “insurers are
often dealing with customers
for whom English isn’t a first
language.”
“THERE’S TALENT IN BLACK AND
LATINO COMMUNITIES THAT HAS
NEVER BEEN TAPPED. THAT’S GOING TO BE IMPORTANT AS MORE
PEOPLE OF COLOR BUY HOMES
AND START BUSINESSES.”
Calling All Talent
Attracting job seekers from
underrepresented groups, however, can be challenging. Bette
Mui, president of the New York City–based Chinese
American Insurance Association (CAIA), recalls that
when she grew up, Asian parents discouraged their
children from pursuing careers in insurance because
it “was thought of as a sales job.” Likewise, Jerald
Tillman, founder of NAAIA in Washington, D.C., says:
“My awareness of the industry was the guy who went
door to door collecting life-insurance premiums. So
when the insurance-company recruiters came to my
campus, I skipped the interviews because I didn’t want
to be [a collections guy].”
This is one reason why some insurers are playing
catch-up to keep pace with the nation’s demographics. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
women of all races/ethnicities account for 62 percent of the industry’s work force. But the majority
—SHANNA REID, NATIONAL AFRICAN-AMERICAN INSURANCE ASSOCIATION
of women are white ( 82 percent), versus women of
color ( 18 percent). At the management level, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office,
women of color account for only 7. 5 percent of
the work force, compared with 41 percent of white
women and 46 percent of white men. Similarly, 90
percent of the industry’s front-line employees—
independent agents—are white, reports the Independent
Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA).
But professional organizations such as CAIA, NAAIA
and others are working to build a more representative
pipeline by promoting the professional pluses:
• Expanding markets, new needs. Aging baby
boomers planning for retirement, for example, have
increased the market for products such as annuities and
long-term care. Likewise, with same-sex marriage and
civil unions on the rise, insurers who serve the financial
HCSC MAKES DIVERSITY A PRIORITY
Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC),
which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield
of Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas,
has taken diversity to a new level. That’s why
it was ranked No. 34 on The 2008 Diversity
Inc Top 50 Companies for
Diversity® list. From management seminars to heritage appreciation events
to web-based trainings
for cultural understanding,
HCSC makes diversity a
priority. Although participation in HCSC’s
internal diversity-development programs is
mandatory, it is also welcomed among the
organization’s more than 17,000 employees.
Basic diversity skills, such as respect and inclusion, are necessary competencies for every-
one at the company. What’s more, HCSC’s
CEO leads by example.
“I helped establish and served on HCSC’s
Diversity and Inclusion Council over eight
years ago,” says HCSC President and CEO
Pat Hemingway Hall. Committed to its
mission, she now chairs the Council.
Hemingway Hall also reviews the unique
diversity plan of each business unit, holds
leadership responsible for its implementation, and then ties the results to every
employee’s compensation. As a result of
cultural competency, HCSC’s employees
are better prepared to respond to increasingly diverse customers. HCSC’s work force
reflects the communities it serves, which
contributes to providing the best healthcare coverage available. The nation’s largest
customer-owned health insurer also promotes the inclusion of diverse vendors with
which it does business through its supplier-diversity program. In 2008, HCSC spent 10. 2
percent of its annual procurement budget
with minority- and women-owned business
enterprises (MWBEs), an increase from 9. 9
percent for the previous year. HCSC also
supports MWBE development and training
to further build capacity. Likewise, HCSC
works to address the ethnic, racial and social
disparities that prevent too many people
from receiving quality healthcare. Through
donations, community events in disadvantaged neighborhoods and healthcare programs that support the uninsured, HCSC is
leading the way and making a difference in
the world around it.
