Diversity and equality

The hurdles faced by Black professionals who break into the financial services belie the notion that their small numbers at the industry’s top ranks are a pipeline problem.

The annual survey from the National Credit Union Administration shows credit unions making gains in some of their inclusion efforts, but the industry still has much it can do to improve.

Daylight's initial product lineup includes a prepaid debit card with the customer’s chosen name and educational content around issues unique to LGBT households.

The pandemic has highlighted massive inequalities in American life but the financial services industry can play a role in reducing these divisions.

The algorithms banks use to assess the financial well-being of minorities would be more effective if Black analysts crunched the numbers, says Troynica Green, a data analyst at Regions Bank.

The credit union regulator's November board meeting covered a variety of issues, including the voluntary self-assessment, disagreements on the budget proposal and the possibility of new insurance premiums in 2021.

Bank of America will help Cornell University expand an online training course aimed primarily at Black and Hispanic women who want to start their own companies, as part of the bank's $1 billion racial justice commitment.

Community development financial institutions, which tend to be less digitally savvy than traditional banks and credit unions, are developing online-lending platforms and automating backroom processes with investments and technical assistance from big banks, high-tech firms and other sources.

The accelerator has enabled Los Angeles-based fintech Be Money to relaunch itself as Daylight and bring to market a transgender-inclusive preferred name card.

Credit unions will have their first opportunity to hear from the federal regulator about its recently released budget proposal and also get an update on the agency's diversity self-assessment.

The response exceeded expectations, with more than 1,600 Citi customers requesting a name-change on their cards within the first few weeks of the program.

A contentious presidential contest and social justice protests have forced employers to consider whether these types of topics should be discussed in the workplace.

Opening a bank or investment account — or even securing employment in a racism-free workplace — is out of reach for many Black Americans.

Vendors such as eFinancialCareers, Paradox and pymetrics work with banks to assess job applicants based on their skills and not other factors. But the technology has its limits.

Banks must address the societal issues that resonate deeply with their customers and communities, says Regions Financial chief John Turner.

While many companies and organizations try, diversity and inclusion efforts within the financial services have generally failed. What needs to be done in order to succeed? Join us for a panel discussion featuring guests from the Access Denied: Systemic Racism in Financial Services podcast.

Women suing Goldman Sachs Group for gender discrimination are going after any internal documents with words like “babe,” “bimbo” or worse that they say would show bias by executives who administered the bank’s promotion and evaluation policies.

Kleber Santos will be responsible for building a more inclusive workforce and designing products that meet the needs of a broader, more diverse range of customers.

Earlier this year, the Southern California credit union was criticized for its directors not representing the demographics of the communities it serves.

Bankers can either fight the president’s recent order banning diversity training in federal contracts or face reputational risk by complying with it.