Supporting. Empowering. Trailblazing: The 2022 Women of Color Conference in Louisville

On September 21^st, Humana sponsored DiversityInc’s Women of Color and Their Allies conference. This was the first time the conference was hosted outside of Atlanta and many teams across Humana were instrumental in making the conference a success. The conference brought together inclusion and diversity thought leaders and researchers from across the country to address the challenges women of color face in corporate America today as well as celebrate their numerous and often underappreciated contributions. Humana was chosen in part because of its dramatic improvement in rankings in the DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity Assessment. This year, Humana ranked #9 overall and placed even higher on several specialty lists.  The conference occurring in Louisville was also significant as the city works to heal from the trauma of Breonna Taylor’s murder and strives to become a place where anyone and everyone can thrive, grow and contribute.

September 21, 2022, is forever known as Women of Color Day in Louisville, KY, thanks to a proclamation made by Louisville Metro Government. The proclamation was made in conjunction with the Women of Color Conference. Joi McAtee, Director of Equity for Louisville Metro, attended the opening reception for the conference where she delivered the proclamation from the Mayor and shared her gratitude for all of the entities that made the event possible. She said, “Louisville Metro Government is honored that our city was chosen to host the 5^th annual DiversityInc Women of Color and Their Allies conference. Hosting this conference demonstrates our community’s commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion and we thank everyone that made the success of this event possible.”

Carolyn Tandy, SVP and Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer at Humana kicked off the conference with a welcome session on Wednesday morning. She said of the experience, “It was incredible to see the hard work of so many individuals and organizations come together to make real impact and support the work of women of color across the nation.” During the conference, Carolyn was recognized by DiversityInc as a Validated Ally, an honor given to individuals who demonstrate a dedication to using their influence to uplift women of color and other marginalized communities by advocating for them – whether they’re in the room or not.

Later in the day, Dr. Nwando Olayiwola, SVP and Chief Health Equity Officer, spoke on a panel titled “How Women of Color Support One Another at Work.”  During her remarks, she shared that women of color make up 70% of her team at Humana, demonstrating her conscious effort to support fellow women of color and ensure their representation in her work. Sue Schick, Segment President, Group, Military & Specialty Businesses, shared in during the panel titled “Executive Leaders’ Allyship of Women of Color” that many of the people who have mentored her throughout her life didn’t even know they were her mentors, an excellent reminder that our actions and behaviors are being observed and have to potential to shape others in ways we may not fully realize.

Author Minda Harts gave the event’s keynote in the afternoon discussing “Healing from Workplace Trauma.” Minda also stopped by the conference watch party at Humana headquarters to meet the over 100 Humana employees who gathered to watch the conference and sign copies of her book Right Within for them. In addition to the 100 in-person watch party attendees, Humana employees also joined in with the more than 1,200 virtual conference attendees.

 The conference was a tremendous learning opportunity for attendees, with leaders across industries presenting their perspective and knowledge and how to keep women of color engaged and growing in corporate America. The event gave Humana employees a chance to come together and feel a sense of belonging and renewed sense purpose. “This was an amazing event, I’m forever grateful for the preparation and execution,” said Sandra Marshall, Culture and Engagement Lead, Retail Management. “The energy was so high, women left empowered, and with a sense of belonging and very proud to be part of the Humana Family. Thank you all.”

To learn more about Humana’s inclusion, diversity and belonging initiatives, please read Humana’s Impact Report.