CAS Releases Spotlight on Diversity 2020 Infographics Highlighting Black, Latinx and Asian Members in the CAS
As part of the CAS Strategic Approach to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) adopted by the Board of Directors in September 2020, the CAS has committed to setting concrete goals and maintaining transparency and accountability on progress on our DE&I initiatives. To this end, we have built a set of detailed demographic metrics for CAS members and candidates, designed to help us understand the current state of diversity in the CAS, set goals, and track changes over time.
Today, the CAS releases three new entries in its Spotlight on Diversity 2020 series:
These infographics, developed with data as of June 2020, provide an overview of representation of these three subsets of members, worldwide and in the United States. Members within each of these race/ethnicity categories come from a wide variety of backgrounds, but this high-level information can provide a baseline for CAS diversity efforts. Representation of each group among CAS members is compared with the corresponding representation for benchmark figures - US population ages 25 & up, US insurance industry employees, and people graduating with degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM).
Black and Latinx representation among US CAS members (1.5% and 1.8%, respectively) is significantly lower than the relevant benchmarks.
One way members can help increase representation of Black and Latinx members and candidates in the CAS is to support the International Association of Black Actuaries (IABA) and Organization of Latino Actuaries (OLA). Visit blackactuaries.org and latinoactuaries.org to learn more.
In contrast, Asian representation among US CAS members (18%) is significantly higher than the relevant benchmarks. However the proportion of Asians among CAS leadership is well below the percent of members and volunteers.
The CAS has set goals to increase representation of new Black and Latinx members to 5% and 8%, respectively, in 2026-2030 and 10% and 16% , respectively, in 2031-2035. For Asian members, the CAS is considering recommendations to promote inclusion and increase representation within the ranks of CAS leadership.
CAS members are encouraged to help develop and execute initiatives to reach these goals. To get involved or stay informed, visit community.casact.org, search for Diversity Impact Group (DIG), and select JOIN. DIG is an online community for sharing information with members via email on low commitment/high impact DE&I-related volunteer opportunities as they arise.
What can members expect next? The CAS will release additional details on member gender and race/ethnicity information, including data on other groups not described here. In early 2021 CAS will be working with the Sexuality and Gender Alliance of Actuaries to better understand representation of LGBTQIA+ members and candidates.
The CAS previously released the first in this series of infographics, Women in the CAS, in December 2020.
The CAS is also tracking race/ethnicity among candidates, but a significant proportion of candidates have not reported race/ethnicity information. Efforts are underway to increase reporting rates future infographics can include more information on the pipeline of CAS candidates.
