Jill Judd, immediate past president of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), is participating in a main-stage roundtable discussion at the “All Women & Diversity: Expanding Opportunity in Insurance” conference in New York on Friday.

The discussion, entitled “When Women Bring Home the Bacon: How the Financial Landscape Is Changing and Why Diversity in Our Industry Is Critical,” will explore how the financial role of women has evolved, and how the insurance and financial services industry must diversify to meet emerging needs and challenges.

Other participants in the discussion are: Catherine Blades, senior vice president and chief ESG and communications officer at AFLAC, and Salene Hitchcock-Gear, president of Prudential Individual Life Insurance. Susan Neely, president and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), will moderate the discussion.

NAIFA is working to increase diversity within the insurance and financial services industry, and during Judd’s presidency sponsored several diversity symposiums that gathered industry thought leaders, including: NAIFA leaders; managers and executives from financial institutions; and representatives for other industry partners, including ACLI, the Asian American Insurance & Financial Professional Association (AAIFPA), Latin American Association of Insurance Agencies (LAAIA), National African American Insurance Association (NAAIA), and Women in Insurance and Financial Services (WIFS).

“Insurance and financial professionals, and especially NAIFA members, are dedicated to serving families and small businesses in communities across the country,” said Judd. “And this includes more and more families and small businesses headed by women. It is important that the diversity that exists in the communities we serve as agents and advisors is reflected within the ranks of career financial professionals.”