SPECIAL REPORT
LEADING THE CHANGE SHERITA HARDY Assistant vice president AMWINS BROKERAGE OF TEXAS Years in the industry: 24
Sherita Hardy says she knew from the beginning that she had the potential to create a great career in the insurance industry. She began as a receptionist at an insurance agency and worked her way up to account manager. Today, Hardy serves on AmWINS’ D&I Council, is co-chair of the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of NAAIA and volunteers with Dive In Festival. Within each of these spaces, she focuses on recruiting efforts. “With Dive In, I’m on the committee that focuses on engaging the future, which is working to pull diverse candidates from the upcoming generation,” Hardy says. “At NAAIA, we work to bring in new members in hopes of creating a great network, and we help with our community and help with our youth by offering scholarships for higher education in the insurance industry. I’ve always been passionate about helping
“Being a woman of color, I have had to work twice as hard to get to where I am. My hope is that the next woman of color is given the same opportunity as her white male counterpart” those who are less fortunate, as well as people of color. Being a woman of color, I have had to work twice as hard to get to where I am. My hope is that the next woman of color is given the same opportunity as her white male counterpart.” Hardy identifies unconscious bias as a major hurdle for diversity in the workplace. “When opportunities come up, most people hiring give people who look like them the opportunity, even if a person of color has more qualifications for the position,” she says. “It’s time to start making a conscious effort to diversify your organization. Companies need to hold themselves accountable and make a serious effort to increase their percentage of people of color in leadership roles.”
30
SUSAN JOHNSON Chief diversity and inclusion officer THE HARTFORD Years in the industry: 7
Susan Johnson joined The Hartford specifically to lead the company’s diversity and inclusion work. “The Hartford has a strong culture and a CEO and CHRO who supported D&I and saw the value and need to align it with the business model, which had just gone through a lot of transformation,” she says. Johnson came to the role with a significant amount of experience in D&I, and she continues to be very active in the area throughout the industry. She is on the national board of directors for NAAIA, serving as both board secretary and program chair; has been on the planning committee for the IICF’s Women in Insurance Conference for more than five years; sits on IIABA’s Diversity Council, helping drive D&I initiatives within the independent agent environment; was one of the initiators of the RIMS Talent Management Study released in 2019; and serves as The Hartford’s representative to Gamma Iota Sigma for its GammaSAID diversity initiative. “I care about the success and expansion of Black/African Americans in the insurance industry,” Johnson says. “Through the recent months of social unrest and calls for greater racial equity, my commitment has accelerated. Some of the barriers people of color face to growth and promotion in the industry include developing authentic relationships with people who can sponsor them; having to work extra hard to get developmental, complex assignments to help them grow; and not always being keyed into the unwritten rules to success. Remedying this will require industry-wide effort to promote insurance careers to people of color, as well as highlighting successful people of color and really telling their stories in compelling and interesting ways.”
www.ibamag.com
22-45_Leading the Change-SUBBED.indd 30
28/08/2020 4:09:33 am