There's a lot of talk about the need for diversity in the insurance industry these days. But what do we really mean by "diversity"? Is diversity, on its own, enough? Does it really matter?

An important first step to tackling the diversity issue is recognizing that diversity is much more than the elements you can see — such as gender and skin color — and even more than the elements that you may be able to ascertain through brief conversation — such as culture of origin. True diversity really should encompass the whole spectrum of human experience.

But is it enough to just have a "diverse" workforce? To reap the benefits of diversity an organization must also focus on inclusion, which can mean many different things. One dictionary defines "inclusion" as a relation between two classes that exists when all members of the first are also members of the second. I read this to mean it's not "us" and "them" but "we."

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