There’s a new kind of pause happening in credit union leadership circles. I’ve felt it. Maybe you have too. It’s that moment in the conversation where someone looks around the room and says, “We’ve made progress on DEI, but where do we go from here?”
That’s not a throwaway question. It’s a sign that we’re entering a different phase of this work. A deeper one. A more complex one. One that requires more courage and clarity than we might be used to. At this moment, I’ve been thinking a lot about what we call DEI 2.0. Not a rebrand, but an evolution. An invitation to lead this work with more maturity, intentionality, and heart.
But I have to be honest with you: talking about this now feels different. It feels heavier because the political climate in this country doesn’t just make this work harder, it makes it personal. For someone like me, a Chicano man born and raised in the U.S., I find myself wondering whether I need to carry my passport on me, just in case. Not when I’m traveling. Just when I’m driving to the store.
Let that sit with you for a moment.
That fear, that tension, it doesn’t go away when I walk into a boardroom or leadership meeting. It walks in with me. It’s not something I get to clock out of when the workday ends. It’s the backdrop to the leadership I bring, the lens through which I see “belonging,” and the reason why this work can’t be reduced to compliance checklists or one-time training.
This is why DEI 2.0 matters. It’s about getting real with ourselves, not just asking if we’ve hired more diverse talent, but asking whether those individuals feel safe, respected, and empowered to lead. Not just tracking who’s in the room but critically assessing how we make space for voices that challenge us. Not just “adding” inclusion but integrating equity into the systems we already rely on.
One way to assess that progress is through tools like the Humanidei DEI Maturity Scale. It lays out three stages of development: DEI 1.0, where we begin the journey with statements and symbolic support; DEI 2.0, where inclusive leadership, accountability, and psychological safety start to take root; and DEI 3.0, where DEI becomes inseparable from strategy, reflected in our leadership, our products, and our presence in the community.
Most of us are somewhere between stages. And that’s okay. As long as we’re honest about where we are, and intentional about where we’re going.
In the DEI 2.0 stage, we’re not just hosting events, we’re building strategy. Not just responding to inequities, we’re working to resolve them. We are not just opening doors to diverse talent, we are leading inclusively, with the understanding that equity isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s the foundation of trust.
Credit unions were built for moments like this. Our foundations are rooted in economic justice and cooperative care. We don’t exist to maximize profit. We exist to maximize possibilities for the communities we serve. That includes our members. That includes our teams. That includes people who carry their passports in their pockets, not for travel, but for safety.
So if you’re a credit union executive wondering where DEI goes from here, the answer is not a retreat. It is a recommitment. We move forward by making DEI less of a side project and more of a leadership principle. We lead not from fear, but from clarity. We recognize that discomfort is part of growth—and that culture is built in those uncomfortable moments when we choose to lean in rather than step back.
If you’re unsure where your credit union sits on the DEI journey, or what steps might move you closer to deeper integration, now’s a good time to ask for guidance. Humanidei offers tools, assessments, and support tailored specifically to our industry and sometimes, having a partner in this work can make all the difference between intention and impact.
We cannot claim to be people helping people and ignore the very real ways our people are experiencing the world. So, let's keep going. Let’s keep leading. Let’s have the courage to evolve.
“We do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” — John F. Kennedy
