Barney & Barney LLC Launches Women’s Initiative
Apr 29, 2010
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Insurance brokerage launches initiative aimed at attracting, retaining and promoting women into leadership roles.
San Diego, Calif. – Barney & Barney LLC, one of California’s largest and longest-standing insurance brokerages, announced today the launch of the firm’s women’s initiative. B&B G.R.O.W., which stands for Growth in Relationships and Opportunities for Women, was founded by the firm’s principals and associates in order to attract women and provide meaningful opportunities for advancement within the 100 year old firm.
"Over half of our employee base is female at Barney & Barney. Many of our top-selling insurance brokers are women. But, like other industries, women are underrepresented at the leadership level," said Trindl Reeves, a Principal at Barney & Barney and the founding Chair of B&B G.R.O.W.. "We wanted to create a forum to cultivate and promote women in our workforce. We will begin by hosting a number of educational and social events in an effort to address issues relating to women in the workplace."
"Historically, in production and leadership roles, the insurance industry has been dominated by men. We would like to change that by creating an environment at Barney & Barney that promotes opportunities for women who will bring different perspectives and solutions to business challenges. We believe this will ultimately benefit our clients," said Paul Hering, Managing Principal and CEO of Barney & Barney. "Our organization would greatly benefit from more women in management and leadership roles, and we understand that we need to make a concerted effort to mentor and promote women more aggressively."
B&B G.R.O.W. kicked off a series of initiatives today with a keynote event featuring Dr. Bethami Dobkin, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at St. Mary’s College of California. Dr. Dobkin addressed communication and gender issues within both a corporate and social context before an audience of Barney & Barney associates and special guests. Future initiatives include a comprehensive mentoring program, ongoing educational symposiums highlighting issues important to professional women and social events aimed at raising awareness on behalf of local women’s charities and non-profit organizations.
