Advancing Supplier and Governing Board Diversity
|
|
Deadline for submissions is the 15th of every month.
|
|
February 2020 Newsletter Preview
|
I. What’s New:
- Happy Lunar New Year!
- National African American History Month
II
.
In the Community:
- CA Department of Insurance Wins Notable Achievement Award
III. Spotlight on Diversity:
- Supplier Diversity: Supplier Diversity and the Super Bowl
- Governing Board Diversity: On the Board's Agenda 2020
IV. Announcements:
- 1st Quarterly Insurance Diversity Task Force Meeting: March 11, 2020
- We Want Your Feedback!
V. Diversity Events Calendar
|
|
Lunar New Year was celebrated from January 25th - February 8th of this year. The
Chinese Zodiac symbol
for this year is the
rat
which, according to tradition, represents the beginning of a new day.
Preparations typically begin the week prior to the official first day of the new year, including a spring festival that is held for a week to 10 days and concludes with a celebratory lantern festival.
Lunar New Year
is a time to spend with family, honor past relatives and take part in traditional celebrations. Best wishes for good luck and abundance in the year ahead!
|
|
National African American History Month
|
|
National African American History Month in February celebrates the contributions that African Americans have made to American history in their struggles for freedom and equality and deepens our understanding of our Nation's history. National African American History Month had its origins in 1915 when historian and author Dr. Carter G. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. This organization is now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (“ASALH”). Dr. Woodson selected the week in February that included the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, two key figures in the history of African Americans.
When Dr. Woodson established Negro History week in 1926, he realized the importance of providing a theme to focus the attention of the public. The intention has never been to dictate or limit the exploration of the Black experience, but to bring to the public’s attention important developments that merit emphasis.
The year 2020 marks the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment and the culmination of the women’s suffrage movement. The year 2020 also marks the sesquicentennial of the Fifteenth Amendment (1870) and the right of black men to the ballot after the Civil War. The theme speaks, therefore, to the ongoing struggle on the part of both black men and black women for the right to vote. This theme has a rich and long history, which begins at the turn of the nineteenth century, i.e., in the era of the Early Republic, with the states’ passage of laws that democratized the vote for white men while disfranchising free black men. Thus, even before the Civil War, black men petitioned their legislatures and the US Congress, seeking to be recognized as voters.
The important contribution of black suffragists occurred not only within the larger women’s movement, but within the larger black voting rights movement. Through voting-rights campaigns and legal suits from the turn of the twentieth century to the mid-1960s, African Americans made their voices heard as to the importance of the vote.
Learn more about the evolution of National African American History Month.
|
|
CA Department of Insurance Wins
Notable Achievement Award
|
|
On January 29, 2020, the Department of General Services Procurement Division held the
20th Annual State Agency Recognition Awards (SARA) ceremony. SARA celebrates California state departments for their achievements in small business (SB) and disabled veteran business enterprise (DVBE) advocacy and contracting. This year, the California Department of Insurance (CDI) was the recipient of the Notable Achievement award for our procurement efforts in the 2018/2019 fiscal year. The Notable Achievement award is presented to departments that achieve 30 percent or higher for its SB participation goal and achieve 5 percent or higher for its DVBE participation goal. CDI's SD/DVBE procurement participation was 40.17% and 5.90%, respectively, which further demonstrates our department’s commitment to utilizing diverse suppliers in all phases of the procurement process. Congratulations to our partners at CDI and all of the other 2020 award recipients for recognizing the importance of advancing supplier diversity.
# # #
|
|
SUPPLIER DIVERSITY SPOTLIGHT
|
|
Supplier Diversity and Super Bowl 55
|
|
Preparations for next year's Super Bowl in Tampa are well underway. The NFL and the Tampa Bay Super Bowl LV Host Committee have partnered together to develop the Business Connect program.
"The Business Connect program works to create opportunities for experienced, qualified and certified business owners from local, diverse communities to compete for contracting opportunities related to Super Bowl." The Business Connect program looks for businesses that fulfill the 30 most frequently requested by NFL contractors. Read the
full article from
the Tampa Bay Super Bowl 55 site.
|
|
GOVERNING BOARD DIVERSITY SPOTLIGHT
|
|
On the Board's Agenda
By: Deloitte's Center for Board Effectiveness
|
|
There is good news on the board diversity front: Statistics demonstrate that boards are becoming more diverse. For example, 26 percent of S&P 500 directors are women, up from 24 percent in 2018 and 16 percent 10 years ago, and more boards―92 percent of the S&P 500―now include two or more women.4 Another milestone was achieved in mid-2019, when for the first time, all of the S&P 500 companies had at least one female director. However, while gender diversity has improved, some challenges remain,the numbers for racial and ethnic diversity are generally lower those for gender diversity. And there is evidence of so-called “recycling,” which is the rate at which individuals serve on more than one board―meaning that a limited number of women and minority directors are joining additional boards. Higher recycle rates for women and minorities mean that while diversity may be increasing, the absolute number is lagging. Read more about the focus on board composition in
Deloitte's report.
# # #
|
|
 |
Insurance Diversity Task Force Meeting
|
1st Quarterly Insurance Diversity Task Force Meeting
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (PST)
California Department of Insurance
300 Capitol Mall - Check-in at 17th Floor Lobby
Sacramento, CA 95814
Video conference available from our Oakland and Los Angeles offices. Teleconference options are also available.
|
|
|
|
DIVERSITY EVENTS CALENDAR
FEBRUARY/MARCH
|
|
Hosted by: Western Regional Minority Supplier Development Council (WRMSDC)
When: February 20, 2020
Where: San Francisco, CA
|
|
Hosted by: Golden Gate Business Association
When: March 6, 2020
Where: San Francisco, CA
|
|
To submit a request to add your Supplier Diversity or Governing Board Diversity-related event, please contact us at:
diversity@insurance.ca.gov
.
|
|
# # #
The Insurance Diversity Initiative was established in 2011 to address diversity issues within California's $310 billion insurance industry. Specifically, these efforts are meant to increase procurement from California’s diverse suppliers, as well as to increase diversity amongst insurer governing boards. To accomplish these goals, the Department conducts outreach, creates partnerships, hosts events, and most importantly, administers surveys to collect and publicly disseminate information about the state of diversity in the insurance industry.
|
|
INSURANCE DIVERSITY INITIATIVE
Office of Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara
California Department of Insurance
(916) 492-3317
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
