Allstate’s diversity chief embraces openness to help build trust, advance equity
When Eloiza Domingo was 4, she stole candy from the grocery store – not for herself, but to right a wrong.
In front of her in the checkout lane, two little girls were begging their mom for a candy bar. The older girl, who helped put groceries on the conveyor belt, got one. The younger girl riding in the cart didn’t, even though she had been handing groceries to her sister.
“It wasn’t fair,” Domingo recalled, still a little annoyed. “So, I took candy to give it to the younger girl. But before I could, my mother figured it out and made me return it and apologize.”
The moment stuck with Domingo. She’s still pushing for fair and equitable treatment, still trying to right wrongs. For more than 20 years, she has been helping organizations “understand their why” when it comes to diversity. In 2021, she brought her expertise to Allstate as chief Inclusive Diversity & Equity officer.
“Everything about my family and my background drove me to this career and made me confident in my work,” Domingo said.
Finding her voice
Domingo’s parents moved to the U.S. from the Philippines in the 1970s. They left their medical practices and their extended family to start over in the U.S.
When she was young, Domingo said she didn’t speak English well and didn’t fit in.
“My parents looked and sounded different, my clothes looked different, my lunches smelled different,” she said. “Not fitting in stayed with me all through high school and into college.” In college, she found her voice as she explored outlets for her natural tendencies as an advocate.
“It was very clear to me early on that my parents chose to come here to give us a better life,” she said. “Knowing that helped me always have a high work ethic. It also helped me to not be afraid to take risks. My dad always said I was also the child who challenged them the most, who always needed to understand the why, especially when I thought something wasn’t fair.”
“That sense of fairness and justice only heightened as I got older,” Domingo said.
Bringing her whole self to work
In addition to being an advocate, an ally and a disrupter, Domingo brings many other traits to Allstate. “I’m also a mom of multiples, a single mom, an animal lover, and a Netflix binge-watcher,” she said.
Her most important title is mom. Domingo has two sets of twin boys, ages 8 and 14.
“All these things are part of my identity. It’s who shows up to work every day,” Domingo said. “That kind of transparency is important because it helps develop trust with colleagues.”
Disrupting the status quo
Diversity often brings discomfort, and Domingo intends to be a disrupter at Allstate.
To be effective, diversity goals must align with business goals and be integrated into business practices, policies and processes, Domingo said. That includes Allstate’s approach to things like investments and supplier diversity.
“I really want business leaders to understand that diversity data is not scary,” she added. It doesn’t necessarily put companies at risk – unless they don’t do anything about it.”
Inclusive Diversity & Equity is a core value at Allstate. We’re empowering employees, taking a stand alongside our our peer organizations, investing in communities and working with diverse suppliers to help advance equity. To learn more, visit the Inclusive Diversity & Equity page.
