Insurance Diversity Digest - Human Rights Month and A Time for Reflection

Diversity Proponent

The end of the year is fast-approaching, and what a year this has been! As we near the end of 2020, let's take time to pause and reflect. 2020 was full of eventful experiences, and before we look ahead to 2021, let's take time to absorb all of the lessons learned. But December is also observed for another significant reason: Universal Human Rights Month.

This year pushed us all to our limits. A persistent global pandemic, economic ramifications of an uncertain national path, a racial justice movement fueled by our country's reckoning with systemic racism, and the physical distancing we all have had to maintain to keep ourselves and others safe and healthy. This was a year to come together as a community, bound together by our common humanity. And it continues to amaze us to see how we have in times of crisis.

Between work and family, we transitioned meetings, play dates, birthday parties, and gatherings to virtual events. We got to know the important role that small and diverse businesses play in our local neighborhoods as we worked to minimize contact, while supporting those business owners by ordering take-out, purchasing gift cards, and shopping locally. And within our communities, we saw our friends and neighbors rise to the occasion with contactless food drives, get-out-the-vote efforts, and wildfire donations. Here at the Initiative, we hosted our first virtual Insurance Diversity Summit while juggling our role as working parents and for some of us, our first stint at home schooling via distance learning.

Our holidays are definitely quieter, but the sentiment still remains. Gratitude for the people in our lives and for the blessings we have.

We are thankful for your support and commitment to diversity. We know we cannot do this alone. As we wrap up the end of 2020, we'd love for you to join us for our final series of public meetings during this calendar year. Please take a moment to check out the public notices and links for this month's upcoming public meetings towards the latter portion of this newsletter and online at www.insurance.ca.gov/diversity.

We wish you the happiest of holidays and look forward to continuing this important work with you in 2021.

Warmly,

The Insurance Diversity Initiative Team

Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home -- so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. [...] Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."

-Eleanor Roosevelt

For Humanity's Sake

We encourage everyone to think not just of those closest to us but also of our entire human family—all of humanity. There are those whose lives are filled with uncertainty, who have been displaced, are struggling with food insecurity, have lost love ones to the pandemic or systemic racism, or are fleeing violence. They need us.

December is Human Rights Month. What better time of year could there be to reflect on the joyousness and charity we can generate for others and the endless capacity for generosity that our species can embody?

2020 THEME: RECOVER BETTER - STAND UP FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

This year’s Human Rights Day theme, Recover Better - Stand Up for Human Rights, relates to the COVID-19 pandemic and focuses on the need to build back better by ensuring Human Rights are central to recovery efforts. We will reach our common global goals only if we are able to create equal opportunities for all, address the failures exposed and exploited by COVID-19, and apply human rights standards to tackle entrenched, systematic, and intergenerational inequalities, exclusion and discrimination.

IN THE COMMUNITY

2020 VIRTUAL INSURANCE DIVERSITY SUMMIT

Our 2020 Diversity Summit went virtual this year-- for the first time. What an adventure it was! When we first started planning the event earlier this year, we had no idea that our event would be completely online. We made the most of it: our event was free for all attendees as long as you had internet connectivity. We are so proud of how our community came together to uplift one another, including the insights from our amazing cast of speakers, the support from each of you who worked to share, attend, or promote our event to your networks. We had over 400 registrants over the span of 2 days with business matchmaking roundtables, a resource expo, and engaging webinars led by experts on the topics of race and diversity in the insurance industry, diversity in the boardroom, navigating the insurer procurement process, building resilience in business strategies, how to access capital in light of COVID-19, and more. If you registered for the Summit but missed some sessions, you can still log in to view the sessions (for the next 5 months) on our event website.

Commissioner Lara kicked off the first day of the Summit by opening up a candid dialogue on "Race and Diversity within the Insurance Industry" with industry leaders, including Dr. Fabiola Cobarrubias, Board Director for NORCAL Group, and Glenn Shapiro, President of Personal Property-Liability of Allstate Insurance Company. The opening keynote discussion was part of the Summit’s focus on encouraging leaders to move from intentions to actions with the goal of advancing supplier and board diversity throughout California's insurance industry.

The second day's keynote featured lead authors of California’s landmark board diversity laws – Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson and Assembly Member Chris Holden – along with members of the Diverse Corporate Directors Coalition, including Esther Aguilera (Latino Corporate Directors Association), Janet Wong (Ascend Pinnacle), and Matt Fust (Out Leadership - Quorum).

The Diversity Initiative also lead a 2-part workshop series that highlighted our analysis of the 2020 California Insurance Diversity Survey. For more information, read our Summit press release.

2020 WOMEN ON BOARDS - SACRAMENTO

DECEMBER 2, 2020

The 2020 Women on Boards Conversation on Board Diversity series occurs annually. This year, due to the pandemic, the event organizers pivoted to a virtual global session along with a string of local sessions hosted across 30 cities. This year's Sacramento event featured First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Commissioner Ricardo Lara, Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, Secretary of State Alex Padilla, CalSTRS investment officer Mary Morris, and corporate board director Anddria Clack-Rogers Varnado. The event was planned by a leadership committee, including our very own Task Force member Vikita Poindexter and began with an impactful presentation by another Task Force member Annalisa Barrett. In light of California's board diversity laws, panelists spoke fervently about the importance of board leadership, including offering tips and resources on how to get on a board.

Finally, 2020 Women on Boards CEO Betsy Berkheimer-Credaire also unveiled the official re-branding of the organization as the move into 2021 and beyond where the emphasis will be on achieving more gender-balanced boards. Learn more at: www.2020wob.com.

