By Frank J. Diekmann
There’s a lot more to diversity than gender. Or race. Or ethnicity. Or… Or a lot of other things, two people want to make clear. In fact, diversity is, appropriately enough, a very diverse and complicated topic, and that includes inside the credit union community, according to CUNA’s CEO and its chairman.
And measuring diversity is certainly more complicated than just looking at pictures and drawing conclusions, say CUNA CEO Jim Nussle and CUNA Chairman Brett Martinez.
That was one of the points the two men made last week to me in a discussion related to CUNA’s announcement its board had passed a resolution officially stating it supports diversity, equity and inclusion (usually referred to as DEI) as a shared credit union cooperative principle.
The board further stated credit unions have an ongoing responsibility to take a leadership role in building and serving more diverse, equitable and inclusive communities.
Can’t Just ‘Count Noses’
CUToday.info reported news of the new resolution by CUNA, and included in its report some statements around the diversity of the CUNA board itself. But Nussle and Martinez stressed there is much more to DEI than what literally meets the eye.
“Counting noses doesn’t tell the whole story,” said Martinez, who is also CEO of Redwood Credit Union in California. “My last name is Martinez, which is Hispanic. It’s complicated. There are many ways of looking at DEI. DEI means a lot of things to a lot of people.”
Martinez added, for example, that the CUNA board has 24 members who represent credit unions from all over the United States and from all types of asset sizes. There is also representation on the CUNA board from the state leagues.
Inside credit unions, meanwhile, Martinez said approximately 52% of CEOs are female, versus 5% at banks, and there are three times as many credit unions designated as minority depository FIs than there are banks.
And those are just two of the myriad ways diversity, equity and inclusion can be looked at, Martinez and Nussle stated.
It’s Not New
Why this new attention on DEI?
First, Martinez wanted to make clear, it’s not new.
“It’s been around for a number of years at a higher level. I’ve been on the board for 10 years but it started at a different level when Maurice (Smith) was chairing the board,” explained Martinez, making sure to note Smith remains on CUNA’s executive committee as the past chair. “I do not think, and I’ve been in credit unions for 34 years, that this is a new topic for credit unions, either. There has been talk for some time of making sure boards and management represent the members. What DEI does is define it a little more.”
While the board adopted its resolution on Sept. 11, Martinez added, “I think a lot of people would argue it’s already embedded in the principles. This is just a first step and hopefully it will change the dialogue and lead to more discussion. We’ve had some very long conversations and deliberations over the years…It’s been encouraging, but it’s not just Maurice. He just started the conversation at a higher level.”
Feedback From Credit Unions
Nussle said the CUNA board has had significant leadership and “encouragement” from credit unions that want DEI to be a regular part of the discussion.
“We have gotten a lot of feedback, and it’s come in very diverse ways,” said Nussle. “It’s come from the (African-American Credit Union Council) and from the Women’s Leadership Forum. It has been a journey and it will continue to be.”
Nussle said he has seen discussion of diversity and inclusion become part of numerous conferences and educational forums, including the CUNA Roundtables for the largest CUs. “We will continue to put (ideas) forward. It is a topic boards have been discussing: how can this be brought back to the credit union in hiring, decision-making, etc.”
As for who gets elected to the CUNA board itself, that’s up to credit unions themselves, Martinez and Nussle observed. But that isn’t to say the trade group can’t do its best to ensure there are more diverse choices available to CUNA-affiliated CUs.
Not a Cop Out
“Throughout their history, the credit union movement and CUNA have adopted a democratic process,” said Nussle. “It’s not a cop out to say that’s who is elected. But one thing we have done to promote diversity is to encourage diverse candidates, and we have seen an uptick in the number of people running for CUNA board positions. I am told there was once a time when just one person would run for a seat. There are now a number of candidates running. And there is diversity in race, gender and opinion. We also encourage diversity in asset size and region.”
A Message to the ICA
In passing its resolution, the CUNA board is also hoping to influence one organization to consider adding an 8thcooperative principal around DEI. While many don’t know it—and that included me—Nussle said the 7 Cooperative Principles https://ncbaclusa.coop/resources/7-cooperative-principles/are officially owned and controlled by International Cooperative Alliance, which is based in Brussels, Belgium. The foundational underpinnings of cooperatives everywhere were last revised in 2013.
“We decided the best way for us to provide influence to the ICA was to make it prominent that we support DEI,” said Nussle. “We want to work cooperatively with other cooperatives.”
In an email Nussle sent to CUNA staff following the CUNA board vote on DEI, he said, “I also want to recognize that diversity, equity and inclusion is not straightforward. We all come to the table with different experiences and perspectives. As we continue dialogue around this important issue, I encourage everyone to share their ideas, raise concerns or ask questions.”
Nussle and Martinez made clear they don’t expect the idea sharing, concern raising and question asking to be a one-off.
“It’s an important journey and we are committed to it,” said Nussle.
Frank J. Diekmann is Cooperator in Chief at CUToday.info and can be reached at Frank@CUToday.infoor @FrankCUToday.