BY GENDER
BY RACE
Men
38%
Women
62%
L atino
Black
8%
9%
White
83%
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2008)
TRAVELERS: RECOGNIZING,
REWARDING FEMALE TALENT
Women are a key element of the future of the insurance industry, says Joelle
Hayes, second vice president of diversity for Travelers. “We know they’re making
decisions about insurance for their families,” says Hayes. “What’s more, women
are expected to earn 60 percent of the bachelor’s degrees granted in the United
States in the next 10 years. If we want to tap into those
markets and workers, it’s important that women continue to be represented throughout our organization.”
That’s why the St. Paul, Minn.–based insurer has
stepped up its efforts to develop and retain its already significant base of female talent. For starters,
the Travelers Education Access Initiative provides ap-
proximately $2 million annually in scholarships and offers paid summer internships to underrepresented students from colleges in Minnesota, Connecticut and
Maryland. In fact, in the first year of the program, the majority of students receiving
scholarships were women.
In 2008, the company held a panel discussion of women employees across
the generations in recognition of Women’s History Month. “We learned that the
women from Gen Y often had little exposure to our senior women executives,”
says Hayes. “They didn’t see women as mentors or role models in the industry.”
As a result, Travelers sponsors events such as The Women in Business Summit
in Hartford, Conn., a workshop designed to encourage dialogue among local
corporate women about career challenges and successes. Several of the insurer’s
female employees have attended and found the opportunity very worthwhile.
In addition, some Travelers’ senior managers have supported informal mentoring sessions for women. One executive, for instance, encourages employees
to participate in one-on-one coaching sessions and to read and review business-related books to help them advance in their careers.
“These sessions have been successful, and we see opportunity to expand the
concept across the company,” says Hayes. “We strive to find new and different
ways that talented women can make connections that will further their careers
and retain them at Travelers.”
needs. “But multicultural marketing involves
more than just language translation,” says
McCall-Rodriguez. “There’s still the need to
educate—and that takes a new kind of insurance professional.”
IIABA, an alliance of 300,000 agents,
brokers and their employees, is doing just
that. Last year, the trade association formed a
diversity task force with a mission of building
a more culturally competent pool of agents
that can effectively educate all consumers.
By working with organizations that represent
Black, Latino and Asian insurance professionals, the task force will build a database
of agencies owned by MWBEs and sponsor
networking events to ensure their professional
success. IIABA also rolled out an insurance-educational program, available in dozens of
high-school and college classrooms across
the country, to prepare students of any race,
religion or ability for a future in this profession.
Creating a more inclusive insurance
workplace and marketplace only makes business sense, says Bill Pierson, IIABA assistant
vice president of agent development: “If 99
percent of an agent’s business is white, yet his
territory is 25 percent Black or Latino, he or
she is losing market share.” ❚
___________________________________
© 2009 DiversityInc. This advertising-supported section
was written by Bob Trebilcock under contract to
DiversityInc. Content is the property of DiversityInc. For
more information or to order reprints, please contact
gzoppo@DiversityInc.com
