Report details credit union agency’s efforts in hiring people of color, achieving diversity in upper ranks

Two in five of new hires (42.1%) in 2020 were people of color, and gender diversity among senior executives achieved parity last year for the first time, the federal credit union regulator said Wednesday in a report outlining the agency’s hiring practices.

In its Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) annual report, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) also said 15.4% and 4.2% of its workforce self-identify as having disabilities and targeted disabilities, respectively. The agency said those figures exceed the federal employment goals established in Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

The OMWI annual report, the agency said, details the agency’s progress in 2020 in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in its workforce. The report also highlights the agency’s efforts to ensure fair and inclusive business practices as well as assess the diversity policies and practices of the entities it regulates, NCUA said.

The report also states:

  • 188 federally insured credit unions submitted Voluntary Credit Union Diversity Self-Assessments in 2020, up 59.3% from the 118 submissions in 2019.
  • 23.4% of the NCUA’s workforce participated in employee resource groups, which the agency asserted was “more than twice the benchmark participation rate for successful programs like these.”
  • 33.2% of the NCUA’s total reportable contracting dollars for the year were awarded to minority- and women-owned businesses.
  • 15 facilitated, open discussions on racial injustice and racism were hosted by OMWI in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn., and the nationwide Black Lives Matter demonstrations; for nearly all special emphasis programs observances, NCUA said OMWI hosted an event featuring a guest speaker who provided a range of experiences and insights into how to be more intentionally inclusive in the workplace.

NCUA Releases Office of Minority and Women Inclusion Annual Report to Congress