SPOTLIGHT ON DIVERSITY

TOP 3 SMALL BUSINESS HOLIDAY MARKETING TIPS FOR 2020 AND HOW TO SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

Originally Published: November 6, 2020

This year, 60% of consumers plan to do half or more of their winter holiday shopping at local retailers. Capitalize on this growth opportunity by using the following marketing strategies this holiday season.

Leverage email to grow sales. In a 2020 survey, 79% of small business owners said email is “important” or “very important” to their businesses. Take time over the coming weeks to establish an effective email marketing strategy for the holiday season. Start by adopting email marketing best practices, such as using email marketing software, dividing your email list into specific demographic groups, locations or other characteristics, and writing engaging subject lines. Next, consider what types of emails will be valuable to your customers during the holiday season, such as highlight sales, new products and services, pre-ordering and curbside pickup options, and shipping timelines that may interest your customers. After a customer first signs up for your email list or makes a purchase, follow-up with a “thank you” note and a discount code to stay connected to your customers. Avoid sending too many emails each week, or you risk losing subscribers (no matter how compelling your emails are)!
Engage with customers on social media. Social media is another great way to directly communicate with customers and market your business. Through social media, you can show why current and prospective customers should buy your products or services. If you’re a retail business owner, broadcast a Facebook Live event to showcase some of your latest merchandise and why they make the perfect gift. If you provide a service, consider marketing gift cards as holiday presents. Alternatively, you can explain how your services can ease the stress of the holiday season. Use hashtags and partner with other businesses to help your social media posts reach as many potential customers as possible.
Add a personal touch. In some cases, you might not be seeing your customers in-person this year due to local regulations related to the pandemic. If you have a direct mailing list, send handwritten notes to customers to maintain personal connections. Post a compilation video of your staff on social media thanking customers for patronizing your business in 2020. As always, provide top-quality customer service by responding promptly to messages by phone, email, and social media. Small things can make a big difference when distinguishing yourself from the competition.

For an expert second opinion on your holiday marketing plans, reach out to local SBA resource partners, who can provide one-on-one advice and are available remotely. Take advantage of SBA marketing resources, including SBA Learning Center courses such as Marketing 101 and Social Media Marketing. Focusing on marketing this holiday season will not only boost your sales at the end of the year, but will also help you generate leads and build brand loyalty for 2021 and beyond.

Here are some ways to support small businesses this holiday season:

Small Business Majority 2020 Holiday Gift Guide - Here you will find more than 450 small businesses offering products and services for everyone on your gift list this year. Browse through the entire guide for inspiration or use the sorting option to find something specific.
Pacific Community Ventures Holiday Gift Guide - This guide is created annually to allow the small and independent businesses that work with Pacific Community Ventures (a community development financial institution - CDFI) to offer holiday promotions to consumers.

GOVERNING BOARD DIVERSITY SPOTLIGHT

NASDAQ PROPOSES BOARD DIVERSITY RULES for LISTED COMPANIES

Originally Published: December 1, 2020

Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) filed a proposal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to adopt new listing rules related to board diversity and disclosure. If approved by the SEC, the new listing rules would require all companies listed on Nasdaq’s U.S. exchange to publicly disclose consistent, transparent diversity statistics regarding their board of directors. Additionally, the rules would require most Nasdaq-listed companies to have, or explain why they do not have, at least two diverse directors, including one who self-identifies as female and one who self-identifies as either an underrepresented minority1 or LGBTQ+. Foreign companies and smaller reporting companies would have additional flexibility in satisfying this requirement with two female directors.

The goal of th e proposal is to provide stakeholders with a better understanding of the company’s current board composition and enhance investor confidence that all listed companies are considering diversity in the context of selecting directors, either by including at least two diverse directors on their boards or by explaining their rationale for not meeting that objective. As part of rationale for the new requirements, Nasdaq’s proposal presents an analysis of over two dozen studies that found an association between diverse boards and better financial performance and corporate governance.

Under the proposal, all Nasdaq-listed companies will be required to publicly disclose board-level diversity statistics through Nasdaq’s proposed disclosure framework within one year of the SEC’s approval of the listing rule. The timeframe to meet the minimum board composition expectations set forth in the proposal will be based on a company’s listing tier. Specifically, all companies will be expected to have one diverse director within two years of the SEC’s approval of the listing rule. Companies listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and Nasdaq Global Market will be expected to have two diverse directors within four years of the SEC’s approval of the listing rule. Companies listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market will be expected to have two diverse directors within five years of the SEC’s approval. For companies that are not in a position to meet the board composition objectives within the required timeframes, they will not be subject to delisting if they provide a public explanation of their reasons for not meeting the objectives.

“Nasdaq’s purpose is to champion inclusive growth and prosperity to power stronger economies,” said Adena Friedman, President and CEO, Nasdaq. “Our goal with this proposal is to provide a transparent framework for Nasdaq-listed companies to present their board composition and diversity philosophy effectively to all stakeholders; we believe this listing rule is one step in a broader journey to achieve inclusive representation across corporate America.”

Nasdaq will also introduce a partnership with Equilar, the leading provider of corporate leadership data solutions, to aid Nasdaq-listed companies with board composition planning challenges. Through the Equilar BoardEdge platform, hosting nearly one million profiles and the Equilar Diversity Network, and by leveraging existing services through the Nasdaq Center for Board Excellence, the partnership will enable Nasdaq-listed companies that have not yet met the proposed diversity objectives to access a larger community of highly-qualified, diverse, board-ready candidates to amplify director search efforts.

“This proposal and partnership gives companies an opportunity to make progress toward increasing representation of women, underrepresented minorities and the LGBTQ+ community on their boards,” said Nelson Griggs, President of Nasdaq Stock Exchange. “Corporate diversity, at all levels, opens up a clear path to innovation and growth. We are inspired by the support from our issuers and the financial community with this effort and look forward to working together with companies of all sizes to create stronger and more inclusive boards.”