More can and must be done to close the racial income gap in Bermuda, David Burt, the Premier, said at the Bermuda Risk Summit 2023.

Speaking during the 2023 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Bermuda Trailblazers Awards presentations on Monday, Mr Burt said: “According to the latest employment survey the average income for Blacks in Bermuda is two thirds of whites,”

And he said more work had to be done to make sure there was diversity, not only at the entry level in business, but also in the board room.

“We need to think about the challenges we face and be real about the mindset and behaviour changes needed to make this a reality,” Mr Burt said.

This year’s award recipients were Bermudian Cheryl-Ann Lister, acting financial secretary for the Bermuda Government, and Chlora Lindley-Myers, the president of the US National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and director of the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance.

Mr Burt said this year’s award winners had helped to break down racial and gender barriers and had set an “admirable example” for future generations.

Ms Lindley-Myers became the first woman of colour to serve as president of the NAIC, last December.

“I was a little girl raised in public housing in Atlanta,” Ms Lindley-Myers told conference-goers. “I was a young woman who sought to make a difference. I was someone who wanted and chose to do more. I wanted to be more. I strove and still strive to make a difference.”

In 2017, she was appointed director of the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration.

She now leads the department that protects consumers and ensures a strong and stable insurance market through the regulation of professionals and businesses.

In addition to Missouri, she has worked for both the Kentucky Department of Insurance and the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance.

In 2015, she was awarded the Robert Dineen Award for outstanding service and contribution to the regulation of insurance in Tennessee.

She said she embraced the future and looked forward to upward progress.

“It is important to always strive to be better and to learn all you can about your marketplace and the world around you,” she said. “I accept this award as a trailblazer, but there is still room for others to come behind me. Put on your walking shoes and let’s get started!”

Mr Burt called Mrs Lister a “Bermudian gem” and one of the smartest people he had ever worked with.

“I did not come from privilege or power,” she said. “I did not aspire for position. But very early on, from a young age my parents instilled in me that I had a god-given purpose to fulfil.”

She initially wanted to be a doctor, but changed her aspirations to teacher when she realised she could not stand the sight of blood.

“Then, over a period of time I found my niche in the investment field,” she said.

In 1992, she joined EBT Securities Limited, a privately held international investment trading company, and ultimately served as a director with responsibilities for the company's operations in Bermuda and Brazil.

She became a chartered financial analyst, and is a founding member and president of the Bermuda Society of Financial Analysts and served as a governor for the Association of Investment Management and Research (now the CFA Institute).

She became the first female chairwoman of the Bermuda Monetary Authority in 2002, and six years later, became chairwoman of the National Anti-Money Laundering Committee.

“The only reason why Bermuda has the top rankings globally when it comes to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing is because this lady works day in and day out to make sure that her country is at the top,” Mr Burt said.

Ms Lister’s advice to people coming behind her was: “keep doing your best, keep fulfilling your purpose and keep encouraging others behind you”.