How did your diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) journey begin?
If you asked 100 people, you would probably get 100 very different replies. For some, it’s an incremental mindset shift brought about by increasing perception of the different ways we each experience the world. For some, it’s a journey kickstarted by a jarring incident or encounter. For others still - among them Silvia Gonzalez-Zamora (pictured), global social sustainability leader, KPMG International – it’s a combination of both.
Born and raised in Mexico, she was studying for her Master’s at Cornell in New York City when 9/11 happened. Her background in journalism quickly kicked in, she said, and she took out her recorder to document the experiences of people on the streets of the city. “The realization that there was so much hate and polarization in the world was suddenly so clear to me,” she said.
“I immediately knew that my career could not be about productivity and happiness at work, I was studying organizational behaviour at the time. I knew it had to be about building bridges and creating connections, and facilitating healthy communication between communities.”
It was an eye-opening moment for Gonzalez-Zamora and one that built on the foundation of her experiences as somebody deeply aware of what it means to live at odds with expectations. “I have a deep connection to the subject of embracing our differences,” she said. “I’m particularly involved because I’m a proud Latino, but I’m also a proud bisexual, and a proud single mother. I’ve been outside the mold of so many different aspects of my life.”
Looking back on her 20-year consulting career, she highlighted that the lynchpin of her career to date has been her ambition to enact meaningful change. She started in the maquiladora industry on the border of the US and Mexico, which introduced her to the disparate conditions facing working mothers, who often had to bring their children to the manufacturing line because they didn’t have another place to leave them. Her role saw her lead the charge on getting childcare facilities in place, as well as transport links for the works.
“I was doing what we now call social sustainability services and human rights - but back then, 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 citizens. I’ve worked with many organizations to connect the dots to help understand, listen and build great communities. I truly believe what I always tell my teams and my clients – we have the opportunity in consulting to change the world, one project at a time.”
The Dive In Festival – which is supported by KPMG International – is a great example of DE&I thoughts being put into action, she said, because it understands that DE&I could be a systemic opportunity rather than a systemic threat. If you fall into the habit of seeing DE&I gaps just as problems to be solved, you can lose perspective on the ways in which social inequalities can be overcome, and the role diversity and inclusion have to play in creating a more innovative, dynamic insurance industry.
“We have the opportunity to really change the conversation,” she said. “We can see the gifts and privileges that some people have, and some don’t – and we can use that understanding to create fairer communities. It’s about how we can give back, how we can help others achieve their potential, and bloom and thrive. Take its reverse mentoring, for example, that explores how all generations can learn from each other and advocate together for a better world.”
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 strongly with Gonzalez-Zamora. As head of KPMG in Canada’s market-leading inclusion and diversity practice, she has seen first-hand the need to always look to the future and what’s next when it comes to DE&I. It’s about finding representation, which is the diversity piece, then including that representation in the decision-making process, which is the inclusion piece. Equity is about then filling in the gaps, which has grown into social sustainability.
“Because it’s not just about listening to these voices or having them at the table anymore,” she said. “It’s about creating together. And it’s about building services that support our most vulnerable communities.”
Insurance plays a crucial role in making that possible, she said, because it’s an industry that understands risk and facilitates opportunity. “Insurance helps us foresee the risks we face but it’s also insurance companies that are driving how we can get to a more sustainable future, how we can move into adaption and resilience, and how we can create the solutions that will create a more sustainable future for the next generations to come. And Dive In is a wonderful opportunity to amplify the voices of so many insurance organizations that are involved in doing just that.”
A Sustainable Future: The Next 10 Years - #DiveIn2024
