Assistant vice president
AMWINS BROKERAGE OF TEXAS
Years in the industry: 24
Sherita Hardy says she knew from the beginning that she had the potential to create a great career in the insurance industry. She began as a receptionist at an insurance agency and worked her way up to account manager. Today, Hardy serves on AmWINS’ D&I Council, is co-chair of the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of NAAIA and volunteers with Dive In Festival. Within each of these spaces, she focuses on recruiting efforts.
“With Dive In, I’m on the committee that focuses on engaging the future, which is working to pull diverse candidates from the upcoming generation,” Hardy says. “At NAAIA, we work to bring in new members in hopes of creating a great network, and we help with our community and help with our youth by offering scholarships for higher education in the insurance industry. I’ve always been passionate about helping those who are less fortunate, as well as people of color. Being a woman of color, I have had to work twice as hard to get to where I am. My hope is that the next woman of color is given the same opportunity as her white male counterpart.”
Hardy identifies unconscious bias as a major hurdle for diversity in the workplace. “When opportunities come up, most people hiring give people who look like them the opportunity, even if a person of color has more qualifications for the position,” she says. “It’s time to start making a conscious effort to diversify your organization. Companies need to hold themselves accountable and make a serious effort to increase their percentage of people of color in leadership roles.”
