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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) is inviting regulated entities to submit voluntary self-assessments of their diversity policies and practices for the Diversity Assessment Report. The report will supplement the Joint Standard interagency policy statement, released in 2015, which aims to establish standards for assessing diversity and inclusion efforts.
The Diversity Assessment Report provides entities with a template for submitting their self-assessment to OMWI, and encourages them to publish their findings on their websites. Such efforts are important for ensuring accountability of diversity practices within these entities, and for identifying which policies and practices outlined in the Joint Standards have been successfully implemented.
Pamela Gibbs, Director of OMWI, states “This is an important step in our efforts to understand the diversity and inclusion efforts of our regulated entities, as well as promote transparency and awareness in this area.”
Use of the Joint Standards is voluntary by SEC’s regulated entities, as well as self-assessments that are submitted for the report. Those entities who take part, however, will assist the SEC by providing valuable information about the effectiveness of theoretical diversity policies in “real world” environments.
Sometimes practices which look good on paper are more difficult to apply in the workplace, where unforeseen variables might affect proper implementation. These self-assessments help identify these variables so that the SEC can provide actionable solutions to these obstacles for increasing diversity at its entities.
Such obstacles may include a lack of open communication and transparency about the purpose and execution of diversity policies. For any diversity policy to be successful in its deliverables, a work culture must adopt diversity and inclusion as one of its core tenets, where all employees are committed to making a reality.
Since 2010, NAWRB has been instrumental in creating conversations about effective diversity strategies, relaying information to the industry, and providing input to shape the real-life application of these initiatives.
Through our advocacy relationships with OMWIs, including the OMWIs of the FHFA, we are empowering women by increasing their representation in the workplace—a crucial step for narrowing the gender pay gap and fortifying women’s economic growth and independence.
To learn more about the Joint Standards and Diversity Assessment Report, click here.