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The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)’s Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) has just released its strategic plan for increasing diversity and inclusion (D&I) in housing finance for years 2019-2021. The FHFA outlines three goals to help fulfill its equal employment opportunity (EEO) mission and increasing D&I efforts at the Enterprises, including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Bank System, comprising 11 Banks and the Office of Finance. The plan also includes how the FHFA will support D&I in the 2008 Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) and the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.
“We have implemented a comprehensive OMWI operational structure, launched a government-leading D&I examination program, and developed clear diversity, inclusion, and equality standards,” states Sharron P.A. Levine, Director of FHFA’s OMWI and recent SHETalk speaker at the 2018 NAWRB Conference, in the official press release. “With these core building blocks in place, we are focused on the next stage of FHFA’s D&I evolution: ensuring that diversity, inclusion, and equality are integral parts of the cultural consciousness and the daily business, human capital, and cultural activities of FHFA and its regulated entities.”
This strategy’s main focus is on Strategic Goal 2: Ensure Liquidity, Stability and Access in Housing Finance, as stipulated in the Agency’s FY 2018-2022 strategic goals, which intends to “promote and ensure diversity and inclusion of minorities and women in the business and activities of FHFA and the regulated entities.”
This goal will be achieved through three sub-goals, each with their own objectives, which will be achieved through developed annual operational plans and measured with appropriate performance metrics:
- Goal 1: Strengthen D&I Understanding to Drive Cultural Awareness: Enhancing the understanding of the OMWI and its EEO missions and responsibilities to increase cultural awareness within the Agency and its Enterprises.
- Goal 2: Meaningful D&I Communication: Engaging stakeholders in the Agency’s D&I mission and communicating the benefits and opportunities that come with achieving D&I objectives.
- Goal 3: OMWI Organizational Sustainability: Developing strategic tools, policies and services for long-term sustainability and the efficacy of its D&I mission.
Such work with hopefully culminate in the OMWI’s ultimate vision of “ An Agency and its regulated entities where diversity is both an intrinsic value and the normal course of business; an environment where open conversations about similarities and differences enable strong, sustainable organizational decisions; and a culture where inclusion is reflected in our everyday actions and underlies the FHFA mission to support a strong, safe, and sound housing finance market.”
You can read the full FHFA OMWI Strategic Plan here.