Reputational risk – DEI must be a cornerstone of mission

Building Diversity, Equity and Inclusion into the credit union mission requires strategic thinking and bold, intentional action by the Board. Moving beyond the emotional noise that often accompanies tough decisions will require the board to think about the future while evaluating the present. We must be honest with ourselves about who we are, what our organizations stand for, and how credit unions can remain relevant as the world is quickly shifting the business model away from transactions that any financial institution can process and back to social purpose built upon the needs of people, let alone the philosophy of people helping people.

Why do I say reputation risk? Isn’t everyone a little tired of the sea of sameness when looking out over the landscape of credit union leadership? It used to be noticeable at conferences, but personalities often disguised the issue. NOW with Zoom or virtual sessions, demographic dominance is upfront and personal. We have members researching the Board of Director pictures and asking, “why don’t they look like me?” We have young people wanting a way to rise up in leadership with strategic influence. If this election has taught me anything, it is that there will be discourse on important issues and people will demand authenticity.

So, are you really, I mean really, committed to diversity of thought that comes from myriad opinions? Are you really interested in a long-term systemic change to business practices that results in inclusive and equitable representation? If so, then take steps.

1. Assess your current situation, establish a baseline, and get uncomfortable because the data will tell a story.
2. Get real with each other – Board members and executives. We have been taught to follow out of date informal rules: Do not profile. Do not say “queer.” Do not look for someone just because of their race. And each of us has an inner voice that says, ‘I want to be the most qualified, not the token exception.’ Stop the gratuitous thinking and replace it with the knowledge a door has opened. The only way we make real change is to listen to the current conversations, learn and step in when asked, because with you comes awareness and access to an entirely different group of diverse thought. Let’s authentically assess how we can make change.
3. In the 1990’s, we had the largest MySTERY Shopping service in the credit union industry and created scenarios that identified racism and bias during employee-member engagement. Tough to read and hard for managers to accept, but a necessary baseline that uncovered training needs. As an industry, we may have slowed these practices, but the people we serve have not. They rate us everywhere on the internet and are digging deeper on DEI initiatives.
4. We need to create opportunities for all people within the credit union movement and ensure our leaders, as well as our front lines, reflect society at the fundamental human level.

Diversity is just one step. As a female entrepreneur since the 1990s, I’ve strived to make a difference and seen results. I’ve witnessed incremental progress – slow, but incredible progress in how we view diversity. I was that one female executive in most rooms that were filled with men, almost exclusively white men. I have seen and experienced less-than-equitable treatment, spent moments in fear or in tears hiding in bathrooms, but ultimately gaining confidence to stand up when necessary for myself, others and what I believed in.

I owe a debt of gratitude to those who came before me, and that is why I return the favor by extending my hand and influence to create job opportunities, partnerships, recommendations of people and connections to others who might increase their professional impact. I’m fervent in championing diverse representation and encouraging copious voices to participate in all decision-making entities.

One of my passions has been building networks for under-represented people because scale matters and the stronger the voice, the more likely the impact. I count among them the Global Women’s Leadership Network of the World Council of Credit Unions. Since 2009, we have created a safe haven and reached more than 5,000 CU women on different continents, traveling around the globe, when we could, and now virtually, expanding the richness of conversations worldwide, providing scholarships to advance women, bolstering their business savvy to support their families and mobilizing locally through 125 Sister Societies in 28 countries. Despite its name, GWLN is inclusive at its core, and our HE for SHE initiative has ensured that men can be our biggest champions. We must tap their strategic influence and share intimately the vulnerability of women, especially post-coronavirus, when regression concerns even the United Nations as more families fall into poverty. We all need allies to #STANDUP with us!

Just like CU Pride, a thought leadership discussion in 2018 that led to a formalized network during the 2020 Mitchell Stankovic Underground Collision in Washington, DC. The network was organized by co-founders: Zach Christensen, Linda Bodie, Daniel Marquez and Brandi Stankovic with me as an adviser. CU Pride’s mission is to give the LGBTQ+ community within credit unions, a safe and brave place for communion and discussion, create a forum for allies and social change agents, and promote inclusivity and consciousness through programs, education, and networking for the credit union movement. In less than 6 months, CU Pride is 350 members strong and drives vulnerable collaboration around the critical issues affecting the credit union LGBTQ+ community and members they serve. CU Pride is an important component of all diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and will continue to push the industry.

In addition to CU Pride, the Underground has challenged perceptions, side-by-side with many credit union thought leaders, in areas of racism, social disaster recovery, modernizing board governance, whole-person financial wellness and much more with very raw, very real emotion, conviction and facts. We apply Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs to credit union leadership to help them through this journey so they can in turn apply strategic influence to help their employees and members do the same. I #STANDUP for thought leadership that turns ideas into action!

For more than 25 years, we have strived to create coalitions that affect change, because we truly are stronger together. There is much hate rhetoric in the world today and rather than being swept into a negative tidal wave, I believe that our core reputation resides in our social purpose. Founded by the people, for the people, credits unions have a responsibility to ensure people are helping people. Through Mitchell Stankovic’s partnerships we are seeing credit union people rush in when others rush away.

Your personal reputation and your organization’s goodwill are dependent upon awakening to the times. Push for diversity in the board room. Ask executives to deploy practices that will bring together people of color as employee resource groups and be mindful of your business practices – maybe even MySTERY Shop them again – to ensure unconscious bias is identified and education made available.

The silver lining to the recent racial unrest is that it has shined a bright, beaming spotlight on systemic discrimination that some have tolerated because those affected have been patient. Now a sense of urgency is bursting forth to move incremental results forward and build buy-in from a broader audience. We cannot waste this historical moment, because a great many risks await us if we don’t act with intentionality: lost growth opportunities, potential legislative or regulator ‘remedies,’ financial, legal and reputational risks and, ultimately, irrelevance to consumers and as employers. We all want a better life; credit unions are the conduit for the future. We are relevant. We can make a difference. We are the credit union.

The late Ruth Bader Ginsburg stated so eloquently, “Fight for the things you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” I wholly believe change will come when driven by an absolute and compelling focus on impact. Let’s #STANDUP, use our strategic influence, and put our ideas into action for DEI!