How did your journey to diversity, equity and inclusion begin?

How did your diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) journey begin?

If you ask 100 people, you will probably get 100 very different answers. For others, it is a change of mind brought about by an increased perception of the different ways each of us experiences the world. For others, a journey started by a strange event or encounter. For others still – among them Silvia Gonzalez-Zamora (pictured), global leader of social sustainability, KPMG International – it's a combination of both.

Opening a career in insurance

Born and raised in Mexico, he was studying for a Master's at Cornell in New York City when 9/11 happened. His background in journalism came in quickly, he said, and he pulled out his record to cover what happened to people on the city's streets. “Realizing that there is so much hatred and racism in the world suddenly became clear to me,” he said.

“I immediately realized that my work could not be about productivity and happiness at work, I was studying organizational behavior at that time. I knew it had to be about building bridges and creating connections, and making healthy connections between communities.”

It was an eye-opening moment for Gonzalez-Zamora and built on the foundation of her experience as someone who knows deeply what it means to live against expectations. “I have a deep connection with the issue of accepting our differences,” she said. “I got involved mainly because I'm a proud Latino, but I'm also a proud bisexual, and a proud single mom. I was outside the mold of many different aspects of my life.”

Looking back on his 20-year consulting career, he highlighted that the highlight of his career so far has been his desire to make meaningful change. He started in a maquiladora factory on the US-Mexico border, which put him in different situations faced by working mothers, who often have to bring their children to the production line because they have nowhere else to leave them. His role led him to find childcare facilities, as well as transport links for these services.

“I was doing what we now call social sustainability and human rights services – but at the time, for me, it was about compassion and mercy and understanding how to connect the dots to what people need – whether that's your customers, your employees, your suppliers. , your patients or your residents. I have worked with many organizations to connect the dots to help understand, listen and build good communities. I truly believe what I always tell my teams and clients – we have an opportunity to collaborate to change the world, one project at a time.”

The Power of Dive In Festival

The Dive In Festival – supported by KPMG International – is a good example of DE&I thinking in action, he said, because it understands that DE&I can be a systemic opportunity rather than a systemic threat. If you get in the habit of seeing DE&I gaps as problems to be solved, you can lose sight of the ways in which social inequality can be overcome, and the role that diversity and inclusion play in creating a new, more dynamic insurance industry. .

“We have an opportunity to really change the conversation,” he said. “We can see the gifts and rights that some people have, and others don't – and we can use that understanding to build just societies. It's about how we can give back, how we can help others achieve their potential, and flourish and thrive. Take its twisted advice, for example, which explores how all generations can learn from each other and speak together for a better world.”

A Sustainable Future: The Next Decade'

This year the Dive In Festival celebrated its 10th anniversary under the banner of 'A Sustainable Future: The Next 10 Years' and it's a theme that resonates with Gonzalez-Zamora. As head of KPMG's leading markets and diversification practice in Canada, he has seen firsthand the need to keep an eye on the future and what's next when it comes to DE&I. It's about getting representation, which is an episode of diversity, and then including that representation in the decision-making process, which is an episode of inclusion. Equality is about closing the gaps, which have grown into social sustainability.

“Because it's not just about listening to these words or having them at the table,” he said. “It's about creating together. And it's about building services that support our most vulnerable communities.”

Insurance plays an important role in making that happen, he said, because it is an industry that understands risk and provides opportunities. “Insurance helps us foresee the risks we face but it is insurance companies that drive how we can achieve a sustainable future, how we can adapt and be resilient, and how we can create solutions that will create a sustainable future. for future generations. And Dive In is a great opportunity to amplify the voices of the many insurance organizations involved in doing just that.”

A Sustainable Future: The Next Decade – #DiveIn2024