In an increasingly diverse world, the benefits community is struggling to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace. According to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), there are 196,750 officials and managers working for the insurance industry. Of those, the number of women serving as officials and managers topped out at 47.9%. Non-white workers were even more scarce: 6.4% of management-level employees are Black, 3.1% are Hispanic, 2.1% are Asian, and just 0.3% are Native American.

Even more telling are the percentages of various minority groups in insurance: Just 6.7% of Black women are part of the industry, and Asian and Hispanic women make up just over 2.5% of the industry.

It's little wonder why, when the push for a more diverse workforce ramped up, the insurance community took it seriously. Just a few short years ago, organizations across the country were laser-focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The addition of new DEI roles illustrated the corporate world's buy-in to a concept that more diversity means a more profitable and productive workforce.