HERSHEY, Penn. -
While credit union membership essentially mirrors the diversity of the general population, CU Journal’s examination of the movement’s national leadership doesn’t reflect that. In this final installment, CU Journal asks a variety of credit union voices to discuss the importance of working toward better representation of African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians and women in leadership positions.
“I think all credit union volunteer boards should represent the make up of their membership,” said Diana Roberts, a member of CUNA’s board or directors and CEO of the $42-million Hershey FCU here. “I think CUNA does a good job of this, just by virtue of the election policy.”
Perhaps more important, Roberts said she believes that the credit union movement “has done a good job of electing people who will do the job,” instead of solely basing decisions on gender or ethnicity.
“Having said all this, I truly believe that once elected to a board, you must think about what is best for the organization, not necessarily what is best for the people you represent,” Roberts added.
Roberts stressed that organizations should be mindful of any lack of diversity, and make sure their election processes are not discriminated against any one classification.
Mary Martha Fortney, CEO of NASCUS, agrees. “The credit union system serves members of all races, ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds,” she said. “Therefore, it’s important that the leadership at the national level is diverse and representative of the members credit unions serve.”
Room For Improvement
Fortney said she believes that diversity among the national boards has increased over the years, and indeed, a comparison of CU Journal’s current survey on board diversity with the one this newspaper conducted in June of 2000 does show some progress, but there is room for improvement.
“The hallmark of credit union philosophy is the democratic process–‘taxation with no representation’ is unjust, suggested Helen Godfrey-Smith, CEO of Shreveport Federal Credit Union, in Shreveport, La., and member of the board of the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions.
The Federation’s board–easily the most diverse of all the national boards–currently consists of eight females and seven males, five of which are African-American, three of which are Hispanic, one of which is Asian, and six of which are Caucasian.
“Historically our board has been diversified,” said Cliff Rosenthal, CEO of the Federation, “with African-American, Latin and Asian-American. We are almost divided between white and non-white. You probably won’t find a more diverse board. We are a membership organization and it’s important to reflect the members.”
And reflecting the membership is going to be vital to the ongoing success of credit unions, Rosenthal said, stressing the importance of a diversified board. “The credit union movement–if it’s going to thrive–needs to look like America. And the face of America is certainly changing.”
Indeed statistical analysis from the U.S. Census Bureau suggest that the general population is moving towards diversity itself, as birth rates among minorities are outpacing the birth rate among whites. The largest and fastest growing minority: latinos.
Carlos Calderon, chair of the National Association of Latino Credit Union Professionals, and CEO of OAS Staff FCU in Washington, said there are many things that can be done to increase the diversity among these boards.
Foster, Promote, Develop And Encourage
“We can foster, promote, develop and encourage people to be involved based on their own capabilities, in order to attain a greater participation of minorities in leadership positions in the credit union movement,” he said. “Otherwise, we run the risk of disenfranchising large groups of minorities because: 1) they don’t feel represented, and 2) we are not addressing their core issues.”
Carol Humenick, senior vice president of community and government affairs for Citadel Federal Credit Union in Thorndale, Penn., and immediate past chair/director of the CUES board, said she has seen growth in board diversity over the past few years, noting, “some are more well-represented than others.” But she said more work should be done to increase that diversity.
“Diversity covers so many areas,” Humenick said, “age, geography, ethnicity. More work should be done. But I believe you should always select the most-qualified.”
Danielle Chatfield, chair of the advisory board of CUNA’s Hispanic Resource Center, and community affairs director of the $74-million MidState Educators Credit Union in Columbus, Ohio, said that part of the challenge among the boards is finding a balance.
“... For credit union boards in particular, the equation gets very complex when you try to represent a whole host of diverse groups,” she said. “National credit union boards are often trying to balance geographic diversity, asset-size diversity, background diversity, gender diversity, and now cultural diversity, amongst other requirements,” she said.
But Chatfield is optimistic. “As a movement we have a history of bringing an increasing level of diversity to the table,” she said.
For More Information
www.hersheyfcu.org
www.cuna.org
www.nascus.org
www.shrevefcu.org
www.natfed.org
www.oasfcu.org
www.citadel.fcu
www.cues.org
www.educu.org
