Diversity self-assessment fosters deeper conversations
Reports offer benchmarking data and insights beyond ‘what you can and can’t see.’
Amy Nelson(left) and Angela Weekley discuss NCUA’s voluntary diversity self-assessment.
Credit unions that have participated in NCUA’s annual voluntary credit union diversity self-assessment have found it to be valuable benchmarking tool in their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, as well as a pathway to deeper conversations within their organizations.
“We wanted to know if we’re moving the needle in terms of making a difference with our [DEI] efforts,” says Angela Weekley, manager of community inclusion at $5.4 billion Veridian Credit Union, Waterloo, Iowa. “A key part of that is benchmarking. The assessment provides us with that feedback; that baseline information.”
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 required NCUA and other financial regulatory agencies to establish an Office of Minority and Women Inclusion. The director of this office develops standards used to assess the diversity policies and practices of entities regulated by each agency, according to Miguel Polanco, director of NCUA’s Office of Minority and Women Inclusion.
NCUA and other financial regulators established joint standards for assessing diversity and inclusion policies and practices across several organizational areas. They assess the diversity and inclusion practices of their regulated entities annually based on those standards, Polanco says.
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