DULLES, Va.–NCUA Board Member Rodney Hood told credit unions here that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices in any organization are not just the right thing to do morally, they also pay off on the bottom line.
In remarks to the agency’s DEI & ACCESS Summit, Hood, who launched the first DEI Summit in 2019 when he was chairman of the agency, said the issue is fundamental.
“Addressing those inequities and inequalities, making it possible for everyone to participate more fully in the workplace and in society, is simply the right thing to do,” Hood told the meeting. “But the compelling need for a commitment to DEI isn’t simply a moral imperative. It’s also good for business, as we’ve seen from any number of high-quality studies. A 2018 McKinsey study summed up the case for DEI in the workplace by noting that businesses and organizations that embraced DEI principles emerged as high-performing competitors in the marketplace.”
Hood said that broadly, DEI practices create stronger, more effective organizations that are “better suited to the challenge of meeting their mission goals in a competitive marketplace and a changing world.”
An ‘Urgent Priority’
“Finally, a commitment to DEI is vitally important for our efforts at enhancing financial inclusion in our society, which is an urgent priority,” Hood continued. “I suspect just about everyone in this room has heard me, at one point or another over the last several years, make the case that the financial services industry must lead the way on financial inclusion. I have argued that — as part of that leadership — we must make a priority of diversity, equity, and inclusion to bring us together and serve as sources of enrichment, strength and unity.”
Hood warned credit unions against complacency and especially against what he called “cosmetic diversity,” emphasizing such initiatives must be more than “box-checking.”
‘True Commitment’
A “true commitment” to diversity, equity, and inclusion, said Hood, will consider the “other dividing lines in our society, and how we can cross those lines to better serve others. Are we doing enough to reach seniors who may need more assistance? Or to reach younger consumers who lack reliable access to credit and financial services? What about people who live in under-served rural communities where financial services providers have pulled out? What about the special needs of Americans with disabilities, or of military veterans, active-duty personnel, and their families?”
Hood called on credit unions to think about all of those dividing lines, both in terms of recruiting employees and in terms of member services.
“That was why the board launched the ACCESS initiative in 2020, which was intended to start addressing these dividing lines, and which, I’m happy to report, has had some success in its first two years,” he said. “I present these ideas as a challenge, and as a spur to action. That was the goal when we launched the DEI summit in 2019. I’m proud that this summit is established as an annual event, but I don’t want it to become something where we all get together to repeat the catechism, and then go back to our offices and do what we’ve always been doing.
“These kind of events are a great starting point and helpful for generating ideas – but let’s be sure we’re following them with constructive, purposeful action in our institutions and in our daily lives.”
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