On March 8, 2019, Crawford is celebrating International Women’s Day and supporting this year’s theme of Balance for Better. We recognize that everyone has a crucial part to play in building a gender-balanced world, and Crawford employees are no exception.
International Women’s Day marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. This year’s theme, Balance for Better, acknowledges and encourages the need for balance. Balance is not just a women’s issue, but also a business issue – one that is essential for economies and communities to thrive.
We know that our profession is a male-dominated one, but that imbalance is changing. Diversity and inclusion are increasingly viewed as a strategic imperative by a growing number of companies in our industry. At Crawford, we are proud to have a number of women at the helm of our businesses, and they are committed to mentoring the many rising stars who are helping to make the insurance industry a more diverse and inclusive sector.
Over the last several years, men have become advocates and champions of change, playing a key part in accelerating women’s equality. This is evidenced in our own organization by the support of our President & CEO, Harsha V. Agadi, who states:
“Diversity comes in many forms — in thought, culture, gender, age, ethnicity, experience. It is our goal at Crawford to create an organization that challenges the status quo, celebrating diversity in the fullest possible way.”
We demonstrate that commitment in many ways.
Crawford is a member of the Business Insurance Diversity and Inclusion Institute, an organization dedicated to promoting and advancing diversity and inclusion in every facet of the commercial insurance industry. We also support the Women to Watch initiative by Business Insurance, and our very own Kirsten Early, managing director, UK TPA Solutions, was named as an honoree in 2018.
We also play an active role in the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters’ Special Interest Group, Women in CILA, which takes positive action to address gender imbalance in CILA qualification progression. Their work includes researching barriers to female progression, providing role models in loss adjusting, creating networking opportunities and encouraging female participation in institute activities. The Women in CILA group was the proud winner of the British Insurance Awards Diversity Award in 2018.
Also in 2018, Crawford launched a global high-impact leadership exploration and development program to help women successfully achieve their career growth goals and empower them as leaders.
Our female leaders also take a frontline role in in the push to promote greater diversity and inclusivity. We have a number of women across our organization championing and leading the charge by inspiring and motivating others through their actions and their support of various initiatives, both at Crawford and on the industry stage.
For example, Danielle Lisenbey, global president, TPA Solutions, and Bonnie Sawdey, chief people officer, will be speaking at this year’s Women in Insurance Congress, which aims to bring people together, both men and women, to learn lessons, forge strategies and tackle the biggest issues that women in insurance encounter today. In 2019, Heather Matthews, senior vice president, National Claims Management Centre in Canada will tackle the hot topic of "Imposter Syndrome" at Women in Insurance Canada.
Initiatives such as these, delivered on a global scale, demonstrate how committed Crawford is to fostering greater diversity, accelerating gender parity and helping women and girls achieve their ambitions. In 2019 and beyond, we will continue to pursue and support balance in our workplaces and communities. Let’s join together in celebration of the women who inspire us!
