BATON ROUGE – March is Women’s History Month, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is honoring influential women around the world, in Louisiana and in its workforce.
“At Blue Cross, as part of our celebration of Women’s History Month, we are focusing on women throughout history who have achieved, inspired, excelled in their fields—sometimes without the fanfare they so richly deserved,” said Cindy Wakefield, vice president of Strategic Communications and chair of the women’s employee resource group.
“We are also celebrating the women who work at Blue Cross, who make up 75 percent of our workforce, as well as the women throughout Louisiana who are the primary healthcare decision-makers for their families,” Wakefield said.
On March 11, the Blue Cross women’s employee resource group and Office of Diversity & Inclusion will host a lunch-and-learn featuring guest speaker Amy Dalton. A Staff UX Interaction Designer for GE Aviation with 23 years of experience in the IT field, Dalton leads the GE NOLA Women’s Network.
WOMEN of Blue is one of six Blue Cross employee resource groups created to support those traditionally underrepresented in the workplace. This effort is one of several that earned Blue Cross the 2020 Excellence in Diversity Award from the Louisiana Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
For the second year, Blue Cross is honoring a diverse mix of brave and innovative women through a series of postcards featuring hand-drawn portraits and descriptions of how they have influenced our world. Last year’s postcard illustrations by Blue Cross graphic designer Dafina Dervishi won Gold in the 2019 Baton Rouge-area American Advertising Awards.
Some of the notable women featured this year are Louisiana gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, mathematician Katherine Johnson, writer Amy Tan and diarist Anne Frank. These postcards will be distributed at the March 11 luncheon and shared through Blue Cross social media channels throughout the month.
Women’s History Month is a great time for Blue Cross to pay tribute to its female leaders. Senior Vice President and CIO Sue Kozik will be honored in April by the National Diversity Council as one of the nation’s Top 50 Chief Information/Technology Officers. Kozik was selected for being an innovative, accomplished officer, demonstrating integrity and ethical behavior and inspiring future generations in the industry.
The men of Blue Cross are also doing their part. Roderic Teamer, Blue Cross director of diversity and business development, was selected recently for a 2020 Esprit de Femme Award to be given in April by the LSU Women’s Center. Teamer will receive the Men Who Champion Women honor for his efforts toward supporting Louisiana women.
Women’s History Month started in 1911 with a single day, International Women’s Day on March 8. In the 1970s, this day expanded into Women’s History Week. This celebration of women became so popular that in 1987, Congress officially declared March as National Women’s History Month.
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is committed to our mission to improve the health and lives of Louisianians. Founded in New Orleans in 1934, we are a tax-paying nonprofit health insurer with offices in every major region to serve our customers. We were recognized in 2019 as an honoree of The Civic 50, named by Points of Light as one of the 50 most community-minded companies in the United States.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. We are a private mutual company, owned by our policyholders, with an independent Louisiana Board of Directors and no shareholders. We invite all Louisianians to visit our website at www.bcbsla.com or talk to us on social media.
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