MALVERN, PA — The Black Insurance Industry Collective has released a sweeping new research report detailing persistent gaps in Black representation at the highest levels of the insurance industry, despite measurable gains in workforce diversity over the past decade.
The report, titled Fostering Black Leadership in Insurance, presents a data-driven analysis of representation trends, structural barriers, and concrete actions aimed at expanding Black leadership across one of the nation’s largest employment sectors. BIIC said the findings arrive at a critical moment as insurers confront rising risk complexity and an increasing need for adaptable, innovative leadership.
According to the research, Black professionals now represent 14.7% of the insurance workforce, up from 9.9% ten years ago. Leadership representation, however, has not kept pace. Only 1.8% of executives at the top 10 insurers are Black, and across the Fortune 500, just eight Black CEOs currently lead major corporations.
Amy Cole-Smith, executive director of BIIC, said the data points to systemic barriers rather than a shortage of qualified candidates. She said the report is intended to equip industry leaders with clear evidence and practical tools to build leadership pipelines that reflect the communities insurers serve.
The study identifies several structural obstacles limiting advancement, including inequitable hiring and promotion practices, limited access to sponsorship, biased recruitment cultures, and the cumulative emotional burden experienced by Black professionals in the workplace.
To address those challenges, the report outlines four industry-wide imperatives. They include improving data transparency and accountability through detailed workforce metrics, elevating sponsorship as a deliberate leadership strategy, implementing equitable succession planning to prepare diverse candidates in advance, and fostering cultures of psychological safety to reduce workplace strain and improve performance.
BIIC said the recommendations are designed to move the industry beyond incremental change toward sustained progress in leadership representation. The organization said the report is intended to serve as both a diagnostic and a roadmap for insurers seeking measurable improvement.
The Black Insurance Industry Collective focuses on advancing Black professionals into mid- and executive-level roles through education, networking, and leadership development. BIIC said its platform remains open and inclusive, encouraging participation across the industry as insurers work to strengthen leadership diversity and long-term competitiveness.
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