Associate Vice-President, Human Resources, Burns & Wilcox Canada, an H.W. Kaufman Group Company
Earlier this month, my colleagues from Burns & Wilcox and RB Jones Rahmad D. Bauldrick, Sr., Isa Devora, and Jennie Shin attended the 2024 Diversity, Equity + Inclusion Conference hosted by Business Insurance in New York City. It was motivating to share the room with like-minded industry leaders who believe deeply and advocate strongly for continued inclusivity in the insurance industry. Some of the key takeaways included: 1. Leaders have to be open to creating connection points with diverse people and continue to "get comfortable being uncomfortable". Inclusive cultures do not happen by accident. 2. If we want to attract ambitious talent to our industry, we have to be better at selling the opportunities that exist. Insurance is a growth industry – risk is increasing, and insurance is constantly coming up with new ways to manage that risk, and it will only continue to grow in the years to come. 3. Approach talent acquisition like you are hunting for solutions for your clients. When we say “we didn’t get any diverse talent apply”, would it be acceptable to stay “we didn’t get any submissions”? No – we go out and FIND them. The same tenacity is needed in recruitment and must be done by all leaders within organizations. Kudos to the leaders in the room who are driving this important work forward. The more we lean in, the brighter the future will be for our organizations. #KaufmanDEI #InclusiveCultures #DEILeadership
