Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Takes More Than Talk
Metrics, best practices, commitment and specific programs are among the key factors that lead to success.
Practitioners in the new era of auto lender commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) address a tough agenda set by panel moderator Virnitia Hendricks of Santander US at the recent American Financial Services Assn.’s annual Vehicle Finance Conference. Here are some of the key points she shares:
Social innovation vs. philanthropy – that is, making a genuine commitment to DEI and not simply writing a check.
Sharing DEI best practices – designed to keep DEI front and center, and not what Hendricks calls a short-lived “flavor of the month.”
Applying metrics – to demonstrate a return for the investment, beyond “vanity metrics,” to make one’s own corporation look good.
Choosing specific corporate programs – to advance DEI, which necessarily includes soliciting advice from inside and outside the workforce, making it feel safe for employees and third parties to offer advice, and then acting on it.
“To get to safety, you have to know how people feel, and to know how people feel, you have to ask them,” Hendricks (below, left) says. She is Chief Diversity Officer and head of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office at Santander US.
Panelists responding to Hendricks, and to one another, say again and again that a true commitment to DEI requires more than going through the motions.
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Executives “can’t just show up,” says panelist Karen Ideno, group vice president, Toyota Financial Services. “You have to show up and be present, and not just approve the project,” she says.
Ideno says that at points in her career she has found herself “a double one-and-only,” as the first female Asian-American in this or that position. “We hope to get over that” as higher-level executives become more diverse, she says.
Panelist David Knight, a senior vice president at Bank of America, says he has found himself the first Black holder of various jobs.
“I was the first person of color hired in my first-ever role. That is something that has continued in my career. I am dying to not be the first – I just want to be,” he says.
Toyota Financial Services, Bank of America and other auto lenders allow employees to take a specified number of hours of paid time off each year to perform community service, the panelists say.
Bank of America has a financial literacy program called “Better Money Habits” for young adults. Knight says around 25% of the participants increase their savings more than 20% in a year; one-third increase their checking account balance more than 20%; and around 14% reduce their debt more than 20%.
Knight says, “We’re out there, and reaching into the community.”
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