CHICAGO ––More leaders within the financial services industry are seeking to create a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce, but they still struggle with how to take meaningful actions that have a real impact, according to new research released by BAI.
As part of its Banking Outlook research program, BAI said it surveyed more than 475 financial services employees and human resources leaders to better understand their views on current diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and where they see a need for further progress.
According to BAI, among all respondents, 86% reported they agree or strongly agree that their organization is committed to diversity. This view is shared by minorities (87%) and females (86%), indicating a consistent view on the topic within organizations, BAI said.
When it comes to handling DEI issues in the workplace, BAI said it found 92% of financial services leaders reported that they felt confident that their organizations will take appropriate action in response to discrimination incidents, with 88% reporting their supervisors handle diversity matters appropriately.
“However, these numbers drop to 80% and 74% respectively for financial services organizations that do not have a published DEI statement or policy,” BAI reported. “Diversity leaders cite that having a visible DEI statement is an important foundational element in creating a strong organizational culture that supports diversity issues.”
Key Finding
According to BAI, another key finding from the research is the inconsistency in how DEI initiatives are measured.
“While most financial services organizations are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion in important and visible ways, many of the respondents are not measuring empirical data tied to DEI efforts,” BAI said. “Gender, job function and hierarchy are the most common criteria financial services leaders use to segment hiring metrics, however, segmenting by race and ethnicity is less common.”
In addition, BAI said while most financial services organizations have diversity goals in place, fewer reported inclusion and equity goals, and many are missing the opportunity to segment their employee engagement surveys by diverse employee groups.
‘Support Not Enough’
“This research confirmed our observations that there is a high degree of leadership support of DEI initiatives in financial services organizations at the top of the house,” said Debbie Bianucci, president and CEO at BAI. “But leadership support is not enough and there is much more work to do to make meaningful progress. The passion and energy are there to make changes, but financial services leaders must also develop concrete action-oriented plans and set goals that are supported by metrics to enable them to regularly assess progress. It’s important for leaders to set specific goals not just for employment but also focused on professional development opportunities for workers of every gender, race, ethnicity and orientation. That’s what will really move the needle.”