On Dec. 3, 2015, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced that the U.S. military will open all combat positions to women. This policy of greater diversity will open approximately 220,000 military roles to women in the military and create career opportunities that previously did not exist.

Diversity today is more than a politically correct action, an initiative or bullet point on an organization's marketing plan. Rather, diversity is about matching the right person to the right role, without cultural or other bias filters. And it is the imperative by which all of us in the insurance industry ensure inclusiveness, as well as harnessing the diversity of new ideas and innovation. These are the pillars that support the relevance and sustainability of our marketplace.

Global management consultancy McKinsey & Co., in its 2015 report, "Diversity Matters," reported data from public companies in the U.S., Canada, Latin America and Europe. Among the many impressive findings were these: Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15% more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians. That same financial return data jumps to 35% when examined through the lens of race and ethnicity.