ALEXANDRIA, Va.–During its meeting here the NCUA board got an update on the agency’s progress internally when it comes to improving diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), but one board member said DEI must extend beyond its own operations, sharing as an example one group that was seeking to organize a new FCU to serve an underserved community that eventually gave up.
Separately, another NCUA board member described DEI as a “personal” issue to him.
The discussion came during an update from NCUA’s new director of its Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI), Miguel A. Polanco, who told the agency board that “When people are recognized and appreciated, we unleash their full potential. We believe a commitment to DEI offers credit unions a competitive advantage.”
Polanco said the NCUA workforce highlights its commitment to diversity, as seen in the slide below.
Polanco told the board the agency has been targeting recruitment outreach strategies, and offers internships for colleges and high school students and does print advertising in support of its diversity efforts.
In addition, he said the agency also has numerous workforce inclusion strategies in place, which can be seen in the slide below.
Polanco said NCUA has two research projects under way, including one looking at new charter modernization and MDI supervision and examination, and a second looking at MDI preservation.
Finally, Polanco said NCUA has a number of challenges and goals ahead, which he outlined in the slide below.
Harper: A ‘Pillar of Credit Unions’
In follow up to Polanco’s remarks, NCUA Chairman Todd Harper said, “At their core, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are more than policies and principles. They are foundational practices and behaviors to be acted upon. They are vital to strategy, sustainable growth, innovation, talent acquisition, and employee retention at the NCUA and throughout the credit union system. In recent years, we have also seen efforts to embrace and solidify the principles of DEI as a pillar of the credit union industry and within the cooperative movement. I encourage these worthy efforts to continue.”
Harper noted that over the past year OMWI has done “extensive industry outreach have produced many positive results,” including hosting the agency’s second DEI Summit and helping to drive a 25% increase in the number of CUs submitting their Annual Voluntary Credit Union Diversity Self-Assessments.
“At the NCUA, we believe that diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are strengths that must be nurtured and supported. As such, we continue to make advances in attracting, hiring, and retaining a diverse workforce. Last year, for example, two out of five new hires at the NCUA were people of color,” said Harper. “And, we have made considerable progress in our outreach to employees with disabilities. Notably, the NCUA exceeded the federal employment goals by 5.4 percentage points for employees with disabilities and 2.5 percentage points for employees with targeted disabilities. Additionally, we continue to build a diverse leadership pipeline. For example, 60% of participants in leadership development programs were female over the last year.”
Harper said the agency is also committed to supporting minority- and women-owned businesses through its supplier diversity program, and noted that in 2021 36.8% of the NCUA’s awarded contract dollars in 2021 went to minority- and women-owned businesses and these vendors received 39.4% of contract spending.
Hauptman: Another DEI Issue to Be Thinking About
NCUA Vice Chairman Kyle Hauptman said it’s necessary to think more broadly when it comes to financial inclusion.
After saying credit unions are the “original example” of financial inclusion in the country, as they were formed by nearly every type of group and community to serve their specific needs, Hauptman said NCUA should also be looking at how its regulations affect the country’s 135-million CU members rather than just focusing on the 1,100 or so employees at the agency.
He shared how at the same time many were mourning and protesting the death of George Floyd, a group in the very same North Minneapolis community where Floyd had died at the hands of police were attempting to charter a federal credit union gave up on the effort.
“That group’s organizer said she felt humiliated by how hard NCUA made the de novo process,” Hauptman related. “The group gave up on a federal charter and are pursuing a state charter. They felt NCUA did not make clear all the work that was involved.”
Hauptman called on NCUA to understand what “true inclusion” means, which is people taking financial control by forming their own credit unions that they own and control.
“Perhaps the only thing more satisfying than taking your business elsewhere is taking it to a place you own,” said Hauptman. “We should not be making this more difficult. I call on my fellow board members to make financial inclusion more prominent in all of our efforts. We cannot congratulate ourselves if we add any burden to small CUs and those seeking to start them.”
Hood: ‘This is Personal’
NCUA Board Member Rodney Hood said, for him, “These discussions are more than simply abstracts — they are personal to me. In my banking career, I’ve attended conferences and professional events where I was the only man of color in the room. I’ve arrived early to speak on a panel discussion, and people were surprised to learn that I was a participant. I vividly remember the conversations with my father about how to engage with police when pulled over, and my mother performing safety checks on my car before I went out on the weekends to ensure the signal and brake lights were all functioning properly. In 2022, I find myself having similar conversations with my young African-American cousins.”
Hood said he believes that both individually and collectively, “We can make a difference — one conversation and relationship at a time.”
Hood said the agency is “striving for ways” to lead on DEI, including on one of his “top priorities,” financial inclusion, which he defined as meaning expanded access to the financial mainstream for underserved communities as well as diverse hiring, contracting, and board membership.
“I also joined with Chairman Harper several years ago in calling for the NCUA Culture, Diversity, and Inclusion Council to focus on issues of inclusion within the agency,” said Hood. “True inclusion within our financial regulators, financial institutions and communities is a goal we all must strive towards. Diversity is important, but without cultural change that encourages true inclusion, it risks being little more than checking the right boxes.”
‘Improving’ Lives
Hood said that in order for NCUA to effectively carry out its mission every staff member should be respected, and diversity and inclusion should be truly fostered.
“All of NCUA’s employees should come to work knowing that all of us, directly or indirectly, can improve the lives of hard-working credit union members in ways both big and small,” said Hood. “ I know this is a mission that makes me excited to come to work every day because we are responsible for protecting the safety and soundness of America’s credit union system.”