U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

DIVERSITY ASSESSMENT 

REPORT FOR ENTITIES 

REGULATED BY THE SEC

March 19, 2020
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

Webinar Logistics

 All participants will be muted upon entry

– Please use the chat box to send questions. You can

send questions to Everyone or the Host (Aimee Mui)

 This webinar will be recorded and may be posted

online

 Slides will be made available after the webinar

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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission| Office of Minority and Women Inclusion | Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

The Securities and Exchange Commission, as a 

matter of policy, disclaims responsibility for any 

private publication or statement by any of its 

employees. Therefore, the views expressed 

today are our own, and do not necessarily reflect 

the views of the Commission or the other 

members of the staff of the Commission.

Disclaimer
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

Agenda

 Overview of the Diversity Assessment Report

 Diversity Assessment Report Collection in 2018

 Leading Practices for Promoting Diversity and

Inclusion

 Morgan Stanley’s Experience with Diversity SelfAssessments

 Q&A

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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

Speakers

Pamela Gibbs, Director of 

Office of Minority & Women 

Inclusion at the SEC

Susan Reid, Managing Director 

and Global Head of Diversity 

and Inclusion at Morgan 

Stanley

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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

2020 Collection of Diversity Assessment 

Reports

 January 2020 requests sent to largest registrants

 Responses due April 1

 Requests to remaining registrants expected to be sent

this summer with 60 days to respond

 Diversity Assessment Report is preferred

 Registrants may submit firm’s own form

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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

DIVERSITY ASSESSMENT REPORT

 Complement to Joint Standards issued by SEC and

other federal financial regulators in June 2015 Policy

Statement

 Guides self-assessments of diversity policies and

practices

 Allows SEC to collect standardized information

regarding diversity self-assessments

 Sent to SEC registrants with more than 100

employees

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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

Why Submit a Diversity Self-Assessment

 Identify gaps in policies and programs and need

for improvement

 Shows commitment to improving diversity and

inclusion in financial services industry

 Transparency engenders accountability necessary

for making progress

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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

How the SEC Uses Collected Information

 Identify and highlight successful practices in

enhancing diversity and inclusion

 Monitor progress and trends

 OMWI Annual Report to Congress

 Will not identify a particular entity or disclose

confidential business information

 Share information with other financial regulators

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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

Frequently Asked Questions

 Will Diversity Assessment Reports be kept

confidential?

 What happens if a FOIA request is made for

Diversity Assessment Reports?

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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

Diversity Assessment Report Collection 2018

.

 Sent to 1300 registrants (investment advisers, broker-dealers,

municipal advisors, and self-regulatory organizations)

 38 responses received, covering 5% of firms asked to submit a report

 Most responses from registrants that are divisions or subsidiaries of

larger financial institutions

 Response covered more than one division or subsidiary regulated by

SEC

 Responding firms employ nearly 47 percent of the employees in

securities and other financial investments

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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

Leading Practices: Organizational 

Commitment

 Sponsor or support employee resource groups

(also called employee affinity groups, networking

groups, and business resource groups)

 Require diversity education for all managers,

including unconscious bias training

 Promote accountability through compensation

programs that recognize progress toward

improving diversity

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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

Leading Practices: Workforce Diversity

 Connect with organizations that are focused on

diverse segments to create diverse applicant

pools for internal and external opportunities

 Establish numerical targets for increasing

representation of women in senior leadership

 Require diverse candidate slates and interview

panels for senior leadership positions

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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

Leading Practices: Supplier Diversity

 Mentoring programs for diverse suppliers

 Establish goals for spending with diverse

suppliers

 Host workshops and expos to support

development and inclusion of diverse vendors in

procurement

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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

Registrant Perspective re: Diversity SelfAssessments 

Morgan Stanley’s Experience with Diversity SelfAssessments 

Susan Reid, Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion, 

Morgan Stanley 

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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

Questions and Answers

You may send questions:

 to DAR@sec.gov

 to the chatbox to Everyone or to the Host (Aimee

Mui)

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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

Conclusion

 Beginning the process of requesting extension of

OMB approval and welcome your suggestions for

improving the Diversity Assessment Report.

Please send them to OMWI@sec.gov with

Subject: Suggestions for Revising the DAR

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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

Contact Us

 OMWI@sec.gov

 Diversity Assessment Reports DAR@sec.gov

 202-551-6046

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