ALEXANDRIA, Va.–CUNA Mutual Group has made a priority of diversity, equity and inclusion, and it’s not for the sake of window dressing, according to one person.
“Our consumer base is changing. If we don’t keep up, we’re going to lose our competitive advantage,” said Angela Russell, vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion with the company.
At CUNA Mutual, said Russell in remarks to NCUA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Summit, the effort to be inclusive and diverse includes the board, the workforce, products/policies/services consumers and business performance.
“We see companies try to do this on their own without having a diverse workforce, and it fails all the time,” said Russell.
Russell credited CUNA Mutual Group CEO Bob Trunzo for making inclusion a corporate value when he took over in 2014. The company has created a department to oversee its efforts at diversity and inclusion and multiculturalism.
“We know the biggest driver of community well-being is economic stability,” said Russell, urging organizations to look both upstream and downstream when it comes to DEI.
DEI 101
Before proceeding further, Russell offered some information on what she called “DEI 101,” including:
- What is diversity. Diversity is the “wide range of differences that exist among people, including both visible characteristics and invisible characteristics.”
- What is inclusion? Inclusion is a “work environment where everyone can participate and is valued regardless of difference.” Russell added her own definition also means inclusion is where people feel like they belong and can see themselves valued as part of the organization.
Equality Vs. Equity
Russell, who as the only African-American VP at CUNA Mutual said she often feels additional pressure, also spoke to the question of Equality vs. Equity.
“We talk about treating everyone the same,” said Russell. “But that is a focus on equality of input vs. equality of outcome.”
In an inclusion model, it’s about ensuring equality of outcome, according to Russell. “Think about how you can ensure access to an equal outcome,” she said.
Successful DEI initiatives require being really “intentional” about the work, according to Russell, who said CUNA Mutual has had both wins and setbacks in its own efforts.
The Wins
But the wins have included:
- Creation of 12 different Employee Resource Groups
- Development and launch of a D&I learning series with 400-450 people at each session
- Creation of an Inclusion Institute about what it means to be an inclusive coworker
- Creation of an “Early in Career Rotation Program” in conjunction with historically black colleges and universities. That is a two-year rotation for interns from HBCUs, and the end of which the four participants will have a job. The first cohort will graduate in June
- Integrating inclusion into its number of policies, procedures and practices
- Earning 100% on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index for three years
Where From Here?
Where is CUNA Mutual going moving forward? Russell said her own vision is that of what is often referred to as a “beloved community,” which is described by author Bell Hooks as an environment “formed not by the eradication of difference, but by its affirmation, by each of us claiming the identities and cultural legacies that shape who we are and how we live in the world.”
Russell shared another description of what DEI means: “Nothing About Us Without Us is For Us.”
Taking the First Step
So, what can credit unions do to create a best practice in DEI? Russell recommended:
- Having a high level of support
- Understanding it’s a long-term commitment
- Creating Employee Resource Groups/Affinity Groups
- Doing training on awareness and skills building
- Understanding who benefits and who is burdened
- Collecting both quantitative and qualitative data
- Ensuring collaboration and alignment with other efforts
- Recognition of early wins and learning when you mess up
Individual Steps
Individually, said Russell, people must be themselves and the environment must allow for the same. To do that, she said:
- Be on the journey.
- Know, understand and share your why
- Be the change we want to see